The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-15
FIRE INSURANCE REPORT.

board of fire underwriters of New
York the report for December, 1909, of
insurance conditions in Salt Lake City.
This report is decidedly not hattering
from the insurance standpoint; but it
must be remembered that the data and
the criticisms are based upon any lapse
| from a perfect condition. and as Salt
| Lake City is not perfect from the fire
insurance standpoint, the criticism is,
as largely expected, routine There is
ample water, to be sure, and for the
most part the bydrants are sufficiently
large and numerous, especially in the
business part of town; and yet the fire
equipment is not fully up 10 date nor
IN quantity as much as the insurance
perfection requires. The force is criti-
cised somewhat from the political
standpoint. which is more academic
than actual; and there is declared to
be an insuncicnt number of men, which
is no doubt true from the standard of
perfection standpoint of the insurance
companies.
There is pretty severe ccnsure of our
nIt JUN sy obculs pup lhaJ. NthGui' 10
based on a condition of neglect which
existed in the early part of the sum-
mer and which has been corrected
since, but we depend principally on the
telephone for fire alarms, so the disuse
Of the fire-alarm boxes is not so ma
terial. But the correction should have
been noted instead Of allowing the
report of the original bad condition TO
stand unrelieved. In the general sum-
mary, the water situation and its man
agemcnt are pronounced efficient and
generally satisfactory. The fire ap-
paratus is pronounced generally in good
condition, but in minor equipment de.
iicient. The inspection is fairly salts.
factory. but "the building laws are Of
little value, most subjects of import
ance being omitted. y which is rather
startling thing to say and unfair,
as matter cf fact, to the ordinance
as passed, Additional condemnation is
made by saving "structural conditions
are unsatisfactory on account of poor
building laws 1t is further stated
that ''no provision is made for prose
cutiou of arson which is nonsense.
The general statute is ample for such
prosecution, and there could be no
municipal ordinance that would reach
the case. Any expectation based on
the idea that prosecution for arson
could be conducted under city ordin
ances is erroneous.
The general effect of tho report is
rather confusing on the whole, unless
We keep strictly in mind the idea that
this report is made from the stand
point of ideal insurance conditions un-
der which fire is practically impos
sible. and in which case, of course,
there need be no bother about insuring
at all. The ideal condition from the
fire insurance standpoint would neces
sariy defeat its own cause, for if VIC
had it nobody need bother about insur
ing anything.
Al the same time that there is much
criticism of the city from the fire in
surance standpoint, there is an admis
sion Of general results here which is
certainly very satisfactory, and miti-
gates almost entirely the force of the
criticism, The report says (on the sec
ond pagc):
The gross fire loss for the past five
years, as given In the reports of the chief
of the fire department. amounted to
1884, 1856. the annual losses varying from
81. III In 1904. TO sl32.363 in 1907 and the
number OF fires from 1877 in 1904. TO 32i
In 1908. The loss per fire has averaged
1921. and the yearly number of fires 240.
Based on an average population OF 72, 900.
the average number OF fires per year for
each 1000 population was 3.32. and the
average annual loss per capita SI07, a
low figure.
With results like that, the insurance
companies ought certainly To be con-
tent, especially when we consider the
probability (the segregation of the city
premiums paid from those paid in the
state at large not being required by
law that they undoubtedly receive
treble (and perhaps more) the amount
of money in premiums over the total
amount of fro losses. So that on tho
whole, even from the insurance stand
point, the city of Salt Lake ought to
be considered on the average mighty
good fire risk,