CONSTEUCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 3 



out from the opposite side. The design of buildings with reference 

 to size and proportion of compartments, stoi-y height, and number 

 of stories should be based upon all of the foregoing facts considered 

 in conjunction with the relative cost of various types of construction 

 and the resulting rate of insurance. 



SOME TYPICAL WAREHOUSE PLANTS. 



The selection of the type of construction and design of the 

 buildings used is a matter for the decision of the management, as it 

 is not possible to state that any one type of construction and design 

 is best regardless of the conditions to be met. 



A single-story warehouse of semi-slow-burning construction — that 

 is having a heavy timber roof, light frame exterior walls, and 

 brick division fire walls — is shown in Plate I. This plant is well 

 removed from exterior fire hazards so that the construction used 

 is safe and economical. It is used for storing cotton for large 

 producers and the uncompressed bales are tiered five high during 

 the time deposits are heaviest. A story height of 16 feet is used 

 and the building has five compartments with a combined capacity 

 of 5,000 bales of uncompressed cotton. 



A large export plant, also of semi-slow-burning construction, is 

 shown in Plate II. Here the buildings are 100 feet wide and are 

 cut into compartments by division fire walls spaced at intervals 

 of 50, 75 or 100 feet. The buildings are arranged in pairs with 

 receiving or delivery courts 100 feet wide between, to provide the 

 necessary isolation and give space for operations of firemen if need 

 arise. Plate III, figure 1 shows a court used for receiving cotton 

 from cars; there is also shown the depressed tracks and the hose 

 houses. In alternate courts the central area is paved and the tracks 

 are omitted. Here the cotton leaving the warehouse for the com- 

 press or for shipment by water is handled on low flat trucks drawn 

 by electric storage battery tractors. 



In this plant reliance for protection in case of fire is placed in 

 the system of yard hydrants, a complete automatic sprinkler system 

 with ample sources of water supply, and an adequate watchman 

 service. 



Plants in which the buildings present exposures to each other, 

 or plants subjected to dangerous exterior exposures (including a 

 passing locomotive) should not depend entirely on fire-protective 

 equipment, but should oifer in themselves a strong resistance to 

 fire. It must be remembered that congested handling of cotton in 

 courts between warehouses causes such buildings to present a hazard 

 to each other that may be very serious. An inexpensive method of 

 securing protection from such exposures is to use masonrj' for the 



