4.';4





RECO.RD   AND    GUIDE





September 30, 1922





Building Managers Show How to Avoid Soft Coal Hazards

Dangers of Spontaneous Combustion and Flue Fires Can Be Lessened by Proper

Storage and Removal of Soot in Chimneys





I\' view of the shortage of anthracite and the necessity for
the   substitution   of  bituminous   coal   by   many   consumers
who are unaccustomed to its use the Fire Prevention Com¬
mittee of the Building Managers' Association has issued a state¬
ment calling attention to the fire hazards in the use and storage
of soft coal, as follows:—

"Large quantities of soft coal are being stored by mercantile
establishments and industries because of the fear of a fuel
shortage* during the winter. The danger of spontaneous com¬
bustion in this causes a serious fire hazard, and unusual care
should be exercised by the owners of such properties. The
hazard can be reduced by proper selection of the grades and
sizes of soft coal, and the exercise of proper precautions in
its handling and storage. Where large quantities of soft coal
are stored in the open it should be in separate piles, so that
a fire starting will not spread through the entire supply, and
the affected pile can be extinguished or moved. Where the coal
is stored in basements the Fuel Administration suggests the
following precautions:

Coal the size of a walnut or larger is well adapted for storing.

Mine run, slack or screenings, on account of fine coal and dust,

are not suited for storage in a basement.

Never place coal near a hot pipe, against a hot furnace or

any other hot-surface.

Do not mix ashes with the coal, as there may be live co.-ils in

the ashes.

If coal must be wet down, wet only the portion that is to be

used immediately.

It is very important that pieces of waste,  oily  rags,  sticks,

paper and other rubbish should not be mixed, or allowed to

come in contact with the coal.

Special attention  should be  paid  to the proper  cleaning of

flues  and  chimneys  regularly.

"Large numbers of shingle roof and defective flue fires are
being reported, due to the increasing use of soft coal. The
accumulation of soot on heating surfaces reduces the value of
the fuel and starts fires. The Federal Fuel .\dministration
Board suggests the following plan for removal of soot:

"The fire is put into good condition with a substantial body of
hot fuel. Common salt, thoroughly dried, is then thrown or
sprinkled on to the incandescent fuel bed in a quantity depend¬
ing entirely on the size of the furnace. In the case of a house
heating furnace, one pound at a time is ample, in the case of
a large power plant boiler four or five scoops fully may be
required. The dampers are kept open so as to maintain the
furnace temperature and the salt is allowed to remain until
the fumes have entirely disappeared.

"Immediately upon charging the salt, the furnace becomes
filled with dense white fumes which may require as much as
half an hour to entirely disappear. If results are not secured
on the first application, it should be repeated as many times

Monthly Meeting of the New

THE regular monthly business meetings of the Xew York
Society of .Architects have been resumed after the usual
summer recess. The first meeting, which inaugurates the
new season's work for this organization, was held at the United
Engineering Societies' Building, 29 West Thirty-ninth street,
Tuesday evening, September 19. There was a large attendance
especially in view of the fact that many members of the Society
are still out of town. One of the most gratifying features of
the meeting was the large attendance of new members and
their interest in the proceedings.
After  the   usual  routine   business   of   the   evening  was   dis-





as necessary. Once the heating surface is thoroughly cleaned
a small application every few days is usually sufficient to keep
it so.

"Everyone using soft coal is urged by the administration to
use this remarkably simple and cheap process for getting rid of
the soot, cleaning and heating surfaces of boilers, thus saving
large amounts of coal, preventing fires from chimneys and
generally conserving all along the line of heating and the pro¬
duction of power."

William H. Woodin, State Fuel .Administrator, has issued a
warning to dealers in and consumers of coal that ignorance of
General Order Xo. 1 will not prevent their vigorous prosecu¬
tion for infractions of the order prohibiting the sale of more
than two weeks' supply to one customer. ^Ir. Woodin declared
this order is still in force and that the penalty for the first
offence, which constitutes a misdemeanor, is a fine of not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more
than one year or both.

-\ second offence constitutes a felony and the penalty is more
severe. Mr. Woodin believes prices for coal can be kept at
a small advance over last year's figures. Hard coal continues
to  arrive  in  Xew  York in large  quantities.

.-V new high mark for coal car loadings last week was re¬
ported b}- the -Association of Railway Executives in the follow¬
ing  statement:

"The total for the week was 212,110 cars. This exceeded the
preceding week by 10,968 cars. On the basis of this loading
coal production during the past week approximated 11,500,000
tons, of which about 9,750,000 was bituminous and 1,750,000 tons
was anthracite coal. Totol production for the week before
was approximately 10,633,000 tons for both kinds of coal.

"Bituminous coal loading last week, according to complete
reports, totaled 177,207 cars, 1,881 cars over the week before.
The remaining 34,903 cars were loaded with anthracite, an
increase  of  15,087  cars  over  the  preceding week.

"Loading of anthracite coal on Saturday amounted to 5,588
cars, 142 under the day before, but 137 cars above the daily
average for September one year ago."

President Harding has appointed C. E. Spens as Federal
Fuel Distributor. He has named two committees to assist
the Government in efforts to speed up transportation of coal
and   to   conserve   available   supplies.

One committee is composed of railroad men, headed by
President Willard of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, to han¬
dle the transportation problem. The other committee com¬
prises business men headed by S. M. Vauclain, president of
the Baldwin Locomotive Works.

The United Real Estate Owners' Association, through its
president, Stewart Browne, announces that it is prepared
to furnish its members with five tons of coke at $15 per ton
delivered and with ten tons .American smokeless semi-an¬
thracite coal at $12.75 per ton delivered.

York Society of Architects

posed of George Meisner, Louis R. Uffner and Eugene Schoen
were elected to membership in the Society.

Following an extended discussion a resolution was unanimous¬
ly adopted that the Xew A'ork Society of Architects make
application to the Board of Appeals to adopt a uniform method
of procedure for all Superintendents of Buildings in approving
the plans which are submitted to their bureaus by architects
and others, independently of any action in the granting of
building permits. This resolution was passed as expressing the
Society's sense of the confusion existing in the various branches
of the Building Department, arising in part from the newly
adopted  requirements of the  Compensation Law.