DESCRIPTION of the facility from 1940 Annual report of the Board of Directors of State Institutions

NOTE:  Requesting permission to publish - keep as draft until permission received

Title	Annual report of the Board of Directors of State Institutions
Creator	Arizona Board of Directors of State Institutions
Publisher	Arizona Board of Directors of State Institutions
State Agency	Arizona Board of Directors of State Institutions
Browse Topic	Health and Medicine
Subject	Public institutions--Arizona;

 (Note – some errors in spelling may be present due to flaws in character recognition when scanning the original document).

Digitized in Arizona Memory Project
https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/statepubs/id/32640/rec/3

The Arizona Pioneers’ Home and Hospital consists of an el shaped building constructed on the side of a hill and on solid rock. This building is of composite construction and has a pitched wood roof, asbestos shingle covered, except the dining room, recreation room and help’s living quarters, which is of fire resistive construction, having a false wood (unclear) and a covered roof. Because of the previous weak construction; lack of fire walls and sufficient emergency exits; lack of sufficient horizontal and vertical fire stops; made probable severe fires liable to involve the entire building. Since the first fire protection appliances are inadequate, fires would likely be attended by injuries to the occupants and probably loss of life.

GENERAL
The Arizona Pioneers’ Home was originally started in 1910 and added to in 1916, 1919, 1926 and 1929. It is classed as a 175 bed hospital and pioneers’ home. The different sections cover a ground floor area of 26,000 · square feet. The hospital is supported by the State of Arizona and administ­ration is through the Board of Directors of State Institutions three in number. Executive control is in the hands of a superintendent appointed by the board. There are 25 employees including the superintendent, nurses and mechanics. There is no general ventilating system, the present practice being to depend upon window ventilation throughout. There is a 6 x 6 foot light well, with a 14-inch metal ventilator and a 12-inch exhaust fan, directly over the kitchen ranges. This light well is metal lined and has a metal frame wired glass skylight above the roof level. The mop and broom closets are not ventilated and wet mops should be used at all times.

CONSTRUCTION, OCCUPANCY AND PROTECTION
The old part of the Pioneers' Home consists of a rectangular ordinary joisted brick (class C) building, erected in 1910 and 1911 and is in fair repair. It is two stories, support basement and attic in height and has a ground floor area of 7,167 ·square feet, 1287 square feet of which consist of a front porch on the cast. The walls are 12 inch brick, except basement walls, which are stone and concrete foundation walls. Partitions are frame wood lath and plaster covered. This section is the center of the building, communicating with the north wing through a hall way on first and second and a doorway on first, these are protected with manually operated non-standard fire doors. This section communicates with the dining room on the first floor through a short brick hallway, which has a concrete slab floor and roof, closed by double wood doors at the dining room entrance. This section also communicates with the south wing through an open hallway on the ground floor, first and second floors; openings not protected. 

The roof is of the pitched type constructed of cross-braced rafters, asbestos shingle covered. The attic is vented through a window and medium sized louvered openings, not sufficient. There are four metal ventilators from the ceiling of the second floor extending through the attic space and above the roof. There are no other roof openings. The floors are of the ordinary wood joisted construction. The ceilings are wood lath and plaster on wood ceiling joists. There are two open frame stairways from first to second floors and one narrow frame stairway from the basement to first floor having two sides of wood but not closed at either floor level. The wood stairway from the second floor to the attic space is enclosed with wood lath and plaster partitions and a wood door. There is a 16 x 22-inch laundry chute metal lined and has ordinary wood self-closing doors at floor openings. 

The occupancy of the old section is as follows: Basement: Private rooms and laundry separating room. First floor: Superintendent’s dining room, private rooms, janitor’s closet, lobby, barber shop and office. Second floor: Private rooms and wards. Attic: Small amount of miscellaneous storage. The first aid fire protection and private inside protection consists of two 2½ gallon soda and acid extinguishers, each floor and one in the base­ment. There are two standpipes with 50 feet of 1½ inch linen hose attached, on first and second floors, but none in the basement. The north wing consists of a rectangular brick and concrete (class C) building erected in 1916 and added to in 1926 and in good repair. It is two stories, small basement and attic in height, having a ground floor area of 7,128 square feet, 1,728 square feet is the new section and frame porch.

The walls are 12 and 16 inch brick, reinforced with brick pilasters. The small basement has concrete foundation walls. Partitions are frame wood lath and plaster and steel frame metal lath and plaster. This section communicates with the old section as mentioned before. It also communicates with the kitchen through a hallway opening und a stucco frame porch attached to the kitchen. The basement of this section is entered from the basement under the kitchen through a doorway closed by an ordinary wood door. The west end is exposed 45 feet distant by a 20 x 24 foot frame private garage. 

The roof is of the pitched type constructed of wood sheathing over heavy wood trusses, asbestos shingle covered. The attic space is not used, but communications with the attic space of the old section and has but one small window and two small louvered openings at the east end for ventilation. The floors are concrete slab over bay and beam construction with wood sub floors over. Ceilings are plastered floor slab first and wood lath and plaster second. There is one open concrete stairway first to second having wood treads. The basement is entered from the basement of the kitchen. There is one 8 x 8 foot elevator shaft constructed outside the building proper, having two outside frame walls and two brick corner walls. This elevator shaft has ordinary wood doors at floor openings and attaches to the wood roof. 

 The occupancy of the north wing is as follows: Basement: Grocery storage First Floor: Wards, dining room for hospital, dispensary, private rooms, linen closets, and superintendent's living room and bed room. Second floor: Private rooms, wards, linen closet, nurses room and parlor for ladies section. The first aid fire protection and private inside protection consists of one 2½ gallon soda and acid extinguisher and one standpipe with 50 feet of 1½ inch linen hose attached, on each of the first and second floors. There is no protection in the basement. The south wing consists of a rectangular shaped part ordinary joisted brick and part fire resistive construction (class C) building. 

The joisted brick section was erected in 1919 and the fire resistive section erected in 1929. Building is in good repair. It is three and four stories and attic in height having been built on a sloping hill, and has a ground floor area of 6,320 square feet. The walls of the joisted brick part are 12 and 16 inch brick, but the walls of the new fire resistive part are 16 inch concrete, 12 and 16 inch brick. The partitions are frame wood lath and plaster in the joisted brick section and steel frame metal lath and plaster in the fire resistive section. This wing communicates with the old section as mentioned before, openings not protected. The fire resistive section four stories in height is cut off from the brick joisted section except through the attic space. 

The third and fourth floors have 12 and 16 inch brick walls between sections and hall openings are protected with labeled single metal clad fire doors. The two lower floors between these two sections is taken up by the boiler room which has a non-standard metal clad fire door at the single opening. The roof is of the pitched type constructed of light rafters cross braced with heavier timbers, the brick joisted and the fire resistive part covered with asbestos shingles. There is but one small window and two small louvered openings used to vent this attic space, located in the east end. Floors are of the ordinary wood joisted construction in the joisted brick section and in the fire resis­tive part are concrete slab over protected steel joists, except the lower floor which is concrete slab over rock. The ceilings are wood lath and plaster on ceiling joists in the joisted brick section, but are metal lath and plaster on steel floor joists and wood roof joists in the fire resistive section. 

There are two stairways, one open wood stairway from ground floor to third in the joisted brick part and one open concrete stairway from second to fourth floors of the fire resistive section. There are two sma11 (?) and light walls on either side of communication between the old section and the joisted brick section of the south wing. These vertical shafts have three sides constructed of wood metal covered, the fourth side is a brick wall. The windows and open­ings to those light wells are wood frame with ordinary glass panels. There are wood traps from the third floor of the joisted brick section over the closets and bathrooms, into the attic space. 

The occupancy of the South wing is as follows: Ground floor of fire resistive section: Boiler room, private rooms, and help's quarters. Ground floor of joisted brick section and second floor of fire resistive section: Private rooms and wards. second and third floors of the joisted brick section and third and fourth floors of the fire resistive section: Private rooms and wards. The first aid fire protection and private inside fire protection consists of three .2½ gallon soda and acid extinguishers on the second floor of the joisted brick section and third floor of the fire resistive section, two 2½ gallon soda and acid extinguishers on the third floor of the joisted brick section and fourth floor of the fire resistive section. 

There is one standpipe with 50 feet of 1½ inch linen hose on each floor of the fire resistive section and on ea.eh floor of the joisted brick section. There is a standpipe with 50 feet of 1½ inch linen hose attached in the boiler room also. The dining hall section consists of a rectangular fire resistive (Class E) building erected in 1929 and in good repair. It is two stories in height and has a ground floor area of 3600 square feet.       T

he walls are 12 and 14 inch concrete, stuccoed on all sides and rise 2 feet above a false wood ­sheathed composition covered roof. Partitions are steel frame metal lath and plaster cove ed. This building communicates with the old section as mentioned before. It also communicates with the kitchen through a small brick tray room with wood doors at openings. The roof is of the flat type constructed of steel joists covered with concrete slab and having a wood sheathed composition covered false roof over this slab. There are four 14 inch metal ventilators installed for venting of this space. The floors are constructed of steel joists on concrete outer walls and inside steel columns, covered with a 4 inch concrete slab. 

The steel columns are protected with steel frame metal l nth and plaster covered. The ceilings are metal and plaster on steel floor joist. There are no floor openings, the ground floor has an outside entrance and the second floor has an entrance from the lobby of the old section which has an outside concrete stairway. There is a 10 x 90 foot concrete walkway along the south side, which in turn is connected to the second floor of the fire resistive section of the South wing by n concrete walkway, 5 x 25 feet. The occupancy of the dining hall is as follows:

Ground floor: Recreation room and private rooms.

Second floor: Dining hall. The first aid fire protection and private inside standpipes consist of but one standpipe with 50 feet of ½ inch linen hose attached on the ground floor. The kitchen consists of a rectangular brick and concrete (Class C) building erected in 1910 and added to in 1929. It is in good repair and is one story with smo.11 basement in height. The ground floor area is 1,788 square feet. The walls are 12-inch brick, except in the basement, which are concrete foundation walls. Partitions are wood lath and plaster and metal lath and plaster. This building communicates with the dining hall and north wing as describ­ed before. 

The roof is of the pitched tupo constructed of wood rafters, covered with asbestos shingles. The attic space is not ventilated. There is one 6 x 6 ft. metal frame wired glass skylight over a metal lined light well directly over the kitchen ranges. The floors are concrete slab, the first floor is of bay and beam construction with wood sub-floor over the slab. The ceiling of the old part is wood lath and plaster, · but the new part is metal lath and plaster on wood ceiling joists. There is a sma11 open -wood stairway to the basement, closed on the first floor level with partition walls and-an ordinary wood door. 

The occupancy of the kitchen section is as follows: Basement: Store room and machinery room. First floor: Kitchen, joining room for help, vegetable room, ice box, and tray room. There is no first aid, fire protection or private inside protection in this section. There is a 12 x 22-foot stone and concrete fuel house 24 feet South­west of the North wing, having a concrete floor and a wood frame metal covered roof. This is used to store coal and wood for use in the kitchen. 

FIRE EXITS The arrangement of the sections described in this report is such, that the emergency exits provided are not adequate. In these different sections, the open inside stairways would probably be rendered useless in case of a severe fire. The vertical steel ladders located on the frame porches on the East would be useless since the occupants are mainly helpless due to old age. The only emergency exits which might be used are the steel fire escapes located on the west end of the South wing and the concrete walkway on the South side of the dining hall, end connected to the outside concrete stairway on the Ne side of the South wing.

COMMON HAZARDS Light and power: Lighting is by incandescent electric lamps. The new buildings have all electrical wiring in conduit, but the older buildings have open knob and tube wiring. The open wiring is in a poor and hazardous condition, resting on bell wires and on wood ceiling joists. Electricity for light and power is furnished by the local power company. Ordinary lamp cord is used where needed, which is a general practice.  All sections are heated by two 50 H.P. low pressure boilers located on the ground flo0r of the new part of the South wing; Heat is distrib­uted by steam radiators, pipes are lagged and kept away from woodwork, suspended from metal hangers. Oil is used as fuel and is stored in~ steel tank partly buried 26 feet south of the South wing and having a capacity of 13,000 gallons. 

There is a 125 gallon fuel tank located in the boiler room used as an auxiliary supply. This small tank is elevated above the burners. The oil burners are fed by electrically driven pumps and are in accord with the National Board of Underwriter's regulations as long as the small auxiliary tank is not in use. There is a flame gas installation in the dining room for use in heating the coffee urn. There are two tanks of the compressed gas located adjoining the South wall of the kitchen and adjacent to the North wall of the dining room in a metal cabinet. Housekeeping: The cleanliness of the building and premises in general is a commendable feature and illustrates the good management of the institution. This is s0mewhnt offset by the use of oil mops and the arrangement of storage near the boiler man's quarters, storage in small closets over the building and the accumulation of oil around machinery.

SPECIAL HAZARDS

 Incinerators: There is a steel incinerator located over 100 feet west of the building, but most of the garbage and trash is hauled away.

Kitchen: The main kitchen described before in this report noted not criticized. The coal and wood ranges rest on a protected false wood floor over a concrete slab floor beneath. Compressed gas is piped to the coffee urn at the dining room door, but is well installed and the Woodwork is well protected.

Refrigeration System: A small Frigidaire unit is installed in the basement and is piped to the freezing unit directly overhead in the refrigeration room located in the kitchen. The machinery is not kept very clean, lint and grease have accumulated around the unit.

Landry and Sewing Room: There is no laundry, other than a small amount done by some of the occupants. Most of the laundry is done by a local concern. There is no defined sewing room and an electric sewing machine is used.

Pharmacy: There is a small amount of non-hazardous drugs kept in the dispensary room, no special mention or criticism need be made.

Laboratory: There is no laboratory, · the doctor in charge uses the laboratory located in the city.
X-ray laboratory and X-ray storage. There is no X-ray work done at the Pioneers' Home and Hospital, This is, when needed to be done, done at the doctor's laboratory in the city.

ANESTHETICS & OPERATING ROOM: There is no operating done or anesthetics used at the hospital, this when needed is done elsewhere.

PROTECTION The inside first-aid protection and private inside standpipes with hose have been noted in detail for each section of this large building and is considered inadequate as a whole for proper protection. The city water supply in the vicinity of the hospital and Pioneers ' Home is now considered adequate to properly protect a building of its type and size, except in case of an extremely severe fire. There are three two way hydrants with a pumper connection within 300 feet on six inch mains fed two ways from eight inch mains, two and four blocks distant. The distribution system is very poorly gridironed, because of the r rocky and steep hills surround­ing the Pioneer' Home and hospital. 

First alarm response to a fire at the hospital would be a 750 G~P.M. pumper carrying short ladders, hose and a booster tank and ~ 600 G.P.M. (Triple Bank) pumper carrying 20 feet to 75 feet extension l adders, hose and a booster tank. ·These pumpers are located 8 blocks distant, since the accessibility of the hospital grounds is not by a very direct route. The routes used into this property traverse privately owned land. The hospital depends upon the telephone system and auxiliary alarm boxes located inside and outside of the building for transmission of alarms. The telephones are fairly well located and are three in number. There have been no instructions concerning the transmission of alarms to the city fire department posted near the se telephones or auxiliary fire alarm boxes. There are no fire drills held.

CONCLUSIONS In this large building, owing to the combustible nature of construct­ion, lack of fire walls and sufficient protection to horizontal openings, the absence of protection to floor openings, such as elevator and stairs, any fire, once under way, would spread rapidly and involve the entire building. Since the first aid fire protection, inside private protection from standpipes and hose, are inadequate, smoke fires would likely become serious and under such conditions exit facilities for some sections of this building would be inadequate. These facts would probably cause serious injuries or even loss of life among the patients.