The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1909-03-18
CARELESS SMOKERS
CAUSE MANY FIRES
DANGER LuRKs IN AccUMULAT.
ED RAGS IN ATTics. CARPETS
AND CLOSETS.

fANb OGS0E ..
"The carelessness of smokers of to-
bacco, in throwing away cigar stubs
and emptying pipes, sets fire to about
1000 buildings every year In the Unit
ed States,' says w. s. Rogers, state
fire marshal.
Smokers fire a still greater number
OF buildings by carlessness with
matches. They use most of the
matches. Fires are started by cigar
and cigarette stubs dropped through
pavement gratings into rubbish; by
throwing them into waste-paper bas-
kets, and into wooden spittoons filled
with sawdust.
Smokers become automatons in the
details of their habit, preparing their
cigar or pipe, striking a match and
twirling its burning stick away un-
consciously. Smoking in bed is less
common in the Western than in the
Eastern states, If the number of fires
from that cause is taken as the gauge.
The vapor Of gasolene explodes if
II reaches a lighted cigar The heat
in glowing cigar is between 800 and
1000 degrees Fahr.. therefore it will
explode gasolene vapor, or air con-
tanning to S21a per cent of acetylene
gas, their ignition point being 900 F.,
but will not ignite the other gases
used for lighting, because their ignl-
ton point is 1,l50 to 1,198 degrees F.
Burning tobacco from a pipe is
| more likely to set fire to litter, trash
or rubbish than is a cigar stub. A
Turkish cigarette, once 1t is lighted,
will continue to burn for five minutes,
until 1t all burned up. So, one of
them dropped upon waste paper is
| sure to start fire.
"a cigar stub dropped upon the
dress of a lady sitting in the grand
stand at state fair ignited it. Her
life was saved by an assistant state
fire marshal tearing the dress off.
"The skirts of a lady standing in
the street took fire from a cigarette
and she was burned to death.
There Is q great loss from letting
rubbish and trash gather in buildings
A large part of the fires from flying
sparks would not have happened if
there had been no trash for them to
light in. More than half of all the
fires that start themselves by spon-
Fires from children playing with
| taneous combustion start in rubbish
and so do most of the blazes from
fire crackers. Old paper usually forms
the largest part of rubbish heaps and
ii ignites very easily.
"All sorts of things, that take fire
easily, are put away in the attic. The
attic or garret is the hottest place in
the house, while the summer sun
strikes the roof, and few of them have
openings through which heat can es'
cape.
Among the odds and ends of the
attic usually are vanished furniture
rags smeared with grease ready tC
take fire themselves, painting oils Ii
able to take fire while the sun beats
on the roof, and broken toys of chill
dren who are grown and gone away
or who went to sleep long ago,
"In summer a thrifty mother wen
to the attic to get papa's old suit tt
cut down for Willie and found holt
burnt in the coat by matches whicl
had ignited in one of the pockets
Some charred match sticks were thert
to prove 1t. If the coat had not hunl
by itself the building would have beel
fired.
attic and garrets should have open
ings in both ends so movement of al
will carry away the heat from chin
neys and from the sun on the roof
Many fires are caused by sparks from
chimneys lighting rubbish or fuzz
Rubbish should not be kept in boxe
of wood or pasteboard.
"There Is no safe place but the
stove for rags that have any kind o
grease on them. This includes rag
which have been used to wipe oil from
the sewing machine.
"Floor sweepings under furniture Of
in a closet are liable to take fire spon
taneously or from flying match head
Sawdust used in sweeping floors, If lef
in corner, is very likely to become
hot enough to ignite itself. Greas!
overalls in a tight closet may TAX,
fire.
"The most dangerous closet is tina
under a stairway, because stuff tina
will burn easily may be put in 1T
long toe. and If fire starts in 1t tn
way of escape from upper stories II
soon cut off"