George Hayter Chubb

“ Absolute perfection is perhaps as unattainable in locks as in other matters; nevertheless the present is an age of progress, and a more perfect lock may perhaps be invented some day. Lock patents by scores have appeared within the last twenty-one years; some good, others indifferent or bad in principle, and many of them embracing as new ideas certain principles of construction long since exploded or laid aside. ”

“ Cases where exceptional security from fire is needed seldom occur and are more easily met. Dealing, therefore, with an ordinary warehouse, which is to be a fireproof building, it should be remembered that its fire-resisting qualities are determined not only by the materials of the actual structure, but also by its interior fittings, and, above all, by the goods stored or manufacture carried on in the place. A house of brick only obviously will not burn, but fill it with cloth or cotton goods, and the house as well as the goods may be destroyed. ”

“ Whatever system of construction is adopted, there are three things not yet mentioned of high importance to the fireproof quality of the building; namely, the communication between the various floors, the style of window, and the construction of the roof. With regard to the first of these, there is little doubt that the ordinary staircase and the open lift are important aids to the spread of fire; by them the various floors of a warehouse are, when combustion begins, converted into so many furnaces with a connecting flue, and the extension of fire is accelerated by the draught rushing upwards. ”

“ Constant water pressure and a good system of hydrants are urgently needed in every town. Without this the most efficient fire brigade in the world would be hampered, and it seems a crime to let anything stand in the way of the full development of the energy displayed by fire brigades like that in London—certainly the best in existence. By the kindness of its chief I am enabled to supply a few particulars about this energetic body of men, to whom the public are so indebted, and of the work they perform. ”

“ Some people expect perfect impossibilities, and imagine that, having obtained a secure lock, they have done all that is necessary. No lock whatever will guard against culpable negligence with regard to its key; or, as in the famous South-Eastern Railway bullion robbery, the treachery of supposed trustworthy servants. It will be remembered that the notorious lock-picker Agar said the robbery on this railway would be impossible unless copies of the keys could be taken. ”

“ When a large amount of property of either cash, plate, or jewels is deposited in one place, it really is in fact offering a premium to robbers, unless fit receptacles for such property are provided. Notwithstanding the cunning, ingenuity, or violence of the professional burglars, means are at hand by which they may be effectually baffled, and all who are interested in the matter should see that their patent locks or iron safes are really what they ought to be—impervious to fraud and force.
The axiom that ‘the best is the cheapest’ will hold good with locks and safes, as with most other things. ”

“ The want of coolness and presence of mind at the time of an alarm of fire is by far the greatest hindrance to an escape, and for this no regulation can be laid down; but a few simple directions to be observed by the bystanders and inmates, well considered and reflected upon in time of safety, will in a great measure tend to discreet and successful efforts in the hour of danger. ”

“ If this had been done in bygone years there would not now be that ignorance of construction and of the right means of saving life and property which unhappily prevails. Why the insurance offices have not supported and carried into practice some such idea is possibly to be explained by the undoubted fact that a good fire brings them fresh business.
The number of fires is increasing rapidly every year in a proportion quicker than the increase of building or population; the explanation being that as the houses get crowded together they are more liable to be set on fire by external agency. ”

“ The sort of robbery I have alluded to is committed either at night or in the dusk of the evening or at the dinner-hour, when the inmates are all in one part of the house. There is also that very frequent and too often successful plan of stealing coats, &c. from a hall, when some stranger calls with a fictitious message that causes the servant to leave him alone for a moment, during which he hurries off with everything within reach that is worth stealing. To prevent such an occurrence plainly the best thing is never to allow a stranger to wait inside one’s door. ”

“ The Building Act can be complied with by providing a sheet-iron door with a plain barrel-bolt, such a division forming no security whatever, as the iron immediately warps, and allows flame or heat to pass through the opening. In this particular the Act has done much harm, for a false sense of security has been felt when its provisions have been met, and money has been wasted in buying, and labour constantly lost in closing and opening doors that are unable to hinder fire from spreading and ensure safety. ”

“ Most of the house-robberies so common in all large towns are effected through the common street-door latches in ordinary use being opened by false keys. It is a notorious fact that thousands are made year after year, but which do not afford the least security, as they are all so made that any one key will open the whole, and it is [15] not until the owner has his hall cleared, or his plate carried off, that he finds out that his apparently complex key is a mere sham, there not being in the lock a single tumbler or ward to correspond with the cuts in the web of the key. ”

“ One French safe had nothing but its four sides left intact, its front, back, and inside having disappeared as if driven out by a cannon-ball. The cast-iron safes, of which there were several, proved, as might be expected, utterly useless, being found when pulled out of the ruins twisted into all sorts of shapes, or cracked and broken like glass. Other safes, by makers whose reputation can hardly be affected by damage done in such an unprecedented fire, had their contents very seriously injured ”

“ Braidwood gives a comparison to demonstrate that what would be safe construction for one building would not be for another. He says: ‘Supposing an average-sized dwelling-house, 20×40×50=40,000 cubic feet, built with brick partitions, stone or slate stairs, wrought-iron joists filled in with concrete, and the whole well plastered. Such a house will be practically fireproof, because there is no probability that the flooring in any one room would make fire enough to communicate to another. ”

“ One advantage it has over brick is, that being stronger (if plenty of hoop-iron is used as a bond) , it occupies less space, and no plastering, or very little, is needed inside.
There has been no case, as far as I am aware, of a large concrete building being subjected to a severe test; therefore, unless other objects were aimed at, I should prefer a brick building. But some warehouses and mills are so large that brick cannot be used internally in arches; and a subdivision by party walls would destroy the business purpose of the building, and allow of only small compartments in it. ”

“ THE ART OF BURGLARY. IN order to show the absolute necessity of secure locks and safe depositories for property, especially in banking establishments, it may not be out of place just to trace the systematic care and great sagacity with which large burglaries are planned. An unsuccessful attempt, where the booty is of any magnitude, is seldom made. The first-rate ‘cracksmen’ always know beforehand where to go, when to go, and what they are going for. ”

“ The number of lives endangered by fire is so numerous that I feel the subject would not be complete without a few words respecting escape from a burning house. The apathy that exists as to the best means of getting safely [107] from such a perilous position can only be accounted for on the supposition that the probability of fire is too small to induce people to think seriously of it. But a time is likely to come in the lives of some of us when previous thought on the subject may become of enormous importance ”

“ Probably heat that will melt iron in a large mass is seldom produced in the burning of an ordinary dwelling-house; but in a warehouse with inflammable contents such fierce heat often exists, so that a safe should be proof against it for two or three hours. Unless a safe were very bulky it could not well preserve its contents without any damage for a much longer time; and indeed it is not necessary, for no safe is very likely to be exposed to an intense all-round fire longer than three hours ”

“ As a simple precaution in one’s own house, always keep the bedroom water-jugs full, and have an exterminator in a handy place ready for immediate use. For places liable to fire—and what building is not—this latter handy instrument, with its peculiar liquid, is invaluable, its contents being worth several times the same quantity of water. For some purposes it is better than the pumps and portable engines so largely employed, and is always a valuable addition to them ”

“ In reckoning the losses occasioned by fire, we cannot, however, confine ourselves to the mere cost of the building; the wages lost by workpeople thrown out of employ, the trade gone into other hands, and possibly never recovered—these, and other considerations, should lead to extreme care being taken to prevent fire, and to having proper appliances at hand to extinguish it, if, unfortunately, it breaks out. ”

“ Safes and other receptacles to contain gunpowder and preserve it from explosion have recently been talked about; and there is no doubt that one result of such a calamity as the late Regent’s Canal explosion will be to expedite legislation on the subject of the transit and storage of gunpowder and other explosives. It may appear curious that gunpowder can be preserved from damage by fire with much greater ease than such a substance as parchment, but the former can only be destroyed by being in contact with actual fire, or becoming subject to a most intense heat (about 560 degrees) ”

“ The chief functions of police in connection with the protection of house property at night are to prevent, as far as possible, a forcible entry being made into any building from without; to afford protection to all houses equally; to be vigilant in detecting the first indications of fire, and to exercise a general supervision throughout the night over the doors, shutters, and other external defences of the houses. ”

“ Respecting the first-named makers, so many different qualities are made that it is difficult to give any definite opinion of their work, but it may be safely said that the makers rely more upon the general construction of their safes than upon any special invention to overcome the ‘wedge’ or other instrument. They use to a large extent wedge-shaped pieces of iron fastened to the inner face of the door, which fit into, as the door shuts, corresponding holes in the frame or lining face. ”

“ Light is, I know, frequently desirable, but if it is obtained through a window or skylight the strength of the room is lessened, even if these openings have strong iron shutters. If gas is to be introduced the pipes must be laid on with care; it is best to have no pipe inside, but a swing bracket outside the entrance, which, when the door is open, can be swung through the opening and thus light up the interior. Fixed lamps may be used, but there is a certain amount of risk—though it is small—of their being forgotten, and of sparks from them igniting loose papers. ”

“ When a ‘plant,’ as it is termed, is made upon a house or a bank, precise information is gained if possible as to the depository of the valuables, and if it is found that the safeguards are so strong in themselves and the locks so invulnerable that there is but little chance of success, the affair is quietly dropped; but if otherwise, then no expenditure of time or misapplied ingenuity is spared to gain the desired end; the house is constantly watched, and the habits of its inmates observed, their ordinary times of going out and coming in being noted. ”

“ No regulations for fireproof building can be complete without most stringent rules for using the best fire resisting doors, for what the door of a boiler-furnace is to the fire within, the door of a room is to combustion going on inside: it will, if insecure, allow air in to feed the flames so long as there is fuel to burn. ”

“ SAFES AGAINST FIRE. PERHAPS there is a greater demand for fire-resisting than for thief-resisting safes, and certainly it is in the former character that they are most often put to the test. The consideration, therefore, of what is the best form of construction to cope with fire is most important; while it is also a much simpler matter than when strength against thieves is required.
In fire we have an element whose character is known, and which cannot attack us in some new way for which we are not fully prepared. ”

“ But whatever the cost of these highly advantageous systems of construction, there are certain buildings which demand the application of the very best methods of erection in order to secure their safety from the devouring flames. In public museums and art galleries we have buildings which cannot have too much attention and money paid to make them safe; and their safety from or liability to fire is a topic of much interest. ”

“ A man who commits a great robbery is not one who up to that moment was honest and industrious; it is most probable that he has been an associate of thieves, and has been apprenticed to it, so to speak, as to a trade; hence the advantage of the new system by which he can be watched and if necessary captured on suspicion. The London police have now on their register 117,000 names of habitual criminals, and the list is said to be increasing at the rate of 30,000 a year. ”

“ Many fires commence from a spark or ash falling out of the fire when it is not properly protected by a guard or fender. The habit of raking out a fire at night is a popular but mischievous one. If left to burn in the grate there is far less chance of danger than in raking out the hot ashes, which are likely to split the hearth-stone or fall on the floor or carpet. Gas-burners are dangerous when placed near the ceiling. A remarkable instance of this took place where a gas-jet set fire to a ceiling 281⁄2 inches from it. ”