Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1922-10-06
FIRE PREVENTION
kEEh, OCvnbEk 20.

ODSeFNc OcLODeT 9tn, anniversary
# the great fire of 1871, as National
fire Prevention Day
This year, the President Of the
United States and number of State III
Governors are designating October 2lf
o as Fire Prevention Week. Such II
| week has, as one of its primary II
functions, the education of the people
o the idea of safeguarding their homes
)y greater caressand Watchfulness with
'egard possible breeding places for
TRES and the consequent appalling
oss of property, and, very often, OF
ives
In the course of his Fire Prevention
Day Proclamation, President HardingI
has the following observations to
make
'1t has long been reproach to our
Country that by reason of poor con-
struction, inadequate facilities for fire
prevention, and an all too general
carelessness about possible causes OF
conflagration, our fire waste reaches |
year after year figures which are not
approached in any other country in the
world.
am sure that am we'll within the
facts in suggesting that the fire loss Of
given year must be multiplied by at
least two, in order to determine the
burden which the public must pay for
fire prevention and fire indemnity. That
would mean a burden of two billion of
dollars every four years, which, if it
could be saved, would pay roughly
one-half the interest on the national
debt"
In recent years the fire loss of the
United States has mounted enormously.
Last year the loss was $4S5, 900, 900.
The loss for the first six months of
1922 exceeded that of the same period
of 1921.
| Who bears this loss ? Not the fire
insurance companies, for they collect,
in small premiums, from the public
lall over the land, the huge sums they
are called upon to pay out, They are
Isimply collectors and disbursers,
The public bears the loss. YOU
bear part of it. So does your neigh.
Dor. It is an indirect tax for the most
lpart, but tax, nevertheless. The de-
|struction of manufacturing plants by
fire means a checking of production, a
loss of markets, and a loss of income.
The owners of the DIES troyed factory
land the workers therein-alI share the
lcost Of the loss
Statistics reveal the fact that a claim
lis paid for a fire loss every 90seconds.
| The 100000 stock fire insurance
Ipolicies outstanding if folded and plac
led one upon the other, would rise to 3
height OF fourteen miles, or nearly
three times the height of Mt Everest
the highest peak in the world. The
| fire losses in the United States in one
lyear would more than build aePanama
| Canal.
| Obviously, the first and best fire
protection anywhere is Fire Proven.
ton. 1t is easier less expensive, and
less dangerous to prevent fires than il
is to put them out after they start
And, to the end of reducing ordinary
fire hazards to a minimum, the CO.
Operation of newspapers, schools, fire
departments, and public officials must
be enlisted.
1 1t is true, of course, that not nearly
all the fire waste can be prevented.
| AND, IN CASE PREVENTIONFAILS,
INSIST ON HAVING DEPENDABLE
PROTECTION. The Company behind
your insurance policy may be all that
stands between you and financial
ruin, in case of loss.
The NJ. w. MAGRUDER AGENCY
represents only the strongest and most
reliable organizations which have
promptly paid their honest losses and
Survived the most disastrous confla
|grations, including the Chicago Balti-
more and San Francisco fires.
If you wish further information or
assurance regarding the character Of
our adjustments, it will be a pleasure
to refer you to those who have SUI
tered losses under the past and pres
ent Agency management 1t will be a
further pleasure to discuss with YOU in
detail the most common fire hazards
and to suggest methods of prevention,
regardless of whether or not YOU have
a policy with any of our COMPANIES.
Lack OF space prevents extended dis
Icussion Of these hazards but we an
pend the following Suggestions for fire
prevention
Don't use makeshifts instead of
proper fuses in your electrical circuits;
the fuse is the safety valve" of the
system.
Don't leave electric flatirons or other
heating devices turned on while at
'ehuiiiS W solilelnlng else.
Don't use gasoline or other volatile
liquids to remove spots from clothing.
Don't throw lighted matches or
smoking material where they can
possibly cause fire.
Don't smoke in bed perhaps those
guilty OF this practice are too green to
burn, but the beds are not.
Don't let children play with matches
or bonfires.
Don't fail to have your defective
chimneys or flues mended.
Don't forget to have the SCOT re-
moved from your smoke pipe; if not
cleaned, the pipe may be overheated
and start fire when you operate the
furnace.
Don't neglect to protect walls, cell
ings and partitions from the overhead
ing of stoves, furnaces and pipes.
Don't put hot ashes into wooden
boxes or barrels.