South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-03-06
FIRE INSPECTORS
REPORT REVEALS
NEED Of REFORM
Inspect 888 Buildings While
Here and Find 589 Bad
Spots That Must be Cor
reCted by Owners.

Organization of a City Fire Proven
ton league will be effected in the near
future, according to ]. II. Greenan.
secretary of the South Bend and
Mishawaka Underwriters association.
Greenan made this statement Fri
day morning following the departure
of members of the state association.
It Will be the purpose of the league TO
inspect buildings and report unsafe
conditions to the state fire marshal.
Practically the entire force or state
inspectors had left the city by Friday
noon. The big meeting at the oliver
hotel finished the work IN the city. Re-
ports of the number of inspections ana
defects We're the principal features OF
the evening.
A total of SIS buildings in the bust
ness district of South Bend, Inspected
by the so inspectors of the Indiana
Fire Prevention association during
the past two days, developed 5S9 de-
fectiVe spots, according to the report
made to the citizens of the city By
Secy. Gus. NJ. Wise of Indianapolis at
the farewell dinner given the lnSpec-
tors at the oliver hotel by the Cham
Der of Commerce Thursday night.
These defects must all be corrected
within the next 80 days, according
to the secretary, or they Will be re-
ported to State Fire Marshal w. Z.
Longley, and after that the deluge.
Longley was scheduled for the prin-
cipal speaker at the dinner but failed
to materialiZe.
About 500 gathered about the
boards and listened to the advice
of the speakers, after the splendid re-
past. their remarks covering appar-
emily every possible phase of fire pre-
Vention work. A. G.. Graham served
in the capacity of POSTMASTER and
delighted those present at the outset
by asserting himself somewhat at
home in presiding over a : meeting
that had to do with fire, since the last
time he presided at a public gather
ing-meaning the Warsaw republican
convention of 1912-he started con-
hagration.
Pres. Anderson of the association
thanked the Chamber of Commerce
and South Bend people for the court
eous treatment that the visitors had
received, and the speech-making was
on.
Must Clean Up Premises.
OF the $50 defective conditions dis
covered by the inspectors, as referred
by Secy Wise, 220 were of heating
apparatus, 10 due to electric wiring,
1O2 chargeable TO dirty easements, &C
because of rubber hose connections
with gas, % of the nature of swing
ing gas fixtures, and the balance, IA,
made up of wooden receptacles for
ashes.
I'm the course of a few days" said
the secretary. each of the respons-
ible parties Will receive notice of what
is the matter with their premises and
if we are not advised that the correc-
ton has been made, another notice
will be sent ten days later. After the
second notice, if the request is not
complied with in ten days, the matter
will be referred to the state fire mar
shall, and, well, it Will be up to him
to enforce the law
The power of the state fire marshal
was impressed upon the audience
quite frequently during the evening,
but despite the evidence of firm in
tent manifested, the talks were not Of
antagonistic nature, but rather con-
ciliatOry and a plea for cooperation.
You pay and your neighbors pay
for these defective conditions" said
Ernest Palmer of Chicago, counsel for
the National Underwriters assOcia-
ton. You pay for it in your pre-
miums" and how you pay it was later
explained by Charles l.. Karaskey,