Excerpt from The Fireproofing of Steel Buildings The want of any systematized and collected form of in formation ou the subject of the development of the fireproofing of steel buildings and its present most approved and efficient methods of treatment', as recommended and used in the best practice of the day, has induced the author to offer this volume. It is hoped that it may rouse more general interest in a phase of building construction, the full importance of which, from an economic standpoint and from its close rela tion to the safety of human life, still largely remains to be realized in a practical and adequate way. The subject of fireproofing is still in the interesting stage of experimentation, and there is vast opportunity for practical ingenuity to make improvement and new suggestion. Indeed the term fireproof in relation to present imperfect conditions and environments is almost utopian. A building can, at best, be only relatively fire and water-proof. No structure can be considered as a unit, exclusive of its neighbor. But it may be assumed that a building designed and erected in accordance with the recommendations made in the following chapters, will be as nearly fireproof as the surrounding build ings and the character of the contents will permit. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.