Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-08-14
FIRE CHIEFS. MAYORS ~
AND TOWNSHIP CL.' IS
Must. Under Penalty, Report Fires TO th c
Fire Marshal
COMMON FIRE CAUSES.

COMMON FIRE CAUSES.
The success of the fire marshal de-
pends largely upon immediate report
from fire chiefs of every fire in which
there are circumstances which furnish
ground for suspicion that it was started
Intentionally,
The fisemen on breaking into a burn
ing building may get an oder of kero-
sene; OF may see that the fire started
in two places; or may find beds or stairs
oil-soaked; or may learn that the own
er stood by making no effort to save
his furniture; or that the insurance on
the house or its contents was more than
its value; or If il be a store burning
they may learn that the owner was in
financial straights. In some cities the
chief mails a double post card to the
owner of burned building in the re-
turn half of which there are blanks for
value, loss and insurance. The facts a
chief must put in the fire marshal's
blank are only those he keeps for his
own official record.
Burning to defraud is most common
in cities; burning from malice or for re-
Venge in the country.
Few of those required to report fires
in cities and villages can draw fee
for it, because fire chiefs ard mayors
who have fixed salaries of more than
$50 year are not given fees.
TOWNSHIP CLERKS.
The township clerk on hearing of a
fire in which the loss is said to be more
than $25, or if the cause of the fire is
unknown. must notify the fire marshal
forthwith and must begin an investiga-
tion of the circumstances within two
days. The blank furnished to all re-
porters must be filed and forwarded
within week. A fee blank will be
furnished which is to be filled in at the
end of the year, when payment will be
made. The fee is 81. 90, and 10 cents a
mile to and from the place of the fire
Reports of suspicious circumstances at
tending fire are kept absolutely secret
by Ike fire marshal, so one does not
make an enemy by giving information.
The penalty for failing to report a
fire is SIS to $500.
INDICATING THE CAUSE.
''Carelessness" cannot be accepted
as the cause of fire for the reason
that the majority of all fires are from
the carelessness of some one. All fires,
except those started by the burning OF
an adjacent building or by an incendiary,
result from either earelessness or ignor-
ance.
Adjoining fire" is used to indicate
that the fire was started from tn heat
or sparks from a building burning near
by.
Ashes against wood" covers all fires
started by putting hot ashes or Goals
into boxes or barrels or against siding
or fences. If the cause is a coal
dropped through a crack in the stove,
it is charged to defective stove"
Burning rubbish indicates the
cause TO have been sparks from pile
of rubbish which was being burned to
get rid of it, while rubbish burning"
indicates that spark or blaze by acci-
dent lighted rubbish which had accumu7
lated from neglect.
Chimney SCOT burning" is the label
for fires from a dirty chimney burn
ing out. This is very common acci-
dent, but it seldom fires a house that
has good roof, and many housewives
know that a handful of salt on the fire
below it will extinguish burning SCOT.
defective fiae' is the most common
fire cause The word ''flue" indicates
the whole evenue of escape from the
fire 10 the outside air Ii is the stove
pipe and chimney taken together.
'tOverheated stove" is not a salts
factory statement of the cause of a fire.
The reporter should say if the floor or
siding or otner material was ignited by
the heat of the stove A sound stove
properly placed and protected cannot
fire a building by being overheated.
Failure to properly install and care
for heaters costs Wisconsin people more
than half million dollars year. If
father would see thaa the floor and wall
near the kitchen stove were protected,
and have needed repairs made in stoves
and flues before the first cold wave of
winter, and then take Is minutes each
month TO look them over, the saving
would not be far from $500, 600 in the
state
Spark" The source of the spark
and what it ignites should be given. If
from an engine, the kind of an engine
responsible for it should be mentioned
| want to know just how much sparks
from locomotives, stationary and trac-
tion engines, especially traction en-
gines, burn up in a year.
Lightning" being the cause, give
answers to the following questions:
Did the building have lightning rod
on itf If it was rodded, how long had
the rod been up? Was it in gooo re-
pair2 How was it grounded? Did II
have two ends in the ground?
Because of the enormous losses on
farm barns from lightning, want to
learn if any of the lightning rods now
in use in Wisconsin fail to give pro-
tection. THOMAS M. PURTELL,
State Fire Marshal