personal injuries caused by a violation. No criminal prosecution to be commenced until after four weeks' notice, in writing, by a factory inspector of changes necessary, with opportunity to comply with the law.

Enforcement.-Charged to factory-inspection department of district police.1

C. Provisions applicable to Boston city only.

(a) Every building shall have, with reference to its height, condition, construction, surroundings, character of occupation, and number of occupants, reasonable means of egress in case of fire satisfactory to the [local] building commissioner.

Except that in all factories or workshops, hereafter built or altered, of second-class construction, where 10 or more persons are employed above the second floor, one exit shall consist of a fireproof stairway inclosed in incombustible material.

[A second-class building is one of which the external and party walls only are fireproof.]

(b) Every permanent building more than 20 feet high having a flat roof shall have permanent means of access to the roof from the inside by an opening not less than 2 by 3 feet, with a fixed stepladder.

Penalty. Not exceeding $100.

Enforcement. Charged to building department of Boston, which department is under the charge of a building commissioner appointed by the mayor.

Reviewing the provisions quoted above, the following points may be noted:

1. The law provides that inspectors may issue certificates of compliance for factories, etc., outside of Boston in which 10 or more persons are employed above the second floor (B. I. a.) Nineteen such factories were visited. A certificate of the character mentioned was found in only 1 of these 19. Most manufacturers were unaware of this feature of the law.

2. The law (B. II. d.) provides that in factories of the class mentioned above an inspector may prohibit the employment of women and children in a room above the second story which has only one egress. The chief inspector stated that no fixed rule had been made in this matter, as many rooms with only one egress are entirely safe. 3. Stairways on the outside of a building (of the class above described) must have suitable railed landings accessible and unobstructed (B. II. c.) But the law makes no such provision if fixed ladders are used instead of stairways, nor does it prohibit the use of such ladders.

1 Rev. Laws, 1902, ch. 108, sec. 8, as amended by ch. 413, Acts of 1907 (22d An. Rept. Com. of Labor, p. 609)..

2 Acts of 1907, ch. 550, secs. 1, 11, 12, and 132.

4. The requirement that in buildings outside of Boston doors open outward; that egresses and means of escape be kept unobstructed, in good repair, ready for use, and marked "Exit" in large letters; that landings of fire escapes be kept free of ice and snow and other obstructions; and that fire apparatus be provided are mandatory and leave little to the discretion of the inspector.

*

Aside from these requirements the law makes no provision concerning the character of the egresses in buildings outside of Boston and already erected except that they must be "proper" and "sufficient for the use of all persons * * employed * * therein." Therefore, either inside or outside exits may be maintained. If inside, they may be incombustible or otherwise; if outside, they may be ladders or fire escapes, wooden or metallic; and in any case there is no violation of the law unless the inspector gives written notice stating what additional means of escape are necessary and the owner, lessee, or occupant refuses or neglects to supply the same.

CONDITIONS FOUND.

Of the 44 establishments visited in Massachusetts, 37 had buildings 3 or more stories in height. Eighteen of these were in Boston and 19 outside of Boston. The following table classifies the buildings of the several establishments by height and shows the number in each height group having certain more important means of fire protection. Also, as the laws governing fire protection make important distinctions between Boston and the rest of the State, the table makes this separation. None of the 18 buildings in Boston entered in this table was of frame construction and 2 were "fireproofed", i. e., of reinforced concrete, etc. Of the 19 entered as "outside of Boston," 5 were wholly or partly of frame construction, and 1 was fireproofed.

KIND OF FIRE PROTECTION, BY HEIGHT AND CHARACTER OF CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS-MASSACHUSETTS.

Each entry represents 1 building. When an establishment has more than 1 building and the several buildings are not uniform as regards fire protection, the principal building has been selected as representative. A building constructed partly of wood is classed in the table as a frame building. Figures for fire escapes wholly or partly of wood are not shown in the table.]

1 Not including 17 establishments, not reported as to construction.
Not including 1 establishment, not reported as to construction.
Not including 16 establishments, not reported as to construction.
Not including 33 establishments, not reported as to construction.

49450°-S. Doc. 645, 61-2, vol 19-16

In several of the establishments visited straight iron ladders served as fire escapes. These are entered in the above table, but the value of straight iron ladders in case of fire is questionable. Four establishments, 1 of which was a 4-story building, had outside fire escapes of "wood." These were merely fixed wooden ladders, some with and some without wooden landings.

RHODE ISLAND.

SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION.

The law of Rhode Island requires that certain classes of buildings, including factories employing persons above the second floor, shall have outside metallic fire escapes or inside incombustible stairways. It also provides that in factories employing 25 or more persons the exit and hall doors shall open outward. The law is not entirely clear as to what officials are to enforce these provisions as regards factories. Primarily it would appear that this duty devolves upon local building inspectors, where such exist. In the section of the law establishing State factory inspectors and prescribing their duties it is provided, however, that such factory inspectors shall enforce the requirements of the factory law relating to "means of egress in case of fire." This authority is a broad one, and invests the factory inspectors with power to issue orders regarding fire escapes even though the local building inspectors have approved of the means of escape already provided.

The following is an abridgement of the several sections of the law. dealing with the subject of fire protection in factories and workshops as referred to above:

(A) Fire escapes.1

* *

* * *

(1) Every building three or more stories in height,
used
* * as a seminary, college, academy, schoolhouse,
hospital, asylum, hotel, lodging house,
* factory or
workshop in which employees are usually working in the third
or any higher story thereof, and every building used for office
purposes three or more stories in height, shall be provided * * *
(2) Either with proper and sufficient, strong, and durable,
metallic fire escapes upon the external walls, sufficient in
number, which fire escapes shall extend from the highest
occupied story to the top of the first story of said building;
(3) Or with proper and sufficient incombustible stairs and stair-
ways at opposite ends of the building, extending from the
highest occupied story to the ground;

(4) Said stairs and stairways shall be connected by open passage-
ways of suitable width;

(5) Said fire escapes, stairs, and stairways to be suitable and sufficient to afford to persons within said building proper

1Gen. Laws, 1896, ch. 108, secs. 1 to 14 (22d An. Rept. Com. of Labor, pp. 1211–1214).

egress

*

* *

*

*;

in case of fire therein, and to be kept in

repair (6) It shall be the duty of the inspectors of buildings of the * * * cities and towns, from time to time ** * * to make * * inspection of all buildings in the city or town * * which in their opinion might * * * be specially dangerous to persons therein in case of conflagration. (7) Said inspectors of buildings shall have power * * * to exempt by a written certificate *** any building from the provisions of this chapter, whenever in the opinion of said inspector said building, by reason of location * or for any other reason does not require said fire escapes * * * stairs, and stairways.

*

*

(8) Whenever the inspector of buildings * * shall * **
be satisfied that any building *** is provided with fire
escapes or with stairs and stairways, in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter, he shall upon request
* * *

give to

certificate *

*

* * *

owner a certificate to that effect.
*
shall exempt the owners * *
all civil and criminal liability under this chapter * *
Penalty.-$100 to $500.

(B) Doors opening outward.1

Such

from

(1) All buildings used as factories, laundries, or workshops
* * *. in which
* * * 25 or more persons are employed,
shall have the doors or windows of or to any exit or fire escape
so arranged as to swing outward. [The rooms of such build-
* * where the entrance * * *
ings] *
is from a cor-
ridor or hallway * * * shall have the doors of entrance
thereto so arranged as to swing outward.
(2) If any such door or window of such

* * *

room shall be locked or fastened during working hours the lock or fastening shall be such, and kept in such condition, that the same can be easily and quickly unlocked or unfastened

from the inside.

* * *

* * *

(3) It shall be the duty of the inspector of buildings of each city
or town to enforce
this act. In any city or town
where there is no such inspector it shall be the duty of each
of the factory inspectors, and such person or persons as may be
appointed for the purpose by any city or town council, to
enforce the same.

Penalty.-$100, and each day of failure to constitute a
separate offense.

(C) Means of egress."

*

If the factory inspectors, or either one of them, find that the means of egress in case of fire or other disaster is not sufficient, or in accordance with all the requirements of law, * * * either or both shall notify the proprietor of such factory or workshop to make the alterations or additions necessary within 90 days.

1 Acts of 1908, ch. 1536, secs. 7 to 11 (Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, No. 85, p. 762). 2 Gen. Laws, 1896, ch. 68, sec. 9 (22d An. Rept. Com. of Labor, p. 1209).