The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-01-11
Americas a Fire Loss
Careless Smokers Responsible
for More Than Fifteen Million
Damages.

@lO1 N3OIG 1udiI l. htSSit
Damages.
New York, Jan. 7.-Careless smok-
ers and users of matches were respon-
sb1e for s15,724,556 of the total loss
of s6o,466.054 worth of property by
..preyentable fires in the United
States during 1918, according to
members of the Fire Marshals AS
soeiation of North America who are
holding a two days conference here
with the National Board of Fire IN
derwriters beginning today.
Figures showing that the United
states leads the world in property de-
strnction by fire were given i'll the
onening session, the damage per
capita being stated as s2-1O annually
in this country as compared with ~
cents France, 33 cents IN Ensiano,
28cents in Germany, % cents IN
ItaN and Austria, Is cents IN SWlt-
zertand and IL cents in Holland
Homer Rutledge, Of Lansing, Mich
igan, fire marshal of that state, ols-
cussed ssThe Arson Trust" and snow
Cd how incendiaries had burned
s8.121.S16 worth Of property IN one
year during the war, exclusive OF the
many other millions destroyed IN
directly by explosions. Ole 0. Roe, Oh
Des Moines. fire marshal OF Iowa. IL
an address or. ..Pyromania, said edu-
cation was one of the most efficient
means Of combating this evil. f. 4.
dorearidge of New York, formerly
Z, sEs. -. -, , ,.et,a1 oF Indiana said
most frebugs were ,adolescent boys
and girls. He advocated proper nome
and school training.
Despite the fact that the United
States was at war and that enemy
agents were active, twenty states re-
ported a slight decrease in the num-
Der of cases of arson. While it was
anaeuncednas a fact that in the hrst
nine months after America drew the
sword s43, ,000,8 600 worth of war IN
dustries went up in smoke. in only
ten per cent. OF these cases was there
even suspicion of spy-work. Care
lessness" was des gnated as the big
gest frebug of all. One grain elevator
FIRE alone destroyed enough wheat
to make a years supply Of bread for
100000 soldiers.
Many fires at first attributed to Ger
man spies and pyromaniacs We're
found, upon investigation, to be due
to other causes One notable instance
was a spectacular and costly water
front fire in Brooklyn, the Dow's
Stores, in which a vast quantity OF
grain intended for shipment to the
Allies was destroyed. It was discoV-
cred that the blaze was the result OF
a. dust explosion caused by q spark
either from friction or static electrl-
city. Another CONSPICUOUS instance
was the Baltimore pier fire which
atsfrst was positively ascribed to pro-
German plotters. Rigid investigation
by Federal agents, according to fire
marshals definitely determined its
snop-incepdiary origin.
Following a reference to the Nor
gan, N. J. disaster in which nearly
one hundred lives were lost and S2O,-
200 .000 damage done, delegates spoke
sDf the work accomplished the past
year by the fire prevention section of
the War Industries Board. This bu-
reau, it was stated, had inspected
9at over $40, 600, 100000 and in a large
percentage OF cases the safety rec
3omendations Of its volunteer dollar
a-year engineers were carried out.
1t was stated that fire prevention
methods adopted for the sixteen large
army environments throughout the
United States had proved most ef-
fective although these camps consist
Sed OF wooden buildings. Hazards
were reduced to the minimum by
proper watchfulness. water protec-
..tion, isolation, conduiting, and en-
S5orcement Of regulations in regard to
smoking and the use of matches mad
lights
II. C. Brearly, one of the speakers.
said New York City was in imminent
peril Of a great con1agration when
ON November 7, after the erroneous
report Of the German surrender, a
ssstorm" Of paper was thrown from
the windows Of business buildings
z7ittering the streets to depth of sew
eral inches and many rniles of ticker
stape covering telegraph and telephone
wires constituted a fire hazard of the
Nth power. Fire Chief kenlon of
New oYrk City declared that if a SER
.ious blaze had started at that time.
: or on November II, four days later
when the scenes Of pandemonium
were repeated, all New York might
:. have been laid in ashes. The fire de-
spartments would have been crippled
also, he said, by the crowds Of traffic
congestion in the streets. AS one of
sthe delegates expressed it. Thus was
invited the greatest loss of life and
sproperty, perhaps, in American his
tory