The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-03-12
VALUABLE ADVICE.
What TO Do When the Dress of a Woma
Catches Fire.

What TO Do When the Dress of Woman
Catches Fire.
VIII you grant ME space to explain
briefly what, think, should be the
first thing to be done by a girl or
woman whose dress has caught fire,
and similarly the first duty of any one
who goes to her rescue?
A girl or woman who meets with
this accident should Immediately lie
down on the floor, and, so, any one
who goes to her assistance should in
stantly, if she still be erect, make her
lie down, into horizontal position,
and keep her in it. Sparks fly upward,
and flames ascend. Ignition from be-
low mounts with fearful rapidly; and,
as result, we'll known to experts, the
fatality or Disagreement in these
lamentable cases is due to the burns
inflicted about the body, neck, face
and head, and not to injuries of the
lower limbs. Now, the very moment
that the person whose clothes are on
fire is in horizontal position on fat
surface, the flames still ascend, but
only in the air, and not encircling their
victim. Time is thus gained for further
action, and, in such crisis in fight
against fire, few seconds are
precious, nay, priceless. Once in the
prone position the person afflicted may
crawl to a bell pull or to d door, so as
to clutch at the one or open
the other to obtain help. The
draught from an open door into the
room would serve to blow the flames, if
any, away from the body; or, again,
still crawling, the sufferer may be able
to secure rug or table-coyer, or other
article at hand, to smother any re-
naming flames. | say remaining
flames, for as soon as the horizontal
position is assumed they have no longer
much to feed upon, and may either go
out, as the phrase is, or may be acct
dentally OF Intentionally extinguished
as the person rolls or moves upon the
floor. In any case, not only is time
gained, but the injury inflicted is min
imized. In the event of the conditions
not being those of sef-help, but of as
sistance from another, if it be man
who comes to the rescue, having first
and instantly thrown the girl or
woman down, it is easy to take off his
coat and SO stitle the diminished flames
with this or some other suitable cover
ing, the flames playing now upward
from the lower limbs or lower part of
the body of the PROSTATE fellow
creature. 1t it be woman who rushes
RI aS1 10
suggests that the safer mode of render
ing it is to approach the sufferer by the
head, and fling something thence over
the lower part of the body, for fear of
setting fire to herself.
If, in these fearful accidents, the
horizontal position be assumed or en-
forced, there would be, in short, COM
parative immunity and limited injury.
If not, what must happen? The fire
will mount; the flames (and it is these
which do the injury will envelop the
body, inside and outside the clothes.
and will reach the neck and head, and
then, indeed, they may be smothered
by coat or wrapper, or rug, while
the victim is frightfuly disfgured or
is doomed to perish.
For many years / have urged these
views while lecturing ON injuries from
burns; and once had an occasion to
illustrate them practically, though in a
comparatively trivial accident. Some
dressings of avery intlammable char
acter caught fire at the bedside of a
patient in one of my surgical wards;
they were promptly seized by student,
who threw them into the middle of the
ward, and endeavored to stamp out the
flaming material. But this containing
paratfin and resin adhered to his boots,
and his legs as he danced about were
getting intentionally hot. To his as
constituent, and to the undoubted sur
prise of every one in sight, caught him
by the collar of his coat, and tripped up
his legs. Instantly the flames became
harmless, and were extinguished by a
nurse throwing a jug ofwater on them.
| have often thought that on the APP
proach of the winter season there
should be at every school, whether
board, voluntary or private, whether
for girls or boys, an address, if not an
actual demonstration by means of suit.
able models, pointing out what should
be done in these special calamities. If
two upright models were prepared alike
and simultaneously set on fire, one be-
ing thrown down after two seconds and
one after thirty seconds, or at any
other two different times, the memories
OF children would receive lasting and
it might be a seryiceable impression
John Marshall, f. r. s., IN London
Tines