30 BULLETIN 211, U. G. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the bale in such a condition that a spark will sometimes start a blaze 

 which will flash over a loose lot of cotton in a very short time. When 

 hundreds of bales are stored in one compartment this fire will flash 

 from one bale to the other and frequently will extend over a lot of 

 a thousand bales in a very few minutes. It can be seen readily that 

 cotton stored in large quantities in a single compartment would be 

 subject to a very costly fire, but a large warehouse might be divided 

 into several smaller compartments and so avoid an extensive fire. 

 This is the principle on which the insurance companies base their 

 specifications. 



Automatic sprinklers. — The automatic sprinkler also has proved to 

 be of very decided advantage in protecting cotton warehouses from 

 fire damage. By means of automatic sprinklers a fire automatically 

 releases the water which is to isolate it. A detailed investigation of 

 90 fires in cotton warehouses under sprinklers shows that the average 

 number of heads opening was 13.5 per cent, while in 52 per cent of 

 the cases less than 10 heads opened. Later in this bulletin a brief 

 description of a modern sprinkler system is given, which will show 

 just how this desirable end is accomplished. 



A study of fires in cotton warehouses which are protected by auto- 

 matic sprinklers shows that out of a total of 159 fires. 69, or 43.4 per 

 cent, were entirely extinguished by the sprinklers, and 74, or 46.5 

 per cent, were successfully held in check, making a total satisfactory 

 sprinkler record of 143 fires, or 89.9 per cent. Of the 16 fires which 

 were classed as unsatisfactory, in 8 cases the water was shut off from 

 the sprinklers; in 2 cases the water supply was defective; 1 fire was 

 due to faulty building construction; and 3 to obstruction to distri- 

 bution. Of all of these cases, 13 were really not attributable to the 

 standard sprinkler equipment in the standard warehouses, and in 

 only 1 case was it found that the hazard of occupancy was too severe 

 for the average sprinkler system. 



LOCATION OF A WAREHOUSE. 



It is very important to have a cotton warehouse conveniently 

 located on a sidetrack. This saves drayage, which is a considerable 

 item when the business is large. However, the warehouse should 

 not be within 100 feet of the main line of a railroad or a sidetrack 

 which extends beyond the building, for if it is so located the insurance 

 rate will be increased. 1 nis is avoided by having the warehouse at 

 or near the end of the sidetrack. 



Many companies have made the mistake of deliberately locating 

 the warehouse away from the business section. This is a serious 

 mistake, for several reasons: First, there is the cost of drayage. In 

 the second place, persons who are not directly interested in such a 

 warehouse will patronize an est nbjishmeut nearer the business center. 



