More than one way to get burnt fighting a fire at the Mint 0

[RWB]

This little letter is self-explanatory. The follow-up correspondence, and clothing bill, have not shown up -- yet.

[bsshog40]

No mention of any injury to Mr. Bristley. I presume he must have been wearing some FRC's. Lol 

[DWLange]

He shouldn't have tried to put out the fire with acid. 

[numisport]

Oddly enough many early fire extinguishers were the soda acid type where [when turned upside down] a glass bottle of sulfuric acid would mix with a bicarbonate mixture causing enough pressure to discharge the fluid through a hose and extinguish a type A fire.

[RWB]

There would have been open ceramic pots containing acid in the separating room. Maybe he sprayed the soda-acid extinguisher liquid at a pot and splashed hot, concentrated sulfuric acid?

[Conder101]

One of the important rules from chemistry, always add acid to water, never water to acid.  Adding water to a concentrated acid can cause it to boil explosively and splash all over you.

[RWB]

A key part of using the "sulfuric acid" process of separating gold and silver was that the acid had to be concentrated and close to boiling. The mints and NYAO had a system of steam pipes running through water jackets in which sat the ceramic acid pots. Refinery workers were in close proximity to acid, spattering liquids, boiling water, etc. Over the "refinery house" there was a large exhaust hood, but these were not of the quality or effectiveness members might remember from their high school chemistry classes. (See the text and illustrations in From Mint to Mint for more information.)

[Conder101]

And if you had a fire, used water, and the water got tossed into the vats of hot concentrated sulfuric acid...BOOM! boiling acid everywhere.  Not good.

[RWB]

Yeah...looks like Mr. Bristley was "separated" from his clothes. Certainly nor a very "refined" way to appear at work.

Edited January 10, 2020 by RWB

[Kirt]

So while everybody else is focused on the acid, and the clothes...I'm looking at the penmanship. It's obscenely perfect; when I can manage to scrawl something on a piece of paper it's barely legible to me let alone anyone else. My kids are even worse.

Yeah, I know, I need professional help.

[kbbpll]

Speaking of work hazards, be sure to read the note before using.

[RWB]

Was that an IKEA safe? Maybe from the "KÊRPLÜNKT" line of iron safes?

[Conder101]

On 1/10/2020 at 3:25 PM, Kirt said:

I'm looking at the penmanship. It's obscenely perfect; when I can manage to scrawl something on a piece of paper it's barely legible to me let alone anyone else.

They used to really stress the teaching and practicing of good penmanship in schools, but believe me there are plenty of examples of bad handwriting in the old mint documents.  Especially among the mint officers.  Many of the documents though were probably written or copied by the clerks, and I would not be surprised if one of the things they looked for when hiring a clerk was good handwriting for the keeping of good records.

[RWB]

Civil Service tests for clerks stressed penmanship, basic bookkeeping and accounting, clear prose, spelling and other basic skills. The US public school system was actually organized around training young people to fill this type of business occupation, rather than college/university. Vocational (i.e., "mechanical") training was added as technology changed, and trade unions gradually got into more advanced and task-specific education. Current US public schools (including so-called charter schools and most religious-affiliated schools) are largely stuck in the same outmoded mold.

From Mine to Mint -2 will include a complete US Mint clerk's examination and answers from 1896.

[messydesk]

I wonder if there is a "case file" that goes along with this.  Otherwise I could imagine Superintendent Fox asking for further details, including why there was a fire in the Seperating [sic] room.

[RWB]

From what I've seen, the US Mints did not maintain case or incident files for things like s small fire. There isn't even one for the San Francisco fire of 1906. However, the Secret Service kept files on all reports of illegal activity involving the mints and those are on microfile and paper at NARA. A few other incident files were also kept by the mint include the New Orleans Mint Riddell investigation, Dimmick defalcation (1901), and a few other major thefts. Court files exist for most of those that resulted in prosecution including George A. McCann's that is often conflated into the 1933 DE story.