Morris tribune., 1907-12-14
STOVES AS DEsTROYERs
State Fire rlarshal Telling of Need
less Fire Loss From Them.

Failure to protect nearby wood
work from the heat of stoves ranks
next to defective fiues as a cause of
fire waste. This loss in our state ex-
ceeds $175, 900 a year, while the cost
of sparks falling on single roofs, as a
result of carelessness in feeding or
giving draft to stoves, is half as much.
Among heaters the cook stove sacri-
fees most property, and the gasolene
stove most lives. The worst culprit
is the cook stove which has no eight
hour day nor Sunday off. The gaso-
lene stove causes greater number
of fires, but the loss is smallar by half
because attention is attracted to them
before they have time for a good
start. The gasolene fire starting with
an explosion sounds it's own alarm
and, added to this, there is usually a
cry of the burned which summons
immediate help.
The Wood Stoves Tricks.
The wood or coal stove often takes
advantage of the absence of its gen
eral manager to fire something, usu-
ally the nearby woodwork. A stove
is likely to ignite laths from which
the plaster has fallen or a wooden
partition within three feet. The dan
ger signal is the browning of the
wood, which occurs if the heat reach
es Ala degrees Fair. If the wall is
protected by tin, zinc or sheet iron
the stove may be placed within foot.
The metal to protect the wall must
have space behind it so that eircu-
lation of air will keep it cool. This
may easily be secured by hanging the
sheet of metal On screw hooks. The
pipe is often the hottest part of the
stove, therefore the metal to protect
the wall should be run three feet
above the stove.
Bright tin reflects heat better than
any other metal. If the elbow of a
pipe is within foot of the ceiling
sheet metal should be placed above it.
Bright Tin Best.
A wooden floor under a stove must
have on it sheet of metal extending
foot in front of the ash pan, and if
wood is the fuel used the metal should
extend that distance out under the
stove door. All cold air entering the
room falls to the floor and is drawn
toward the stove, so an air space be-
tween floor and zinc is unnecessary.
However, it is very proper precau-
ton to put layer of one eighth inch
asbestos cloth under it, for it may
have to catch some very hot Goals.
Many fires occur from a clothes
horse or chair holding clothing Or
laundry being placed too near stove
or CRATE and few from kindling put
in a warm place over night to dry.
Kindling With Kerosene.
The newspaper accounts of many
horrible accidents from using keros-
sene or gasolene to start fire do not
seem greatly to lessen the number
burned in that way. Kerosene may
be safely used for the purpose if the
stove is cold or if the kindling is blaz-
ing. Heat without blaze converts it
into gas which will explode when a
blaze starts. Gasolene so used is
fearfully dangerous. ...
A parlor Or bedroom stove should
always have metal under it, and if the
wall is within eighteen inches it should
be protected by sheet metal on one
eight inch asbestos cloth. When COW
ering a coal fire to keep it over night,
remember that coal swells one-third
while burning, SO hot Goals are likely
to fall out of the open door Or over
the CRATE bar. Many houses were
fired last year by drapery over CRATES
and stoves ignitiug.
A Horrible Death.
From $50 to 500 mothers and chill
dren are burned to death, and three
times that number seriously burned
and disfigured in the United States
each year by gasolene stove accidents.
Last week a mother essayed with one
arm to fill the tank of lighted stove
while holding her baby with the other.
Both have died from burns, and an
other little one playing near win be
disfigured for life. Stove accidents
usually result from filling the tank
without turning off the blaze or from
splitting gasolene and then igniting the
vapor of it by striking a match to
light the stove. The gasolene can
should be we'll corked.
A gasolene stove should be fixed to
permanent foundation so that it
cannot be placed against wood Or
other infiammable material. 1t should