New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-08-02
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-
eurs Most Frequently 10 Back.
f4rin0-GasoIine In Drip Pan
Another Source Of Trouble.

Automobile fires. their causes ant
their prevention, is the general theme
taken up by Prof. Clyde II. Pratt
president Of the Cleveland Automobile
school.
"Desplte the many general cam
paigns Of education Of automobile
owners and chauffeurs in precautions
against fire, enough cases continue tC
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 1t Is unnecessary to
enumerate all the causes that lead up
to backfiring, 1t is well to point out
that the chief one is a mixture that is
too lean when fed to the cylinders.
Backfiring will almost invariably fol-
low when this condition Is present.
"When there Is a back fire a sheet
Of flame bursts from the air intake
of the carburetor, and If there is any
thing infiammable In that vicinity 1t
Is very apt to catch fire.
Sure to Make Trouble.
Bearing always in mind that gaso.
line vaporlzes very quickly, it 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 off before it has
time to vapOrize.
"Under ordinary circumstances
there should not be much gasoline
there at any time. If it comes from
a leak in the supply pipe n the car
buretOr connection 1t should be re-
paired at once; If 1t 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 a cause for fire in the
automobile. Great speed usually heats
the exhaust pipe almost to a glow. II
the pipe Is close to woodwork, particu-
larry where there Is an accumulation
Of grease or dirt. there may be a
fire. Keep the woodwork free from oil
and grease at all times and thus pre-
vent a possible blaze from this par
ticular cause.
Oil and Grease Wasted.
"The exhaust pipe also heats when
the engine Is I'll with a 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 trife. If under this condition
the car is left standing in a 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 OverfOws
when 1t is filed by an operator who
Is in q great hurry. Then in the
further hurry to make a quick start
the mufler cutOut is opened and the
driver finds that he Is not due to leave
the garage for some time to come, IL
ever, In that particular machine.