The Fireproof Building

From the first American attempts at fireproof construction in the 1790s to the steel and concrete high-rises of the early 20th century, this text traces the development of structural fire protection in America and its important consequences for building construction as well as for the safety of cities. Urban conflagrations destroyed many downtowns in the 19th century. To protect their property, some owners made their buildings fire-resistive - or as they were called in the past, fireproof - by using new kinds of non-combustible materials and arranging the space inside to control the spread of fire. As these methods improved and owners replaced combustible buildings with fireproof ones, urban firestorms became a thing of the past. Sara E. Wermiel explores the work of the pioneers of structural fire protection, such as the architect Peter B. Wight. She explains when and why the materials of fire construction, including structural iron and hollow tile, came into use.
The relatively high cost of these materials discouraged many owners from adopting them, however, and the system finally began to be used widely only at the end of the 19th century, after large cities had enacted building laws mandating fireproof construction for tall buildings and theatres. Wermiel shows the impact of building laws on the development of technology: the laws stimulated demand for fireproofing materials, which spurred innovation and drove down costs. Although introduced simply as non-combustible substitutes for wood, the materials of the fireproof building - notably, structural iron and steel, and concrete - became the standard for commercial buildings in the 20th century. Not only did they reduce the risk of fire, but after architects adapted them to create the skeleton frame - the sine qua non of the modern skyscraper - they revolutionized building construction.