Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-10-04
FIRE PREVENTION DAY.
Gov. Mead DesIonates Wednesday, Oct.
1--WE Are Losing Fortune Every
Day by Our carelessness.

Lay w Ou' CdTeteseHSoe'
Gov Mead, under date of Sept. 81, is
sued the following proclamation:
The immense and steadily increasing
fire losses In our state and nation are
and should be the only argument nee
essary to stimulate our people to an ac-
tive campaign to eliminate or largely re-
duce this burdensome and total waste OF
life and property
The FIVE mutual fire insurance COM
panies of our state alone during the year
ending August /. 1911, paid to their pol
Icy holders and for expenses $516,580, and
for the year ending August 1, 1912, these
same five companies paid for the same
purposes $537, 632, showing an Increase of
over $4,000 in these mutual companies
alone. Add to the above the losses sus-
tanned by the stock companies in Ver-
mont and the aggregate loss will largely
exceed one million dollars annually in
Vermont.
The aggregate loss of property in our
country for the year of 1911 was in ex-
cess of $217, 000, 900 over 100000 in
excess of the fire losses of 1910, and, In
addition, in 1910 nearly $50 persons died
in buildings destroyed by fire and nearly
1900 lost their lives as the result of
burns, and when 1t is estimated that
many of these lives and fully $4,000, 900
of this loss of property Is due to care
| lessness and should have been prevented,
| this subject should appeal to us as one
| surely of great Importance.
The social as we'll as the economic
| welfare of our people Is ever improved
| through educational methods and thus 1t
| has seemed advisable to call the atten-
ton of the citizens of our state to those
| conditions which are permitting this i'm
| mense loss and urge them to carefully
| consider those methods which should
surely prevent one-half of this waste
of life and property.
| Believing that the welfare of Vermont
| so demands, /, John A. Mead, governor,
do hereby designate Wednesday, the 9th
day of October, A. D., 1912, as Fire
Prevention Day, and do hereby call upon
| our people to devote the day to inspect
ing their buildings and premises, thor
oughly removing all unsightly and COM
| bustible material, to carefully repairing
and cleaning all parts of their heating
apparatus All SCOT and ashes should be
removed, rendering the same safe for
| winter use. Boards Of education should
personally examine the institutions In
their charge. City and village authorities
should cooperate with them and
with the public generally in the adop-
ton and enforcement of such rules and
regulations as will prevent this enor-
nous and constant drain upon the re-
sources of our state. The superintend-
ents and teachers of our schools should
carefully consider this imminent danger
Fire drills should be had regularly and
every means of safety provided 1 in
vite the public press to stake an active
part in awakening the public to the i'm
portance of this movement and impress
upon every individual a sense of re-
sponsibility to his neighbor and himself
to the end that the loss of life and
property by fire may be reduced to a
minimum.
Let US remember that our per capita
loss annually by fire in Vermont is
So SO, 20 per cent higher than the aver
age per capita loss in the United States
nine times as large as that of the av-
erage per capita loss of the five leading
nations of Europe.
AS another has said America is 9
nation of money makers-Europe a ma
ton Of money savers. America hgures
that the most important thing is to make
a dollar-Europe, that 1t is equally i'm
portant to save one.
America regards a fire as a misfor
tune and one sympathizes with the maj
who has had one-Europe regards fir
as the result of a crime and they In
vestigate and if possible punish the maj
who is guilty.
1--WE figure that the insurance compan.
restores the loss-they, that the insur
I ance company indemnifies the owner TO
a loss, which can never be restored GU
supreme effort is to extinguish fires
theirs, to prevent them
1--WE are losing a fortune every day
Y they are saving one"
Should we not, then, endeavor t
profit by their example, the result o
i two thousand years of experience?