The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-10-25
Fire Prevention and the
High Cost Of Living

A1Sa9SA SO~S ~ ~sv 40
Few people realize how directly the
much discussed High cost of Living
is Influenced by Americas excessive
fire waste. A recent nationwide anal
ysis of fires and fire causes has
shown enormous destruction of com.
mon staples. Single fires in eleyas
tors and mills frequently consume the
equivalent OF living for small army
Of people. For example, recent blaze
in an Illinois elevator rendered 100.
900 bushels of corn unfit for human
food, and also destroyed 100000 bush
els OF, oats. ...
Grain elevators, -four, cereal, grist
and feed mills, present well known
elements Of fire hazard In that they
are subject to explosions OF the high.
ly explosive dust that results from
handling or milling grain. These dis
asters also cost many lives; 9 dust
explosion in Buffalo mill in 1913, re-
suited in over thirty fatalities A
short time ago the United States de-
partment of agriculture made.a study
OF the frequent explosions in grain
separators in the Big Bend country
of the northwest, and found that In
the height of the season these reached
from six to ten day, the flames from
such an explosion in a large number
of cases spreading into the surround
ing grain with destructive results.
Individual barn fires add enormous
w to this total. Throughout most OF
the country the season Of thunder
storms follows closely upon that OIL
harvest. and thousands of barns, stor'
cd with potential food go tip in flames
each year because Of lighting. These
fires must be classed as largely pre-
ventable since statistics compiled by
the Actuarial bureau Of the National
board of fire underwriters show that
of the total fire loss from lightning,
more than 90 per cent is found where
lightning rods are not used.
The spontaneous combustion OF hay
and grain in poorly ventilated barns
is another big factor which might
largely be prevented by proper pre-.
cautions.
When to such items are added the
fires in grain fields from locomotive
sparks, and from the matches of care.
less smokers, it may be realized that .
vast amount of 7oodstuff is turned into
clouds OF: smoke, instead of human
bone ard muscle. This inevitably has
its effect upon the price of the remain
der.
Most people depend upon groceries
for their. food, and the average gro.
Gerry, containing, as it does, stocks Of
kerosene, and other inflammable mer-
chandise, Is a special instance Of fire
hazard. This is shown by the great
numDer that are consumed during
each year, and each grocery fire sub.
tracts definite quantity of staples
from the national supply.
Meat supplies are directly affected
by the large number of livestock
burned by fires in barns and stables,
and also by the many fires in packing
houses, slaughter houses, etc.
I: The same condition holds true with
other staples than those Of food. sIn
two years. there were reported 822
fires in wool and cotton mills. Cotton
is commodity which is particularly
subject to disastrous fires. This also
applies in: a marked degree to the. re-
flning, storing and handling Of oil
one Of our commonest daily require.
ments.
The supply Of wood enters into
many phases Of our living necessities.
In New York state alone 100000 PEG
pie are employed in turning out.ean
annual product of nearly $400,O0OQ0O
in wood manufactures. Striking atathe
basis of this great industry, hundreds
OF human lives, and millions Of dollars
worth of property are destroyed each
year by forest fires, which might be
prevented with proper care. The ma
tional Forest service, in one year,
discovered 1926 forest fires TO have
been caused by campers; lilo by To-
lcomotiye sparks, and 47O by incendi-
aries. The burning Of saw mills,
lumber yards. furniture and wooden
ware factories and stores is tcoS fire
quent to call for special comment.
Similar surveys might be made in
other fields Of staples included inHthe
cost OF living.
Back Of all this loom the larger
aspects of the situation. With. an av.
erage Of more than one reported fire
for every minute of the year, and a
daily destruction approximating $780,,
900, the United States is subject to an
economic drain that affects every de
tail of it's business and social life
and is large, though unrecognized
factor, in the cost of all commodities
! Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked
i that vast number Of people are in
:, tcrrupted in employment, and hence ii
earning power, from the same cause.
! 1t is at least an interesting coinci
dence that the historic panic Of. 1871;
! followed the Chicago conhagration q
the mere recent panic of 1907 occurred
in the year succeeding San Francisco.s
great fire. -
II America were to reduce her FIRE
losses to the fractional figure of mos
other countries 1T can hardly p b.
doubted that the cost of living woult
be materially lowered. 1t must neyel
be forgotten that ola per cent of thi!
annual bonfire is due to strictly pre-
ventable causes, 1873 per cent to thos.
which are partly preventative, and tina
the remaining 40.7 per cent from Gun
Known causes is probably Target.
preventable.
! The First National Bank announce
that it will provide free of charge, /,
large safety deposit box for the pun