Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-05-01
COMMISSIONER BLUNT
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of your citizens and the record Of the
activities of your CHAMBER Of Com
merce show to me most emphatically
that you as citizens are interested in
any movement that has Tor its object
the safeguarding of the lives of the
people and the conserving of the COM
munities created property This Is the
primary object of Fire Prevention, to
safeguard the lives of people and pre-
vent if possible the destruction Of our
homes and business properties from
fire.
A brief history of the Fire Proven
ton movement may be of interest. The
start was made some years ago by a
group of men under the leadership of
that able scholar OF economics, Hon.
Edward Atkinson of Boston. These
men after much study came to a real
ization that large majority of our
many fires were preventable and with
this thought uppermost in their minds
they organized the National Fire Pro-
lection Association. This association
has for its object the study of the
causes of our many fires and The most
intelligent way of combating them. The
originators Of this organization built
small group of men this organization
has grown until today it embraces a
great many members located through
| out the United States ana many large
organizations interested IN civic and
| commercial betterment are included
| among it's members.
| Several years ago the idea of a
| state fire prevention day was advocat-
| cd and last year as result twenty
seven states held such a day. This
year over forty states will observe a
| day of this nature The idea of the
days observance being to impress up
| on the minds of the people of the diff
| ferent states the magnitude and ex-
! tent of our annual fire waste and to
bring to them realization that this
is occasioned largely by lack of care
! and forethought on their part as in
! dividuals Many of the western states
observe October 9th as Fire Prevention
| Day. This being the anniversary Of
the Chicago confiagration The day OBJ
| served in Massachusetts, Is November
| 10th. the anniversary of the Boston
| fire. Many states use the date of some
local confagration as our State for in
stance. So when the idea of a Maine
| flTc ETeNentlOn LAY WIS Su5etStSu
the Governor as a result OF the activ-
| ity Of your Chamber of Commerce des-
| ignated April S0th, the anniversary Of
your great confiagration.
| / believe I am right in saying that
/ very few people realize what the fire
| loss of our Nation amounts to. 1t may
interest you to know that every nor
NAL week in the year we average to
burn three theaters, three public halls,
| twelve churches ten schools, two hos
| pitfalls. two asylums, two colleges, six
| apartment houses, three department
| stores, two jails, twenty-six hotels,
ne-hundred forty fiat buildings and
| stores and sixteen hundred homes.
Some fire is 1t not?
Someone has pictured it in this way.
That If the buildings we burn Up each
year were placed side by. side on both
sides of the street they would form
an avenue Of burning buildings ex-
tending in distance from New York 10
Chicago That If we were to proceed
along that avenue Of destruction every
| thousand feet we would find a man,
/ woman or child seriously burned or In
! 1urcd by. IRE and each quarter Of a
| milo we would ind the chRFrcd re-
mains OF human being who had lost
hts life BY fire, this illustration aieaa
should convince us that this Ia indeed
a subject which stauid call for auF