SECURITY AGAINST FIRE

The Corporation has passed the following recommendations to lessen danger from fire in the College dormitories, made to it by W. S. Burke, Inspector of Grounds and Buildings:

1. Close permanently all transoms over doors from suites to halls. Where halls are lighted from suites, wired glass may be used. In other cases use wired glass or other material giving at least as good protection as the doors.

2. Where basement doors are commonly hooked open, provide fusible link fastenings and springs on doors so that in case of fire in the basement, the doors will close and latch automatically.

3. Provide gongs in all dormitory entries wherever a fire might shut off access to the stairs-these gongs to be arranged to operate automatically through a fusible link, and also by mechanical means from various places in the entries, those operating places to be suitably protected. Arrange to have these gongs tested at regular intervals, probably monthly.

The purposes of these recommendations are to prevent fire and smoke from spreading rapidly from rooms to halls and from halls to rooms; to prevent fire and smoke from spreading rapidly from basements to halls; and to give a prompt general alarm in case of fire in a hallway, and to supply a means of giving a general alarm in case of fire anywhere.

Recommendations 1 and 2 will probably be carried out immediately, but it will take at least two months to complete number 3, as the apparatus required does not seem to be in the market.