It is desirable to know the hot spots, the places in school buildings where fires are most likely to originate. The N. F. P. A.5 showed that for 613 school fires the places of origin were: for student-occupied areas about 36.5 percent of all fires; for service areas, 34.1 percent; from outside, 12.4 percent; and for miscellaneous known places of origin, about 17.0 percent. This record also showed the specific areas in which these fires originated. Some of the reported points of origin of these 613 school fires were:

As indicated, fires occur in all types of buildings. One record of 764 school fires showed that nearly 70 percent of the fires reported occurred in buildings with masonry walls and wooden interiors. However, some of these fires occurred in fire-resistive buildings.

II. Furnace Rooms Heating and Ventilating Systems HEATING AND VENTILATING systems are the sources of many school fires. The nature and use of the heating plant create potential fire hazards. However, suitable construction and adequate care and control will reduce these hazards to a minimum.

Furnace rooms

The furnace room is one of the hot spots in the school building and numerous school fires originate there. It often has combustibles for fuel and heat which together may create serious fire hazards. It is usually somewhat segregated and is often unattended while the custodian is in another part of the building.

"School Fires." National Fire Protection Association, Boston, Mass., 1946 p. 27. Op. cit., p. 30.

Location

1. Furnace rooms should not be located under traffic corridors or assembly

areas.

2. An outside but adjacent location is preferable for most school buildings.

Construction

1. The walls, floors, and ceilings of the furnace room should be of fire-resistive construction.

2. There should be one door exit to the outside, and there may be one directly to the main part of the building.

3. The door opening to the main building should be protected with an approved automatic or self-closing fusible link fire door.

4. The coal fuel storage room should be of fire-resistive construction.

It is preferable that the fuel room be outside the building, adjacent to but separated from the furnace room by a fire-resistive wall. Door openings from the fuel to the furnace room should be protected by a fire-resistive door.

5. Furnace-room arrangements and furnace locations should facilitate repair work, operation, and frequent inspections.

HEATING AND VENTILATING SYSTEMS

Furnaces

Some school furnaces are located in rooms with combustible walls and ceilings, sometimes with open joists covered with old oil-soaked floors. In some cases it is not possible to move these furnaces immediately or to make the furnace rooms entirely fireproof; however, it is usually possible to reduce furnace-room fire hazards. The following suggestions apply to furnaces in all locations and particularly to those in combustible areas. 1. Smoke breechings and steam headers should be at least 18 inches from the combustible ceilings. Metal and asbestos shields suspended between the ceiling and the furnace and extending back over the breeching provide added protection. Cement plaster on metal lath on combustible ceilings also provides some protection.

2. Smoke pipes should be whole, of heavy metal, and should fit snugly at each end. Pipes should have solid joints and should be properly supported.

3. Combustible partitions, benches, or cases near the furnace should be removed.

4. The furnace and heating plant should have capacities to provide the services needed without overloading.

Furnace-room storage and housekeeping

1. Avoid using the furnace room for the storage of broken equipment, lumber, or junk.

2. Do not permit the storage of paper supplies, waste paper, oils, paints,

or waxes in the furnace room.

3. Keep the furnace room clean. Rubbish furnishes tinder for fire.

4. Keep motors clean. Do not permit oils from engine or motor bearings to drip on the floors.

5. Do not permit waste to accumulate in or around incinerators or coalfired water heaters located in the furnace room.

Care and operation of the heating plant

Lack of proper care and poor operating practices may make even good heating plants into potential machines of destruction.

1. Furnace overheating may be hazardous. It should not be necessary to force the furnace for the morning warm-up period or during the day. 2. The use of kerosene or other flammable oils to start fires is dangerous. 3. Banking fires with fire-box doors open may be hazardous.

4. Ashes should never be piled on the furnace room floor or placed in combustible containers. If a fireproof storage bin is not available, ashes should be removed from the building as soon as feasible.

5. Explosion possibilities should be reduced to a minimum.

Boiler water

levels should be checked frequently. Blow out and pop valves should be in good working order and checked often.

Damper controls

6. Defective heating plants cause many fires. Cracked furnaces should be repaired. Broken parts should be replaced. should be kept in good working order.

7. Heating-plant mechanical equipment, such as motors and engines, should be adequately maintained and protected.

8. The furnace is not an incinerator.

Rubbish and waste paper should not

be burned in it or stored in it during vacations.

9. Relief valves on hot water tanks should operate freely.

10. The whole heating system should be inspected periodically by a competent person for operating safety and fire hazards.

Fuels, fuel storage

1. Coal storage outside the classroom building is preferable. Coal bin fires may occur when not anticipated. Old slack coal should be moved to the front of the bin before filling for the season.

2. Kindling should not be stored in fuel bins.

3. Coal fuel chutes should not feed directly from the bin to the furnace. They may feed to stoker hoppers.

4. Stoker regulators and cut-offs should be positive and should be checked often.

5. Oil storage tanks should be outside the building. Oil feed lines should be trapped. (Watch oil burners for leaks or overflow. Never relight an extinguished oil burner when there is free oil in the fire pit.)

6. Gas line cut-offs should be outside the building. Watch for gas leaks. Use a pilot light in lighting fires.

7. All gas used should have a malodorant to facilitate detection and pressures should be within safe limits.

Chimneys

Chimneys are the sources of numerous fire hazards. They are subjected to intense heat and some of them extend through concealed spaces.

1. Chimneys should extend to the ground. They should be perpendicular with no drifting.

2. Chimney linings of heat-resisting materials, such as fire brick or fire tile, should extend to a point above the area of intense heat. It is generally desirable to have these linings extend to the top of the chimney. Chimney walls should be stable and have sufficient thickness or insulation to limit heat conduction through them.

3. Chimney openings into classrooms are generally undesirable. If necessary, when room heat generators are used, avoid having openings from more than one floor into each chimney. Flue holes not in use should be closed.

4. Joists should not extend into or rest upon any part of the chimney walls. The chimney should not be used as a support. Air space should be provided between the chimney and combustible materials near it. 5. Breeching connections to the chimney should be tight. Chimney leaks should be closed. Chimneys should be inspected frequently, particularly in attics, for leaks.

6. Frequent chimney cleaning may be necessary with certain types of fuel. Chimney base cleanouts are essential.

7. Chimneys should extend a sufficient distance above walls and roofs near them to provide draft and to reduce the danger of roof fires from flue sparks. Low chimneys may more easily permit dangerous back-drafts. Tall isolated chimneys may need approved lightning rod protection. 8. With low chimneys and with combustible roof construction, spark arresters are desirable when using certain fuels.

Heat lines and local heating units

1. Ample clearance between steam lines and combustible walls or woodwork is essential.

2. Room stoves should be shielded from floors or any other combustible materials near them.

3. Gas heaters should be vented. Portable gas, oil, or electric heaters are not desirable for schoolroom use. Gas steam radiators are difficult to vent and are not generally recommended for schoolroom use. Where used, they should be equipped with pressure releases.

4. Suspended gas convectors may be hazardous if not properly shielded and vented.

5. Fireplaces should have masonry hearths and should be screened.

6. Clothing, papers, or other combustible materials should not be left on steam pipes, radiators, or other heating units.

Heating and ventilating ducts and fans

1. Heating and ventilating ducts should be self-contained and of noncombustible materials. Unlined enclosed spaces, such as between wood joists or over combustible corridor ceilings, should not be used as heat ducts.

2. Ventilating ducts should not empty into open attics. This is particularly bad if the attic is of combustible construction. Self-closing shutters at duct intakes may retard fire spread.

3. Hot-air furnace duct outlets should not be too near the furnace.

4. Vent duct outlets from classrooms should not be connected in walls but should extend through the roof or to an enclosed plenum chamber.

5. Corridor ventilating systems may spread fire and create smoke blocks in

traffic lanes.

6. Heat ducts serving several rooms should have cut-off dampers. Fan blower cut-offs should be available.

7. Air filters may be combustible and should not be exposed to fire.

III. Roof and Attic Hazards

MANY SCHOOL FIRES originate on roofs or in attic areas. The roof probably is more exposed than any other part of the building to fire hazards from other buildings. It is also exposed to sparks from the building furnace and from lightning. The attic which is often used to store combustible waste may have exposed wiring in contact with combustible joists. Each of these areas is somewhat isolated from view and may be very dry from the effects of uprising building heat. Fires originating in these areas may spread quickly before being detected.

Roofs

1. Roof surfacing should be of noncombustible or fire-retardant materials. Old curled shingles and broken or frayed sheet roofing are invitations to fire and should be replaced.

2. The use of combustible wood roof framing and sheeting may endanger a building that is fire-resistive in wall and floor construction.

3. Leaves and rubbish in gutters and valleys may be ignited by sparks and should be removed.

4. Loose flashings may collect combustible waste and should be repaired. 5. Small burned spots or pits on roofs from sparks are indications of fire hazards. Using spark arresters, increasing the chimney height, or changing fuels may be desirable.

6. Roof skylights, cupolas, and dormer windows often have some combustible materials in their construction. They may collect dirt and waste and create fire hazards.

7. Electric wires in contact with roofs may lose their insulation through abrasion and become a direct cause of fires. Such wires should be relocated.

8. There is no one best type of roofing for all schools. Built-up roofing over a noncombustible roof slab is considered fire-resistive. Tile, slate, and asbestos-cement shingles, or metal roofs, when on noncombustible framing, have a high degree of fire resistance. Heavy built-up asphalt or tar roofs or heavy composition shingles with protective slag or gravel surfaces help retard fire spread.

9. Roof ladders in the attic may facilitate frequent roof inspections.