Collaboration with Tad Hozumi

Burnt by British troops in 1814, the White House has since experienced many bouts of fire, both accidents and felonies. An electrical fire took the West Wing in 1929; an anti-nuclear demonstrator’s sign caught fire and damaged a pillar outside of the White House gate in 1983; and a man set himself on fire in 2004 when refused entrance to the White House to deliver a letter to President Bush.

In light of these incidences and the dire necessity to protect itself, we suggest that the White House place an additional fire extinguisher, as a failsafe, beside each existing one. By multiplying the number of fire extinguishers by two, the adjustment will improve the building’s anxieties and response to fire.