The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-12-09

The Kenosha Safety Round Table
had one of the most interesting meet
ings of it's history on Tuesday evening
at the Elks club rooms when State
Building Inspector S. J. Williams of
Madison was the guest of honor for
the evening. Many of the factory men
of the city were present and the sub
iect for the evening was Fire
Prevention." The state Inspector has
made a careful study of this particu-
lar line of work Of the industrial COM
mission and his address to the fore
men was one Of the most notable things
of the kind ever heard in Kenosha.
He said in part:
Fire protection has both human
side and business side. In Wiscon-
sin about one hundred people are kill
ed every year by fire, while the
economic loss averages nearly five mil
lion dollars annually. When we add
to this the indirect cost of fire, con-
sisting of insurance companies ex-
penses and profits, and fire department.
maintenance, we find that the total di-
rect and indirect fire loss in Wisconsin
is as great as if the entire City OF
Kanosha were wiped off the map every
wear. The owner or manager of 81 fac
tory theatre or hotel, who does not
take proper precautions against fire,
nos only endangers the lives of the
occupants, but also faces large fnan-
cial loss because it is common knoWl-
edge that even where building is
fully insured the insurance does not
cover the indirect loss due to interrup-
ton of the business. Furthermore, the
city which does not properly protect
itself is liable to have the same fate
as Salem, Mass, in which severe con-
Aagration about year ago threw ten
thousand people out of employment
and made twenty thousand homeless.
Experience shows conclusively that
it is impossible to protect the people
in a building by simply providing fire
escapes on the outside, and that it
is impossible to protect the building
itself, or other buildings in the same
city, by simply providing an efficient
fire department When fire gets a
GOOD start, especially if the wind is
strong, it is often impossible for the
best fire department to control it. In
Salem all the fire departments of East.
srn Massachusetts, were called on for
help, but in spite of this the fire did
not stop until it ran into the Atlantic
Ocean.
The only way that we can secure
real safety is by fire prevention. The
oest protection against fire is exactly
she same as the best protection against
accidents; namely, carefulness on the
part Of employees or other occupants
Carelessness with matches, cigars, etc.
and accumulations of rubbish are re.
sponsible for more than half of the
fires which occur. The next most fire.
ouent cause is defective heating and
lighting equipment, including boilers
and furnaces, smokepipes, chimneys
steam and hot air pipes, gas lights and
electric wiring. The third point which
requires attention is proper equipment
for extinguishing small fires. Thi:
may take the form of water pals Oh
extinguishers, the best extinguisher
however, is the automatic sprinkler.
Another important, consideration il
the construction of the building. 1t il
not possible or necessary to make al
buildings freproof, but little care il
the design and arrangement of fac
tory or shop will greatly decrease The
danger of a serious fire. Among othe1
things the boiler room and othe
special hazards should be shut off b.
incombustible walls; stairs and eleva
tors should be enclosed in simila
walls or partitions; large floor area
should be divided by fire walls; con
cealed air spaces should be avoided
if the floors are of wood, mill construc
ton with large beams spaced severa
feet apart is much better than the ordi
nary construction where small ioist
ere placed close together
Tt is also important that proper ex
its be provided because even tn
most carefully managed and best con
structed factory is never quite FIRE
from the danger of fire. Proper exit
does not necessarily mean fire escapes
in fact, building which contains