Fire Risks
According to the figures of the National Board of Fire Underwriters, the relation of outside to inside fires, for 1916 to 1918, is presented in the table given below. The figures for 1919 were not compiled at this writing but the ratios would doubtless run about the same, and the lesson is obvious. If the 25 to 30 per cent of fires started from without call for fire-safe exterior construction, the 70 to 75 per cent of interior fires demand special care against fire within. Much of the interior of a house is of burnable material, and the matter becomes very serious when it concerns the wooden floors and partitions which in case of fire may be consumed, resulting in the total collapse of the interior. These portions may be protected from the attack of fire by the use of a first-class metal lath or even gypsum plaster board, as a base for plastering, which would at least retard the fire from spreading until it could be subdued and put under control.
Protect Weak Parts
Instead of protecting the entire interior by metal lath or gypsum board the desired result may be obtained by using it in certain places considered most hazardous. First of all, the frame bearing partitions through the middle of the brick or tile house, which are the main supports for the floors above, and ceilings under inhabited floors, should be protected; and, in case of veneer construction, similar treatment on the inside surface of exterior walls would add greatly to the safety and value of the house.
As fires may originate in the ceiling over the heater and coal bins, at chimney breasts, and around flues, metal lath or gypsum board at these points would retard the spread of fire; and its use around, but especially under, stairs would give a far safer exit from the upper story of the house.
Having built a face brick house for your client, as the most substantial and attractive construction to be had, protected on the outside with a roof of permanent material, and on the inside with fire-resistive material at the weakest points, you have given him the best possible value for his money, in a structure at once beautiful, enduring, economical, and safe against fire.
Outside and Inside Causes of Fire
| 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | ||||
| Claims | Loss | Claims | Loss | Claims | Loss | |
| All Causes | 361,742 | $208,705,340 | 356,896 | $231,628,000 | 328,737 | $283,103,101 |
| Outside Causes | 114,900 | 56,684,837 | 88,549 | 61,971,156 | 104,622 | 79,947,935 |
| Outside Causes Percentage | 31.76% | 22.36% | 24.81% | 26.75% | 31.83% | 28.24% |
