DURING the construction of a submarine boat at the Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N . H ., in August, tgtg, an incipient fire occurred in one of the compartments, which was small and closely confined . A carbon tetrachloride fire extinguisher put out the blaze, but the men who used it were overcome by the fumes which they inhaled, and several days later died . They had the usual symptoms of poisoning due to a pulmonary, irritant gas .
At the request of the Bureau of Construction and Repair of the Navy Department, the Bureau of Miness investigated the effect of heat on carbon tetrachloride extinguishers with special reference to the nature of the decomposition products . The Pittsburgh Experiment Station has particularly good facilities for conducting gas investigations, and was also interested in the same subject in view of the use of carbon tetrachloride extinguishers in small rooms in mines for combating mine fires .
An employee of the Bureau of Mines suffered a similar though not fatal experience . While he was driving an automobile truck, a fire burst out under the engine hood . The auto was stopped but the engine continued to run . The driver stood on the running-board about three feet front the fire and applied carbon tetrachloride liquid from an extinguisher . The fire was put out but the engine tan blew the fumes which were generated back into the man's face . Inhalation of the gases caused him to lose consciousness and he fell to the ground . Several minutes elapsed before he was revived . A soreness of the respiratory system remained for weeks, then passed away, and no serious consequences resulted. This incident, and others not cited, show that there is a real danger in breathing these fumes under certain conditions at least .
A gastight chamber of moo cubic feet capacity was used for the first experiments with the carbon tetrachloride fire-extin-* Communicated by the Director of the Bureau of Mines . 543 'Schutzenberger. P., Sus quelques reactions donnant lieu a la formation de l'oxychlorure de carbone ; Compt.