Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-03-06
SCHOOL FIRE DRILLS

thing is to prevent the panic. The
two points that are to be considered
are, first-Order: and second-Rap-
idity. See to it that the fire alarm
system is always in perfect working
order See that the exit facilities
are sufficient and are always unob-
structed. 1t is usually advisable to
have the children march out two by
two, and where possible the march
should be accompanied by music or
singing to divert the minds of the
pupils. Teachers should always fol-
low to be certain that no child has
been left behind. Some of the older
children might be detailed as mont
tors, with certain fixed duties for the
different monitors that are assigned.
It is important to teach the pupils
in the course of fire drills to over
come obstacles, and to be prepared
to meet emergencies, in the event
of an actual fire.
All doors should open outward, and
these exit doors should never be
locked during school sessions. Fire
drills should be to the fire escapes
as we'll as to the exits, and should
conclude with a continued march OF
the children out of and away from
the school building. I believe it is
orfo mt tO hold 00aoCinn-
ally a fire fighting instruction pro-
gram. There should be short talks
by the teachers on fire prevention
and the evils of carelessness. 1t is
important that these lessons should
be as free as possible from excite
ment and should be addressed to the
common sense of the pupils rather
than to their imagination.
| believe that stories of the fire
horrors and particular reference to
disasters in schools usually do more
harm than good, and should be avoid
ed. Fire is particularly fascinating to
many people and especially to chill
dren, and believe that pyromania is
frequently caused by arousing the
imagination and excitement of chill
dren by stories of great fire disaS-
ters and by seeing such calamities
illustrated by moving pictures.
The fire drill should be business
like affair, conducted in a business
like manner, and for the special pur-
pose of getting out of and away from
the building as rapidly as possible.
Fire drills should be practiced fire.
quently and at irregular and secret
times, as these repetitions will famil-
iarize children with their duties and
in the event of fire they will not be
taken unaWares. a
Our department has compiled a list
of fatalities resulting from fire, ia
ken from clippings of local state news
papers, furnished the department by
a state clipping bureau. For the first
six months of the present fiscal year,
commencing July 1, 1913, our Stats
t1cal tables show the following deaths
from fire during those six months:
July, Z; August, Is; September, 5;
October, IS; November, 4 Deem
Der, 8; total, 3d. Of the causes as
signed the most frequently for the
fires resulting in the So deaths, chill
dren playing with matches was given
ten times, careleSsness with gasoline
nine, and starting or fastening stove
fires with kerosene eight. Thus it
will be seen that nearly one-half the
fires resulting in these deaths had
their origin from only three of the
most common fire causes Using the
multiple of three, which the United
States Government employs in such
cases, there were also 174 very seri-
GUS injuries from fires during the
same half-year period. On the as
that the same ratio of
deaths and serious injuries from fire
will continue for the succeeding six
this would give 116 fatalities
and 348 serious casualties for the
whole year.
AS this state has most fortunately
been spared any great school-house
holocausts, such as several other
parts of our country have seen even
IN recent years, We have quoted the
above statistics in order to show
that the fire fiend is ever lurking
near, and that the greatest care and
caution should be exercised, espec-
tally where, as in the schools, large
numbers of human beings are gath
cred together for so much of the
time.
Dated February 26, 1914
GLEN p HOST