New Britain herald., 1918-05-30

 & NIVEN
LESS CARELESSNESS,
 THEN FEWER FIRES
Underwriters Advocate EnHsting Children As Preventive Step

Children are naturally interested in fire; can they also be interested in fire prevention? The United States Bu- reau of Education believes that they can, and to this end, is sending to state and county superintendents, and to local boards of education through out the nation, copies of a 91-page illustrated manual upon the subject that has just been prepared by. The National Board of Fire Underwriters with the suggestion that it be made regular textbook for use in the first half of the seventh grade work. This idea has been endorsed by many na- tional and state officials. The booklet in question is entitled, Safeguarding the Home Against Fire" with a sub- title, "A Fire Prevention Manual for the School Children of America" It has been in preparation by The Ma. tional Board for more than a year, and may be said to represent the con- sensus of opinion of the highest ; authorities as to practical methods by which the fire peril may be greatly reduced in millions of homes.
 However, the real purpose goes much deeper than that of mere in Struction. It is psychological. Fire prevention has of late years been com ling to the fore with the growing recognition of the preventability of most fires, and is now undergoing an interesting development. Heretofore, the subject has been largely one of gineering-properly 7 so-but en- gineering alone will not. make people careful. Even good construction, with careless occupants, will still present 8 menace, and authorities have reached the conclusion that all fires are di- rectly or indirectly traceable to human carelessness.
 Carelessness is a psychological prob lem. Can it be entirely eliminated? Probably not. Can it be greatly re- 1uced? Most certainly it can. Will it's reduction be accom- mpanied by corresponding red duction in fire loss? Undoubtedly. How, then, shall this psychological problem be dealt with?
 It is hard to change the habits If grown people. A thing which the ehild quickly perceives and assimi- lates often produces slight effect upon the person of middle age. Therefore, there has long been a growing convic tion that in order to strike a the base of American carelessness, which in turn is at the base of American fire waste, it will be necessary to educate the forming mind of the child.
 Now, most people conceive of edu- cation as the giving of instruction. The word "educate,' however, is de- rived from a directly opposite idea that of drawing out developing from within-and the best teachers accomplish results by giving no in , struction apart from an attempt to awaken the childs natural interest n the subject under discussion. For these reasons it can be seen that a manual of even the most practical fire prevention rules might still miss the mark. With this thought in mind, the authorities of The National Board of Fire Underwriters have sought to make the subjects of fire prevention and of carelessness of genuine interest 10 children.
 Good Citizenship Versus "Kulturc." Safeguarding the Home Against Fire" is, therefore, a serious attempt bo develop in the coming generations m entirely new state of consciousness