The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-09-07
GOOD ADVICE ON
AVOIDING fires
Professor Pratt Gives Hints to
Owners and Drivers on
Safety First.
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRES
Principal Cause and One Which oc-
ours Most Frequently Is Back
firing-GasoIine in Drip Pan
Another Source of Trouble.

Automobile fires, their causes and
their prevention, is the general theme
taken up by Prof. Clyde II. Pratt,
president of the Cleveland Automobile
school.
despite the many general cam
paigns of education of automobile
owners and chauffeurs in precautions
against fire, enough cases continue to
occur to warrant a word of caution
and an additional word of prevention
says Professor Pratt.
"While automobile fires do not al
ways originate from causes considered
to be within the control of the driver,
the great majority are entirely unnec-
essary as well as preventable. The
principal cause, of course, and the one
which occurs most frequently, is back
firing. Although it is unnecessary to
enumerate all the causes that lead up
to backfiring, it is well to point out
that the chief one is mixture that is
too lean when fed to the cylinders.
Backfring will almost invariably fol-
low when this condition is present.
"When there Is a back fire a sheet
Of fame bursts from the air intake
of the carburetor, and If there is any
thing inflammable In that vicinity it
is very apt to catch fire.
Sure to Make Trouble.
Bearing always in mind that gaSo-
line vaporizes very quickly, 1t Is easy
to understand that If there is gasoline
in the drip pan there is almost sure
to be a sufficient mixture about the
carburetor to make trouble for the
driver. The drip pan under the car
buretor should be so arranged that the
gasoline Is drained of before it has
time to vaporize.
"Under ordinary circumstances
there should not be much gasoline
there at any time. If it comes from
q leak in the supply pipe or the car
buretor connection 1t should be re-
paired at once; if it is from carburetor
overflow, due to poor seating of the
float valve, the carburetor should be
cleaned.
"Under some conditions too fast
running may be cause for fire in the
automobile. Great speed usually heats
the exhaust pipe almost to a glow. If
the pipe is close to woodwork, particu-
larry where there is an accumulation
of grease or dirk there may be a
fire. Keep the woodwork free from oil
nj of oil nr6 fhIJc
vent q possible blaze from this par
ticuEar cause.
Oil and Grease Wasted.
''The exhaust pipe also heats when
the engine is run with greatly re-
tarded spark. Here again oil would
increase the menace. The economical
operator will not allow oil or grease
to be wasted in this way.
occasionally when the car is stand
ing in the garage the supply line will
leak a trif1e. If under this condition
the car Is left standing in q closed
garage all night, the vaporized ac-
emulation on the floor would ignite
from an open cutout when the engine
Is started.
Sometimes the tank overfiows
when it is filled by an operator who
is in a great hurry. Then in the
further hurry to make quick start
the muffier cutout is opened and the
driver finds that he is not due to leave
the garage for some time to come, If
ever, in that particular machine.