Chicago Tribune, January 21, 1904
NEW SCHOOLS TO BE SAFE.
Board Votes to Make All of Fireproof Construction.
All Chicago public schools more than two stories high erected in the future will be made fireproof. This decision was reached last night by the board of education, and new schools therefore will be of iron and steel construction, with fireproof walls, siairs, and floors.
The board also concurred in the appropriation of’$8,000 for spiral fire escapes for eight of the old buildings, the John Marshall, Austin High, Lewis, Hendricks, Tilton, Skinner, Headley, and Haven schools.
A protest against the use of school halls for political or sectarian purposes was received from the Civic federation and was ignored. The letter was from B. E. Sunny, president of the federation.
Chicago Tribune, January 23, 1904
FIRE DRILLS IN CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The public school children like their fire drills better than their books or calisthenies. This is the verdict of Architect Mundie and the school trustees who have witnessed some of the drill.
“There is not a pupil in the public schools who would not like to go down through one of our new spiral fire escapes,” declared Architect Mundie.
Fire drills are being held at regular intervals in all the schools. Yesterday Principal William J. Bogan of the Washington school rang the fire bell at his school, and within less than two minutes every child and teacher was on the sidewalk. The Washington school is not equipped with a spiral escape, but the children hope to have one, as they have been told how much fun it is to go through them. They have heard of the rule in Kansas City, which permits only the children who have high marks to leave school at the close of the session by way of the spiral chute. It is said that the scholarship average in the Kansas City schools has been raised 10 per cent by this rule.
- Left: Fire Drill at Washington School, Erie and Morgan Streets.
Right: Design of Spiral Fire Escape at Jones School.
Fireproof Magazine, October, 1904
SPIRAL FIRE ESCAPE ON THE JOHN MARSHALL SCHOOL, CHICAGO .
This shows one of the new fire escapes which the Board of Education is putting up for the protection of the school children and teachers. The Chicago Record-Herald, describing a test made in another school, similarly equipped, says:
“Three hundred boys and girls slid down a twisting steel pathway from the fourth floor of the Skinner Public School to the ground in less than four minutes yesterday afternoon . The occasion was a test of the spiral fire escape invented by F. M. Bender and now installed at a number of the city schools. George Duddleston, J. J. Hayes and Dr. J. F. Chvatal of the school board; R. B. Williamson, acting architect of the board, and others witnessed the test and expressed themselves is pleased with the working of the apparatus . The time occupied by one person in sliding from the fourth floor to the ground was about five seconds. The children were “fed” into the top of the spiral by teachers and emerged at the bottom. There is a device for keeping the outside of the cylinder wet, thus preventing its being turned into an oven by heat from the burning building.”
The doors at bottom cannot be opened from the outside. A small box, or dog, or a single boy, sent ahead, opens the door by striking against a projection on the inside of the door, automatically loosening the catch. They have to prevent the children playing “helter skelter” on it.
- Left: Spiral Fire Escape on the John Marshall School, Chicago.
Right: Base of Spiral Fire Escape on John Marshall School, Chicago.
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