72 THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE. 
inner covering having one coat of plaster applied and the outer 
covering having the full two or three coats required for the finishing, 
as the case might be. 
In a general way, practically none of the column protection in 
San Francisco, except the 4-inch brick covering, was adequate. The 
coverings of terra cotta and of metal lathing and plaster failed abso- 
lutely. Although there were a great many individual columns pro- 
tected with other coverings which suffered only small damage, the num- 
ber in which the protection completely failed was so great that the 
statement is entirely justified that practically all the coverings were 
wholly inadequate to resist any real fire test. The wall columns 
covered with 4 inches of brickwork were, except in one building, 
fairly well protected, so far as I was able to determine. None of the 
columns covered with cinder concrete suffered any serious damage, 
but there were not many columns protected in this way. Of the three 
buildings in which I particularly noticed such covering, two had 
evidently not experienced any great heat. In the third a column 
covered with 4 inches of cinder concrete had undoubtedly been sub- 
jected to a heat that was very intense. The concrete covering was 
seriously damaged; the column, however, had not suffered. This 
case is described on page 79. 
Interior partitions in San Francisco were built almost entirely of 
hollow tiles similar to those used for making square coverings on 
columns, or else of light metal studs covered with metal lathing and 
plaster. A few were built of brickwork. In a general way it may be 
said that practically all the interior partitions that were not built of 
brickwork were a total loss, being absolutely inadequate. In my 
judgment, the burning of the contents of a single well-filled office 
room would have developed in the majority of buildings enough heat 
to get through the surrounding partitions. 
The furred ceilings already described were also very largely a loss. 
In buildings that had been occupied for ordinary office purposes, 
probably not more than 20 per cent of the furred ceilings absolutely 
came down ; the remaining 80 per cent stayed in place, with complete 
loss of the plaster, the metal furring and lathing, however, being in 
shape to use again with only minor repairs. But wherever the 
amount of combustible matter was evidently greater than that ordi- 
narily found in offices, the entire furred ceiling — metal lathing, fur- 
ring strips, and all — came down bodily and was a total loss. 
So far as I was able to determine, the earthquake did not cause the 
collapse of any of the floor construction or partitions in any of the 
fireproof buildings, but it must have shaken a good many of the 
partitions badly, so that their destruction by fire was rendered some- 
what more easy. The earthquake damage, however, only hastened 
the result. Partitions of the kind that were used in San Francisco 
