The Columbia evening Missourian., 1922-04-13
ONLY AVERAGE
NUMBER FIRES
IN COLUMBIA
Chief Walden Says Careless
Furnace Firing and Over
loaded Wires Are
Main Causes.
FUSES INDICATE DANGER
Only Best of Wiring Should
Be Permitted, Is Opinion
of an Insurance
Writer.

Contrary TO popular opinion, there
are not more fires in Columbia than in
most towns of lis size" said Thomas NJ.
Walden, chief Of the Columbia Fire De-
partmeni. But" said Mr. Welden, AT
that, many Of these could be prevented,
and | would whole lot rather fight fire
by prevention than by manual labor"
There are two main causes for our
fires" he continued. One is careless,
heavy firing Of furnaces, particularly in
dry. cold weather. causing hues to burn
out and dry shingle roofs 10 become ig-
niied, and the other is overloaded wires
An experienced electrical engineer
says that in many houses too many cleo
tric lights and electrical appliances are
hooked or 10 a circuit taking of more
electricity than that wire is made TO car.
ry safely. This generates heat, and when
a wire overheais, the insulation burns.
suppose he said, TOO many cords were
attached to one line by a system of dou-
bic sockets. Ii might be one of the ex-
tension cords in the room that would
burn. II 80. the drops Of white hot cop
per OF pieces of burning insulation would
be almost certain TO start fire, if not,
the insulation on the wires above. or
back Of the ceiling or wall socket would
probably siart burning in the walls, par
iitions or ceiling. This is frequently the
cause Of the mysterious fires attributed to
defective wiring.
In house with proper fuse protec-
iion, this could not happen. Neither
could fire result from short circuit,
but the very convenient, and extremely
dangerous practice Of repairing a blown
fuse by putting a penny behind it, has
become so common that many houses are
entirely unprotected at the fuse block.
FUSES HAVE PURPOSE
THE fuses installed in your house are |
designed by experts. and their purpose
and function is TO prevent any such Oc.
currences as described above. The mo-
ment that a wire is overloaded or a short /
circuit occurs (which also causes a heat.
ed wireD the fuse on that circuit, if Of |
proper size and construction, immediate.
ly blows ou, and cuts of the current in
that wire before any damage can be
done. By putting a penny behind the
fuse you deprive yourself Of any protec.
tion in the house and rely on the fuses
in the nearest iransmifier which are
usually not small enough TO protect a
residence wiring.
In spite Of the ridiculous notion to
the contrary, fuses are put in a house
FOR real reason and are no, merely
useless coniriyence from the fertile brain
Of an ambitious engineer. Continued
fuse blowing indicates that the wires are
being overloaded or that there is some
defective wiring in the house. These are
signs that it is well to heed, in time"
A local hre-insurance writer said he
thought that in the past, some poor jobs
Of wiring have been done in Columbia
and that even yet some builders allow.
ed their wiring to be done in the cheap
rst way possible rather than in a safe
as described in the National
Electrical Code This code was designed
by the National Board of Fire Under.
writer's for the protection Of the public.
It cannot be enforced, however, except
by insurance writers regulating their
rates accordingly. A new state code, for
that will be enforced by state
is to be presented at the next
meeting of the General Assembly. This
,ode will also contain clause stating
he qualifications, and provide for the
icening of electricians.
'DoN'T TWIST CORDS"
A Columbia electrician asked that a
warning be given regarding the careless
md promiscuous use of the twisted wire
used for extension cords.
These cords" he said, should be kept
,way from all metal. Don't hang these
cords over nails or wrap them around
metal bedsteads," he added, ''and do not
ouch light connections or switches while
touching plumbing fixtures. Do not ever
let anyone touch a light fixture when
standing in a bath tub. This is a mighty
dangerous practice and not an infre-
Iuen, one The mere fact that no one
in Columbia has been killed doing this
in the last seven years does not indicate
that no one ever has, or will be killed
while so foolishly engaged"
Precautions against fire, drawn up
for students, from informa.