New Britain herald., 1915-09-29
CARE GREATEST NEED
 TO STOP FIRE LOSS
Underwriters and Others Plan
 for Fire Prevention Day

number or prominent CltlZeLS last night at a meeting in the city hall Those present represented the com q mon council Chamber of Commerce, New Britain Fire Underwriters as- sociation, tho school department and many other civic and governmental I bodies. No definite plans were adopt cd sub-committees being appointed to do this and report at another meet ing on Friday evening"
 Mayor George A. Quigley called the meeting to order and acted as pre- siding officer. The mayor explained the purpose of Fire Prevention day, saying Governor Holcomb had set aside October 8, for the day and he !! believed it the duty of civic and po- litical bodies to cooperate. The mayor reviewed what had been done to reduce the fire hazard in this city, including the extension of the fire zone and the prohibition of the erection of buildings which would increase the risk of, fire. The fire loss per capita here for the past year 
 of maintaining the first department is about $1 per capita In the United States first loss per capita is $2'25 per annum in comparison to twenty cents per capita in Europe. >J ,a | Dwight A. Parsons, representing the Fire Underwriters association, ex- l plained the rates of insurance in New Britain. He said he has seen evil dences daily of negligence, and care lessness Fires are caused by gas stoves, men smoking in bed, wrapping stove pipes with greasy rags, etc., Serious fires are a rarity in this city He said an acquaintance of his went looking for a gas leak with a lighted match and found it. Grease boiling over on stoves is common cause of fires, he said. "" Mr Parsons has requested the li- brary to install a book on fire pre- vention by former Chief Crocker of New York city. Tn connection, he rec commended that the public use great CT care. ...
 w. l.. Hatch, a prominent under writer said a parade of the fire de- partment and school children had been a feature of Fire Prevention day in other cities. Speakers at evening l gatherings could also be employed, | he said. MT. Hatch paid a tribute to the fire department here, which, l though not large, is efficient. The great damage lies in care and not al- 1 lowing a fire to start.
 | F. H. Afford, another prominent insurance man, suggested the i'm portance of every householder going through the house examining furnace 1 and stove pipes and cleaning chinl- | greater value than parades. Its up to every house owner to see his own property is safe," said MT. Afford. 1 MT. Hatch replied he did not be- lieve parade would be of any great value except in as much as it i'm presses the need of care on the puo- lie and MT. Afford quickly asserted that he had not meant to throw cold
 water on the parade feature.
 Ex-Representative E. w. Schultz
 expressed the opinion, that two fire l prevention days annually would be
 profitable to the city. He also be- I lieved campaign of education should l be carried on among the school chill I dren. .f
 Some plan should be formed by
 this committee for general clean-up l day." said MT. Schultz, and we want
 to plan quickly as October 8 is not
 far away I believe We should have an expert on the matter come here
 to speak to us'
 Mayor Quigley said the council.
 Chamber of Commerce, first under
 writers, and school children should
 co-operate. Chief Dame suggested
 the mayor said, that the childrsn
 should be shown how to ring in an
 alarm for fire. The mayor confessed
 that he was wee bit foggy himself | as to how to ring in an alarm.
 George J. Macauley, chairman of
 the Chamber of Commerce committee,
 said he could see the great need of a
 fire prevention day in New Britain.
 He recommended that greater care be
 exercised for the prevention of fires
 in stables Very few precautions are
 taken in them, he believed. He said
 defective chimneys are also responsi-
 ble for many fires, He recommended
 that committees be appointed to over
 see the work in sections of the city. Councilman V. B. Chamberlain
 suggested that Mayor Quigley ap-
 point subcommittee on cleanup and
 education. He. considered the large
 committee to be unwieldy. Superintendent Holmes assured
 those present that the schools were
 prepared to do their utmost to fur
 ther the success of fire prevention day. He said the school principals
 would be greatly aided by the active
 assistance of men who have had ac-
 tual experience along this line. He
 suggested that fire prevention day be
 made the opening of a weeks cam
 paign and suggested that the Parents
 and Teachers associations might CO.,
 operate.