44 SAFETY OF LIFE FROM FIRE AT SEA. 



DISCUSSION. 



The Chairman : — The paper is now before you, gentlemen. Is there any discussion 

 upon this subject? 



Mr. Warren T. Berry, Member: — The paper just presented contains many state- 

 ments as facts, concerning which there is considerable room for argument. 



Probably every one interested in vessels recognizes the danger from fire on any of them 

 at any time. It is doubtful, however, if they will grant that passengers on vessels "have 

 little chance between death by fire or drowning." 



This statement does not seem to be justified by experience or statistics. Accident in- 

 surance companies are in direct touch with statistics covering loss of life or injury to per- 

 sons, and, I think, without exception, allow double indemnities for injuries received on com- 

 mon carriers, of which the passenger vessels of this country form a part, and for injuries 

 received in burning buildings, which certainly does not indicate that "there has been little 

 progress made in safeguarding life from fires." Examples of vessels destroyed by fire from 

 fifty to three hundred years ago are in no way comparable with existing types. 



Further, in regard to statistics, the paper shows a loss of life in five years, 1906-1910, 

 inclusive, of 104 lives with which the records of the Department of Commerce and Labor do 

 not agree. The Steamboat Inspection Service keep statistics covering the loss of life on all 

 inspected vessels, and their records show for a corresponding period 71 lives lost. They also 

 show that in the year 1905 three lives were lost. In the period from January 1, 1911, to 

 June 30, 1914, 28 lives were lost, or a total loss of 102 persons in ten years, compared 

 with 104 in five years, as given in the paper. 



Fire is an ever-present danger on shipboard, as it is everywhere else, but vessels today 

 are not "highly inflammable." United States laws prohibit or restrict the carrying or use of 

 highly inflammable articles on passenger ships. 



The experience of the Volturno, where fire was confined and kept in check so that the 

 650 odd passengers on board were enabled to stay on board something over twenty-four 

 hours, would seem to indicate a condition that exists in comparatively few structures on 

 land. 



The use of non-combustible material in the construction of a vessel and its fittings is 

 undoubtedly desirable. It has not yet, however, been demonstrated that it is practicable to 

 substitute light steel for wood in all cases. 



This question has been thoroughly discussed before this Society, and many objections 

 have been raised to the use of steel other than the cost and that a "uniform temperature be- 

 low decks can not be readily maintained." The principal objection is that of weight. On a 

 vessel of our sound steamer class, 365 feet over-all length, the additional weight of steel 

 construction above the main deck, as compared with the present construction, would amount 

 to 450 tons, and it has not been demonstrated that a practical structure of this character 

 can be built at all. 



Progress in shipbuilding has shown that a matter of 10 per cent increase in cost, or con- 

 siderably more than 10 per cent, is not considered prohibitive, if definite and feasible plans 

 for improved structures are presented. 



In the construction of the steamers Plymouth and Commonwealth, where fire-retard- 

 ant bulkheads were installed, light steel construction was abandoned in favor of double thick- 



