FIRE-RESISTING QUALITIES OF STRUCTURES, ETC. 53 
mental purposes. The behavior of the metal-covered woodwork in 
the Kohl and other buildings was satisfactory and immensely better 
than that of the naked wood. It is certain that a building may be 
finished and trimmed and even decorated with noninflammable mate- 
rials. Although the additional security of such materials in case of 
fire does not appeal to owners and architects as compensating for 
their extra cost in comparison with wood or other inflammable mate- 
rials, the building laws should nevertheless compel this type of 
construction. 
The loss in ornamental stonework was particularly great, especially 
in the case of marble, which in many structures was completely 
calcined. Brickwork suffered most from the earthquake and least 
from fire, and sandstone splintered less than granite, which suf- 
fered severely, a number of badly spalled columns showing how 
futile this material is for other than ornamental purposes. Con- 
crete proved superior to brick as a fireproofing medium. 
It is estimated that over 80 per cent of the so-called " fireproof " 
safes failed. Many valuable records and much other property were 
thereby destroyed. An ordinary fireproof safe was of absolutely no 
value, and the contents of nearly every one were destroyed. In many 
office buildings so-called fireproof vaults were constructed of hollow 
tile or plastered metal lath, being formed partly by the partitions 
of the rooms, and were so flimsy that they yielded readily to the 
flames. In PL LII can be seen groups of so-called " fireproof safes," 
many with walls 20 inches or more thick, which failed to serve the 
purpose for which they were designed. PL LII, B, shows part of a 
collection of over 50 of these " safes " whose contents were destined. 
In a number of jeweler's safes silver and other precious metals were 
melted. The warping of the doors also resulted in the loss of the" 
contents in many vaults, even where they were otherwise well de- 
signed. In short, fireproof vaults and safes behaved in the San 
Francisco fire very much as they did in the Baltimore fire. Little 
progress seems to have been made toward the production of a satis- 
factory fireproof safe. The only really fireproof vault is one with 
brick or concrete walls not less than 10 inches thick. The cement- 
filled metal safe proved to be a very good type of fireproof. Even 
in well-designed safes and vaults, great care must be exercised in 
opening them after they have been exposed to fire. Time should be 
allowed for the temperature in the interior to become reduced to 
somewhere near the temperature of the surrounding air, as otherwise 
the contents may be destroyed by spontaneous combustion on exposure 
to the air. PL LII, A, is a view of one of the oldest vaults in San 
Francisco, that of the old Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express, which passed 
the fire test satisfactorily. 
The writer is of the opinion that the present commercial hollow 
7171— Bull. 324—07 5 
