Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-05-12
STATE fire CHIEF
AIDS IN CAMP AIGN
BERT BUCKLEY TELLS ADVAN-
TAGES OF CLEANING UP AND
WAYS OF PREVENTION.
LOSS OF HOME AND LIVES
The Dangers From Trash In Attic and
Cellar, Pantry and Kitchen, Barns
and outhouses From Flying Sparks,
Cigar Stubs and Glowing Match
Sticks.

cigar stubs and Glowing Match
Sticks.
Upon Mother will rest responsibility
for the thoroughness of the work OF
cleaning up and painting up before
May Day, for Father will certainly
have continuous pressure of impor-
tant business down town until the
spring renovating is finished.
Between attic and alley, in the aver
age home, there is much which needs
intelligent attention for the removal
OF dangers from disease and from fire.
The attic is an asylum for all sorts
of infiammable stuff, and as it is sell
dom properly ventilated it becomes
fire incubator when the summers sun
strikes the roof
Among the odds and ends which
make up its contents, usually, are var
nished furniture, dry as tinder; rags,
many of which are greasy and ripe for
spontaneous combustion; painting oils
liable to take fire when the sun beats
upon the roof, and broken toys of chill
dren who are grown and gone or who
went to sleep long ago.
Attics should have ventilators on op-
posite sides, and the rough surfaces
of its dry wood should be whitewash
ed. Whitewash removes fuzz and cob
webbs which may catch sparks, and
also gives the wood a non-infammable
coating. There is no safe place but
the stove for rags that have on them
any vegetable or animal grease. This
includes rags which have been used to
wipe oil from the sewing machine.
Carrots often have a temperature of
110 degrees Fahr., which is the ignit-
ing point for matches.
Closets.
Floor sweepings under furniture or
in a closet are liable to take fire spon-
taneously or from flying match head,
Sawdust used in sweeping floors, if
left in corner, is very likely to be-
come hot enough to ignite itself.
Greasy overalls in tight closet may
take fire.
The most dangerous closet is that
under a stairway, because stuff that
will burn easily may be put in its long
toe, and if a fire starts in it the way
of escape from the upper stories is
soon cut off.
.Look~to the Kitchen Stove.
A kitchen stove standing three feet
from bare wooden wall may set it
afire. If the wall is covered with a
sheet Of tin, zinc or iron, it is safe to
place the stove within foot of it, but
no nearer. The sheet of metal is use
less if tackled against the wood. 1t
must be held away half an inch, so air
behind it can carry away the heat. If
it is held by screw hooks it can be
taken off to be polished bright tin
throws off heat better than any other
metal If lath in wall is bare from
the falling out of piece of plaster the
danger is the same as from a wooden
wall A ceiling of wood should be pro
tected by metal if the elbow of the
stovepipe is within foot of it.
In the Pantry and Cellar.
Most of the fires in homes from
spontaneous combustion start in the
pantry. Rags smeared with butter,
lard, or any oil except Kerosine, may
take fire of themselves, if placed where
there is no movement of air to carry
away the heat made by the grease
while drying on them. Such rags and
kha 6aT
into trash barrel, are likely to set its
contents afire.
During the winter trash accumulates
| in everybo6y's cellar from wrappings,
straw to fill openings, and the like.
| Grease is liable to be mixed in it.
Matches used for temporary lighting
may ignite it and fire-crackers may
reach it on the Fourth of July. Ashes,
if moist, are liable to ignite themselves
because of the fine particles of coal
they always contain, or from being
mixed with greasy rubbish.
Clean Up the Lot.
Most of the fires started in rubbish
outside the house-and some of those
| GOO-dIS = Cucl S6dDIG " SllOhGIS.
| The carelessness of smokers of to-
bacco in throwing away cigar and ciga-
rette stubs and emptying pipes sets
fire to about 1000 buildings every year
in this country. Smokers fire a great
er number of buildings by carelessness
with matches. They use most of the
matches. They throw cigar and ciga-
rette stubs into rubbish in back yards
and alleys, drop them through pave
ment gratings into trash and throw
them into waste-paper baskets and into
spittoons filed with sawdust. Smok-
ers become automatons in the details
Of their habits, preparing their cigars
or cigarettes, or pipes, striking a
match and then twirling it's burning
stick away unconsciously. The Turk
ish cigarette, once it is lighted, will,
If left entirely alone, continue to burn
for five minutes until it is all con-
sumed; so, one of them tossed upon
waste-paper is sure to start fire.
Burning tobacco from a pipe is more
likely to set fire to litter, trash or rub
bish than a cigarette stump.