The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-10-02
FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
OCTOBER 4-1O

scoop" the news columns. IRIS lS
an exception. A tremendous dis
aster occurred today. Property val
ued at 81, 466,74.444 was wiped out
and Al persons lost their lives by
fire. The destruction proceeded con-
tinuously through "a hours; every
hour SCI, minute ST.
018.59-every second $16.97 was
wiped out
Thin is another way of stating
what the National Board of Fire
Underwriters, the highest authority
on the subject, tells us-namely, that
our national annual fire-loss is
$535,372,782.
What this means may be compre-
hended from a few comparisons.
Gu annual production of gold and
silver is $1OS,119s741-less than
one-fifth of our annual fire-loss. AS
a people we produced wealth of
$1,900,287,O00 in our 1922 corn
crop; but we wasted more than %
per cent of that amount by fire.
Our 1892 cotton crop amounted to
81 1872, 461.000; our fire-loss was
A per cent of that sum. In 1923
we paid our Government internal
revenues, excluding income and in
heritance taxes, totaling $780,
015,050. We wasted by fire that
same year more than half again as
much as Uncle Sam collected in
these revenues.
What is the cause of this loss /?
Fire department chiefs, insurance
actuaries and other experts tell us
that rs per cent of our fires are
partly wholly preventable, the re-
suits of one form or another of
carelessness certainly is to be de-
nounced. But 1t Is q .delusion to
think that the time ever will come
when it will not be necessary to
forestall the results of carelessness.
this state and ten others. "de-
fective, chimneys and flues" are the
most prolific causes Of fires. II the
cilimneys and flues were constructed
properly the fires would not occur.
or If the construction around them
had been flre-protected the fire.
losses would have been less severe.
For the fundamental cause of
combustion is combustibility. And
the way to forestall the results of
carelessness is to build flre7safe.
We must either admit that 1--WE
build to burn" or accept the chal-
lenge of the new slogan, Build
Fire-Safe.''
1t is possible for the average
home-builder to accept this chal-
lenge. The development of modern
building materials makes It pos
sible for even the most modest home
to be built fire-safe. For instance.
tireproof wallboard may be used in
place of highly infiammable pulp.
paper or fibre wallboards. A fire.
proof sheafhing of non-metallic
mineral may be used as sheathing
or stucco backing to protect the
wood studding of the frame. A
fireproof gypsum lath may be sub
st1tuted for tinder-lfke wood lath.
These are only examples of the
protection offered the home-builder
ny the, modern materials manufac.
turer Gypsum is only one of the
several non-metallie minerals that
may be used to enease and protect
the wooden parts of a building
PORTLAND cement concrete, asbestos.
slate. terra Gotta, lime ana other
mineral compositions also make
T possible to build flre-safe-
economically.
This is the lesson of National
Fire Prevention week. Tie Ma
tional Conference on Home Build
ing, which met recently in Chicago.
went on record as according pref
erence to fire-resistant methods and
materials in the construction of
American homes and dwellings.
What the experts advise, the public
can adopt. Build Fire-Safem not
only means a reduction OF our $685.
lS72,7S2 annual are-loss; it means
fundamental and economical insur-
ance to the life and prepertY of
every home-builder.