The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1905-05-04
Sparks,
Flying Causes Most
Fires in Ohio.


loss of wealth by fire is from fly
ing sparks, 2142 buildings having
been ignited by them in 1904.
Sparks are so liable to produce, in
bodies with which they come in
contact, a rise of temperature that
results in u chemical union of
material with the oxygen surroud-
ing it that the word Sparkling"
applied to the promotion Of
unions of more desirable sort, is
eminently fitting. This is not
meant to suggest the probability
of fire thereafter.
What is a sparkp
A particle of incandescent car
bon; a glowing bit of charcoal.
The number of sparks from burn
ing sticks of wood Of the same
size varies from hickory down to
buckeye, and is much greater
from shavings of any sort because
the aue's draught is likely to
convey shavings away before COM
bustion is complete. Soft coal
produces fewer than any wood,
and anthracite almost none.
Ten hundred and ninety-nine
fires were from sparks escaping
from chimney-tops, cracks in
chimneys and open joints in stove
pipes, the greatest number being
from sparks passing up and fall
ing upon fuzzy shingle roofs.
Painting shingle roofs ls well
worth the cost. The use of
whitewash in factories, stables
and outhouses has great value be-
cause it removes cobwebs and fluff
and covers fuzzy boards with a
layer of slaked lime which is in
combustable.
Sparks from this source may
ignite birds nests in the caves,
nearby houses or sheds, rubbish
piles, dead grass or leaves.
A spark is hot enough to ex-
plode gasoline vapor, acetylene
gas, and will ignite thin paper,
rags, cotton, curtains, grease or
tar. A valuable and profitable
invention of the early future is,
believe, a spark arrester that
will be effective without obstruct-
ing seriously the draught of the
fiue. More fires are started in
rubbish heaps by sparks than by
spontaneous combustion or care
lessness with matches or cigar
stubs.
The 469 fires started by nearby
fires were nearly all from sparks.
There were 80 spark fires from
stationary and traction engines,
80 from furnaces, and Is from
cupolas.
| Locomotives fired 85 buildings
in Ohio last year, majority of
them being in cities where there
is great danger of conflagratiOns.
The fire Losses that railway COM
panies are forced to pay on ac-
count Of sparks are enormous.
The inventor who produces a dur
able spark arrester for locomotives
will be made rich.
The smoke box, into which the
tubes of boiler open in front, is
as long as the boiler is wide, and
the smoke-stack rises from the
center. A pipe carrying the ex-
haust steam from both cylinders
rises half way through the smoke
box directly under the stack. 1t
is here that the engine says "choo,
choo." An adjustable damper
(diaphragm) is dropped from the
top of the boiler at an angle of
perhaps 80 degrees over the upper
half of the fues. From thie dam
per wire screen which cuts the
box into upper and lower halves
is stretched to the top of the ex-
haust pipe. In front of this pipe
the screen slopes up to the front
angle of the box. So, sparks COM
ing through the tubes are thrown
downward by the damper below
the exhaust current and if they
rise are arrested by the screen.
A new screen arrests all sparks
big enough to hold fire until they
could alight upon houses beside
i the track Rnt aYnarimanfa ooot