The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-12-17
FIRE Loss
In Canton the Past Year
Less Than in Any
Ohio City
PER CAPITA LESS 4OC


en- out about forty cents of each cit
izen's money in Canton was burned
up last year by real fires. Doubtless
each and every person has burned up
many times more than that amount
in giving parties and wine suppers
and in many other ways, but the fire
marshaPs records does not pry into
such personal affairs. The reports
show in figures, however, that loss
of thirty-eight cents and half was
suffered by every man, woman and
child in this city.
The fire loss in this city last year
was very light compared with other
cities. The fire records show Canton
to have suffered less from destructive
fires than any city of it's size in the
state, which perhaps is due mainly
to the increased efficiency of the fire
department and in not neglecting to
enforce proper fire danger and build
ing ordinances. The per capita loss
in some of the other cities in the
state is as follows: Cleveland, 1894;
Columbus, $132; Toledo, $124; Day
ton, Sill; Akron, $1.O5; Youngstown,
$2.37; Mansfield, $3.11; Sandusky, 85c;
Tiffin, 63c; Elyria, $1019; Findlay,
$3.50, and Ashtabula, $6.25.
The per capita fire loss in the state
as whole is $1.57. Figures show that
two-thirds of the fires and over half
of the losses In Ohio occur in the cit
les having more than 10000 popula-
ton, so that the per capita loss in
the cities is 1929, while in the small
cities and in the country it is only
$1O9. The fire statistics place the
average annual fire loss in the Amer
lean cities at $1A6.
Many Of the cRlzens are of the opin-
ion that because none of their prop
erty was burned that they did not
lose anything. In fires as well as in
anything else the people must help
stand the losses or as Fire Marshal
d. S. Creamer in his annual report
says: Through the philanthropy of
the newspapers and magazines of the
state, which have given an enormous
amount of valuable space to bulletins
of the department, the public has
been shown that insurance compan-
les simply assess the danger from
! fire in each building, collect the
amount of the assessment and use the
money SO collected from several hun
dred buildings to make good the loss
on one that is burned; that when
one defrauds an insurance company
the community pay the amount; that
the fear of prosecution and conviction
/ Is the only protection one can have
against being burned out by an enc
my and that every person in the state
pays in some way his share Of each
fire loss, be the cause incendiarism,
ignorance or carelessness."
The estimate amount of fire loss in
the United States and Canada last
year, computed from all figures oh
tainable, was $212,O71, ,25O. In order
to get the actual loss it would prob
ably be well to at least add a third
more to the amount.
The annual fire waste in this state
| is $1,000 900 nearly all of which could
! be prevented by the necessary pre-
cautions. In the first year of the fire
marshal department the loss was over
$11 100000. While the property owner
can protect himself by insurance
against about four-fifths of the loss
possible, other insured persons have
to pay it. With the direct waste from
| fire is the loss of time of employees in
stores and factories and the loss of
customers by the owners Careless
ness and inattention to already known
danger is credited with three-fourths
of the fires and the other fourth are
from ignorance, except the small num-
Der which are set with criminal in
tent.
In spite of the fact that the
amount Of the risk taken by the in
surance companies has nearly doubled
in eight years the fire loss has fall
len nearly forty per cent, or in ex-
act figures S6% per cent. This enorm-
Gus reduction in the proportion of loss
to amount at risk has been credited to
increased efficiency of fire depart
ments; better water works; scientific
examination of large risks by inspec-
ton bureaus; improved building
codes; methods and materials; the
introduction of natural gas and the
efficiency of we'll supported fire
marshal department,
The insurance men claim that be-
tween rs and 80 per cent is the pro-
portion of the value of the property
in the United States to be covered
by insurance. The losses of these
companies are little more than half
tho actual loss. The fire marshals
figures show that in this state just
little more than half of the prop
erty, or 52% per cent is covered by
insurance.
FIIFH UFhnn TINT