Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1913-08-15
SCHOOLS SHOULD
BE F|REPR00FED
Estimated That a School Fire
Occurs Each Day.
FACTS SHOULD Be Needed.

Assertion Made That 25o.o0o School,
houses In This Country Were Built
70 Burn and That 100000 Pupils
Are In Peril Daily-Public Schools
the Safest.
rerilous conditions prevail in school
buildings of fully 400 cities Of this
country. according to survey just
made by fire insurance authority. In
the published list. in which practically
every state in the Union * represented.
1t is pointed out that even IN the
largest and most progressive cities
the public authorities have much work
to do to protect school children from
the dangers Of fire aud punic. And
this twithstanding the fact that fire.
Quent inspections have been made or
are being made and improvements
continually ordered by those in au-
thority.
An analysis Of conditions surround
ing schOolhouse construction in the
United States and Canada. combined
with q scrutiny Of a list Of school fires
published In Insurance Engineering.
covering the years 1911 and 1912 and
two months and q half Of the present
year. Is the basis Of that Journals US
scrtion that more than 25O.OOO school,
houses in this country have been built
to burn"
Every state in the Union and many
Canadian provinces are included In
the investigation. which comprises
10 <{tf hn 81 inn
reached il that most Of the oO.OOO.OOO
school children and students in the
roll Of cities enumerated are In con-
slant peril from fire aud panic because
Of the fact that they are housed in
buildings that are fire traps.
Within the period and area covered
the estimated average fire loss per
school fire is placed at $4,000. In
1911 the value Of school and college
buildings destroyed by fire was APP
proximately $3OO0OOO A considerable
increase over this figure was recorded
in 1912. and the prediction is made
that If something Is not done to alter
the style Of construction the fire losses
| in school buildings for 1913 will be
nearer the $4OOO.OOO mark
Estimates Of the prevailing freQuen-
cy of fires in schools are as high as ten
week. although the incompletcness Of
the reports makes it impossible to place
the figures exactly. 1t Is considered
safe to say. however. that a school, col
lege or some other sort of educational
building burns partially or completely
each day III school year.
Conditions typical of those which OBJ
tain generally have been disclosed by
Investigations OF the state factory In
spector III Iowa. His report showed
that One-hnlf Of the school buildings in
that state were totally unfit for use in
one way or another. And the investi-
gators Of the education department OF
the Sage foundation found the same
conditions to the schools of the second
richest community in the United States
The dangers are not confined by any
means to the public schools. On the
contrary. out of .yi5 fires counted in .
period of twenty-Seven months nearly
GO per cent were in private schools an(
colleges
Overcrowtling. insufficient ventilation
construction. wooden stairways ant
doors swinging inward are given rs tn
principal sources Of danger to schoo
children. The most recent menace i
) said to be the introduction Of motion
: pictures IN the schools.
Another indication that condition
| are to become rapidly worse instead Q
= better is pointed out in the characte
: Of the specifications for school build
t ings to be erected within the preseI
:. year. 1t is asserted that only 10 pc
| cent Of these call for tireproof constru'
4 ton. Between Jan. !. 1913. and tn
u middle of March school constructio
e was particularly active. In all 3SS Ct
$ les have been named in the buildiu
r periodicals as being engaged In cree
II ing schoolhouses. But in only sma
proportion of cases have the authorize
II shown any appreciation Of the IN
v that school buildings contribute hea
If lily to fire losses and more than any OF
X err class Of public buildings need to
If dreprOofed