Masonry Magazine June 1980 Page. 40
EXIT
In case of fire, head for the nearest brick or block exit. You'll be safer there.
Fire walls built of brick and block won't burn. They won't smoke or smolder. They stop fire from spreading into stairwells. They assure you of a flame-free exit for occupants, as well as a way in for firemen.
Properly constructed masonry walls are air-tight, so they'll also keep smoke from spreading.
Masonry stands up to intense heat. It retains its structural strength in loadbearing buildings while steel loses its loadbearing capacity at temperatures above 1,000 degrees F. Glass and metal curtain walls can shatter and even melt in a fire, but not masonry.
And masonry stands up to intense water pressure, too, while partitions made of some other materials can collapse under heavy water exposure.
No one likes to think of fires breaking out in buildings, but every public and private building owner, designer and contractor has to. So build with masonry, just in case.
INTERNATIONAL MASONRY INSTITUTE
(The Bricklayers' International Union and the Mason Contractors in the U.S. and Canada)
823 Fifteenth St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
202/783-3908
IMI