FIREPROOF
\fˈa͡ɪ͡əpɹuːf], \fˈaɪəpɹuːf], \f_ˈaɪə_p_ɹ_uː_f]\
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By William Dodge Lewis, Edgar Arthur Singer
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Proof against fire; incombustible. Various plans have been adopted for rendering houses, or an apartment in a house, fireproof, as by constructing them entirely of brick or stone, and employing iron doors, ties, and lintels, stone staircases, and landings, In the case of textile fabrics, as cotton, line, etc., saturation with various salts, as borax, which leave their crystals in the substance of the fabrics, is the means adopted for rendering them incombustible. Wood is best protected by silicate of soda, which, on the application of strong heat, fuses into a glass, which enveloping not only the outside but also the internal fibres of the wood shield it from contact with the oxygen of the air. All that can be done by any process, however, is the prevention of conflagration; no mode yet known can prevent smouldering.
By Daniel Lyons