fireproof

Proof against fire; incombustible. Buildings are rendered fire-proof by constructing them entirely of brick or stone, and using iron doors, lintels, ., and stone stairs. Wood can be treated with silicate of soda, which, on the application of strong heat, fuses into a kind of gla , forming a shield against fire. Cloth or wood impregnated with certain saline substances will not blaze. Borax, alum, and phosphate of soda or ammonia are recommended as most suitable for this purpose. By treating cloth with graphite in a bath in which the mineral is suspended, and then subjecting it to the action of the electro metallic bath, the cloth may be coated with metal. Woolen and ordinary stuffs may be treated with borax, alum, or soluble gla , but these cannot well be applied to the lighter descriptions, which are most liable to take fire. A weak solution of chloride of zinc has long been employed by figurantes to render their dre es incombustible. Fire - proof building : The term is somewhat loosely applied, and may be held to mean: (1) A building absolutely incombustible, such as one whose walls, floors, and roofs are of metal, stone, brick, or cement. (2) A building capable of opposing the acce of fire from without, having walls, window shutters, and roofs which are incombustible from external flame and heat. Fire - proof safe : A safe for the protection of valuables in case of the burning of a building in which they are placed. Fire- proof structure : A vault, safe, or building proof against destruction by fire, either from the outside or by the burning of its contents. The provision against outside fire is the usual object, but in fire-proof structures the internal floors or partitions must also be impenetrable by fire, to make the building technically fire-proof.