The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-01-09

Careless use of matches In Ohio
last year fred 584 buildings and
burned to death 30 children.
The "parlor" match in common
use is the greatest convenience
and greedIest incendiary ever in
vented by man. In the state 1t
causes IL per cent. of all fires; in
large cities about 18 per cent.
The Chicago report shows 21.4
per cent. The "parlor match
referred to herein is no way asso-
ciated with loves sweet dream.
II all the people we're taught
the dangers from this match the
enormous fire loss from them, of
which each producer pays part,
would be reduced to almost
nothing. But teachers who warn
against the fire dangers in this
life are few.
The dangers of the "parlor"
match are maniford. In igniting
the head often explodes or the
stick breaks and flaming chemicals
fly and ignite wastepaper, sweep.
lpgs, lace curtains and the cloth
ing of women and children. The
smoker, and often the housewife
too, after using the match gives it
q twirl and toss without looking
to see If it is still glowing. IL it
is kept alight long enough for the
stick to be burned through it will,
in two-thirds of all matches, re-
main red hot coal half an inch
long during an average interval of
4S seconds. A large proportion
of match fires result from one of
these hot sticks being thrown up
ON inflammable substances.
The careless leave these matches
lying about although one of them
may be ignited by the SUMS rays
focusedsupon it, by bubble In a
window pane, by water bottle,
by fish.globe, by sperical.pape
weight or by grandma's spectacles.
Loose..l drawers or on. desks they
are liable to take fire from rub
bing or blow. On the mantle
piece they are often ignited by
the heat from CRATE or stove.
They may be brushed or blown off
and ignited when they alight, or
they may be set off by tramping
upon them.
These are not statements of
imaginative possibilities; they are
from the records Of 100000 Ohio
fires.
In reports of 534 firea from care
lessness with matches which oc-
cused last year the exact character
of the accident was shown in 2O9l
as follows: The number in which
match heads flew, or glowing
sticks were thrown, into rubbish
was 83. This fact says "clean up |
the place" !" The greatest number
Of match fires occurred In the
cellar. Never a week passes in
Ohio without a house being fired
by the use of a match to illumin- |
ate a closet. The sparks or hot
sticks of parlor matches started
destructive fires by first igniting
81 carpets, 20 pieces of clothing,
23 bed coverings, % lace curtains,
Is couches, and 6 baskets of
clothes. In 26 cases the fire start |
ed from match being trod upon
and In 5 from the match box fall |
ing. A flying match head alight-
ing in an umbrella started fire
which consumed home.
The name "parlor" is given to
all matches, except the safety"
which are made without sulphur,
thereby avoiding the odor given
out by the ''lucifer" match which
it drove from the market. Its
heed contains phosphorous, chlo-
rate of potash, rosin, whiting and
powdered flint held together by
glue. Phosphorous ignites at 140
degrees Fair. The heat produced
by friction of the particles of flint
in the head when it is struck
ignites the phosphorous, the chic.
rate gives up the 80 per cent, of
Oxygen it contains with explosive
spluttering and intense heat which
fires the rosin and they together
fire the parafin with which the