CONSTRUCTION AND FIRE PROTECTION OF COTTON WAREHOUSES. 49 



sites sot forth for such oi)cninos in tlie fire-rosistive I'oof. Special 

 care slioiikl be exercised to see tliat a tight joint is made at the venti- 

 lators and skylights. 



PLATFORMS. 



Platforms should be paved or, if elevated, built of reinforced con- 

 crete. Wooden platforms are a source of great expense for upkeep 

 and present a good opportunity for the origination of fire. All 

 things considered, the paved or reinforced concrete platforms are 

 more serviceable, and, eventuallj^, are more economical. If wooden 

 platforms are ussd they should be of heavy timber, and the ware- 

 house doors should be protected as previously described. 



In A'iew of the frequent reference to requirements of the construc- 

 tion for warehouses several stories in height, it is scarcely wise to 

 conclude this portion of the discussion without pointing out the 

 hazard such additional stories entail. The single-story warehouse 

 of any construction affords *decided advantage in dealing with a fire 

 and is especially advantageous in the case of slow-burning construc- 

 tion. However, if conditions demand the storage of cotton without 

 tiering, this single story entails a prohibitive cost of the plant per 

 bale capacity, particularly if adaquate yard hydrant piping or 

 sprinkler equipment is provided. In such cases there is no serious 

 objection to providing three low stories if all stories of the com- 

 partment formsd by the division fire walls contain a total of not 

 more than 144.000 cubic feet. The resulting area (stories being of 

 equal height) is suitable for convenient storage of 1,000 bales of 

 uncompressed cotton or 1,500 compressed bales. Additional stories 

 not only involve subjection of an excessive value of cotton to a single 

 possible fire, but render tlie use of hose streams less effective. For 

 slow-burning construction, not more than four stories should be 

 countenanced under usual conditions, and these stories should be low, 

 permitting the storage of only one tier of bales on end.^ 



Extreme caution should be exercised in the • use of unprotected 

 steel in combination with any timber construction. The weakness 

 of steel for such use is shown in Plate XXV. In this building both 

 steel beams and timbers were used owing to a shortage in available 

 steel beams. A fire which clamaged the timbers but slightly caused 

 the steel beams to twist and sag as shown by the photograph. The 



' Adtlitional stories may be provided by malcing alternate floors of fire-resis- 

 tive construction, such as reinforced concrete. Even in such event, a limit 

 of four stories is preferred and six stories should be the final limit, the third 

 and fifth floors of reinforced concrete and all floors provided with platforms of 

 reinforced concrete. 



128983°— 10— Bull. 801 i 



