The Portland daily press., 1895-07-23
FIRES IN MAINE.
First Reports Under The Law
Passed Last Winter.
FIFTY TOWNS AND CITIES so FAR
HEARD FROM.
The Deadly Defective FIue-The Little
Boy and the Matches and the Fire Bug
The Building Inspection Law-News
of the Muster.

Boy and the Matches and the Fire Bug
The Building Inspection Law-News
of the Muster.
ESPECIAL TO THE TREssl
4 Augusta, Me-, August 49, The danger
Gus detective chimney, the small boy and
the matches and the two-legged fire bug
are the cause of most of the fires whic h
have occurred in Maine during the last
six months. That is revealed by the re-
turns from town and city authorities now
being received by the state insurance
department. Fifty places have been heard
from so far, although all the returns
should be sent in before July Is. Port
land Is among the delinquents. These re-
turnsare the first to be made under the
law passed by the last legislature requir-
ing the municipal officers of towns and
cities to investigate the causes of fires and
report their decisions The blanks re-
ceiyed from these fifty places already
heard from contain some interesting in
formation. Some fires start from peculiar
causes. 1t is learned for instance in the
return from the town of Springfield that
the one fire occurring in that town was
due TO smoking hams in an open room in
the main part of the house. " Smoking
was the cause of the fire which destroyed
a set of farm buildings in Freeman, but
IN this case it was a man smoking
tobacco in a pipe. In another town, the
selecmen We're unable to determine what
started the blaze, but as an ash barrel
and an oil barrel stood near together,
theyihad little difficulty in concluding
that these barrels were the flames first
fuel. Only one loss due to lightning has
yet been reported. That was in Farming
ton, where barn owned by VIM. A. Tit
comb, WAS destroyed last month. The
small boy and the lucifers got in their
deadly work at Windham, where they set
a fire in the house of Mrs. Carrie Marston,
and at Mechanic Falls
In how many cases it can be proved
that the human fire fly fitted about at
night and left a bon fire behind him, is
not apparent from the returns, but there
are noticeable number of cases where
the officials felt justified in putting down
incendiarism as the probable cause. Bid
deford for instance, has eight fires to re-
port and two are credited to the fire bug.
Poland reports one incendiary fire. The
selectmen of Jefferson declare that the
fire which destroyed the hall of South
Jefferson Lodge, l. o. G. T., was incen-
diary, and the selectmen of Eliot are in
clined to the opinion that the blaze which
made ruins of the dance hall in that town
was due to the same cause. The fire
which destroyed Riah Miller's house in
South Portland in also ascriDed to in
cendiarism. Searsport's only fire was
incendiary, destroying a house worth
about $100. So of the fifty places report
ing, six have had fires believed to be in
cendiary and in one there were two such
fires. If this proportion should be kept up
in returns from other cities and towns, it
will appear that one fire in ten or twelve,
is wilfully set. Still, it may be that full
er information would show that in many
of these cases the conclusion that the
fires were so started was due rather to
suspicion or the lack of any other theory,
than to proof.
But poorly built chimneys and ruste d
the fires reported. Sparks flying from
chimneys set fires in Glenburn and Win
terport. A lamp explosion and & de-
fective chimney made Winterport's total
three. If the hue had not been wrongly
built, the Andover dorvel mill might be
standing today. Of the six fires reported
in the ship yard city, an ember falling
from fire place started one, bad flue
was the cause of another, and the sparks
which filtered out of hole in stove
funnel caused the third. The fourth was
due to sparks falling on roof, spark
which wandered up into a wooden venti-
lator was responsible for the fifth, and an
ambitious bush fire became the sixth.
Defective chimneys caused fires in Me-
chanic Falls, Monticello. Windham,
Bridgewater, Skowhegan, Dresden New
Sharon, Sweden and New Sweden. OF
Biddeford's eight fires, defective fues and
chimneys caused four and two were due
to spontaneous combustion. The fire
which destroyed L. S. Lyons's mill at
Manchester was caused by the burning
out of the smoke stack. Forest fires de-
stroyed buildings in New Sweden and
Mapleton. In many cases the returns
find out what did start the fires Such
was the case In Dover after the recent ex-
tensive blaze there
1t is too early yet to tabulate the re.
| turns. but when they are all in and that
is done, they will afford much valuable
information, and will tend to decrease
the number of fires by making people
cautious
When man secs In black and white
just how any defective chimneys have
made themselves known by becoming
torches, he is likely to look around his
own premises AS has been said, a good
way TO lower insurance rates in to have
fewer tires. These figures will show an
other thing The total losses are almost
wholly in the small towns without fire
service, while in the larger towns and tht
cities, the losses are generally partial
| The other new fire protection law, tina
in relation to the inspection of building
is IN successful operation in the town
and cities to which it applies except th,
town OF fremont and the city of Augusta
Why the.Capital City has not seen fit tt
comply with the law is a conumdrum
II 1t has done so the insurance depart
ment has not been advised to that effect
Inc building inspector who, the law says
must mus be appointed, has not been selected
The law provides that in every tow
and city of more than 1000 inhabitants
the municipal officers shall annually il
the month of April appoint all inspecto
OF OF buildings" 1t is nearly August now
Inc law further says: "No new build
ing snail be occupied until the inspector
oi buildings has given certificate, etc.
II the owner permits it to be SO occupied
Wlthout such certificate, he shall be liabl
20 q me OF $40 for each week he permit
sucn building to be SO occupied. viii
Ihe Augusta men who are erecting new
buildings this summer be called upon t,
pointed?
A storyeis told here showing how thi
law may prevent fires, although it did n
S9oP The blaze in this instance. Th