New-York tribune., 1896-10-25
A BURNING QUESTION.

"About this time look ont for fires Is an al
monition that might well have place upon lhe
pages Of the Prophets Almanac AS prclIc-
ton il would not fail 10 be fulfilled. AS warn
in- and advice it would. if needed. be of much
benc6ccncc Great confilgratioIs have all sea
sous for their own. Some have occurred III
dead of winter. when IL was so cold they seemed
a mad defiance of the power OF 1rost' some
I'm the raging doSdays, when half the worid
seemed threatened with spontaneous comous-
tion. So, too do smaller fires occur. more o'
less numcrously. at all seasons. But at THIS
ono Daltjcuar season of the year fires or all
kinds. but most especially in dwelling-houscs
churches and schools. are Of decidedly most
frequent occurrence The fact has long been
notorious The reason Of 1t is not difficult TO
find The cure for IT, or for most of Ii. should
surely be atta!nable.
This is the time of year in which tho oncominS
of frost makes necessary some preparation Tor
producing artificial heat. In buildings OF
comparatively primitive type stoves are put
I'D" with all the objurgatory ccncomiiants the
natural depravity of stoveppes can provoke
In buildings with more modern improve
ments." fires arc klndled in furnaces. and the
long disusod 'reCisters' become objects OF
profound socitudp In both classes the work
is too often done in haste. or with little care.
After getting the rust off the stove ana the
incompatible joints of pipe adjusted. the house
kecper has little stomach for inspection and
cleansing of chimney fues. So the accumulated
SCOT and dirt and swallows nests and what not
are left there to impair the draught and make
the chimney smoke and presently they catch
fire and the fire makes its way out through
ioint where the mortar was faulty. and gets
under the floor or into the attic lumbcrroom.
and i'm an hour or so there is one house less in
that village Or in the other case. the servant,
or the janitor or the sexton. fires up the fur
mace without making any examination OF the
pipes. and when the fire gets hot the dust and
lint that have filtered through the register
from n hundred swecpinCs get afirc within the
pipc nj a place where the lin has rustcd into
iace-vork and there is a hurried call for III"
Fire Department. with more or less loss from
flames and water.
Now. it is perfectly evident that little care
would prevent great proportion OF these ai-
tumnal fires Indeed many of them should
have been prevented by original construction.
II is amazing TO observe how few people build
chimneys properly Usually they run them mp
with The poorest soft brick. with thick layers
of Indifferent mortar. If they would only re-
sort 10 the simple and inexpensive device OF lin
ing each flue continuously with vitrilicd drain
pipes with hanged joints. they would make
them absolutely firc-prOof, and avoid nine
tenths of the trouble Of smoky chlmncys ana
defective draughts. \ corresponding outward
covering of some fircprOOf, rust-proof non-coi-
! ducting Jacket on the hot-air pipes would not
| only save buildings from danger OF IRE, but
would pay for itself in one season by It's saw
/ ing Of heat now radiated from the tin one
would think every intelligent houscowner
would demand and every widcawakc builder
be eager to supply such obvious dcsidcrata
Until they do. as long as the present defective
systems Of heating prevail, periodical scrutiny
and constant watchfulness will he the only
safeguards against fire; and as long as even
these latter are neglected. so long will the au
tuInnal fire list be swcled 10 unnatural and
unnecessary proportions.