The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-10-08
KENCSHA'S FIRE
RECORD TOLD US.
This City Put On the Map
at Louisville, KY,
Convention.
LOW LOSSES HEARD
Chief Schwartz. Home From
Meet, Busy with Fire Pre-
yentiOn Week.


capita through the work of her city
manager form of fire protection, viii
be reduced to a still lower figure If
such thing is possible, if the efforts
Of Fire Chief John ]. Schwartz and
his aides of the Kenosha fire depart
ment, in furtherance of the work OF
Fire Prevention Week which opened
today, serve to impress upon citizens
the duty they owe their city in the
prevention of fires and in minimizing
the loss in fires that do occur.
The work for the week began last
night when slides, telling citizens
what to do to prevent fires, how to
pull an alarm box in case of IRE, whae
to do before the fire department. ar
rives and how to conduct themselves
after firemen and fire fitting appar-
atus are at the scene, were thrown
upon the screen at some of the local
moving picture houses. These slides
will be shown at all movie houses ev-
cry night for the remainder of the
week.
Next in Importance in connection
with the work of Fire Prevention
Week, Chief Schwartz today placed in
all the public schools OF Kenosha
copies of Fire Prevention, a pamphlet
issued by the National Bureau of Fire
Prevention, calling upon citizens to
"abolish the hazards of fire and let US
have a city of no fires" A copy is to
be put in the hands of every school
child, thus sending them into practl-
cally every home in the city.
Louisville Hears of Us.
Chief Schwartz has just returned
from Louisville where he spent last
week at the convention of the National
Fire Engineers association, which an
nually discusses fire prevention, fire
fighting apparatus and methods, and
learns Of the work being carried on
in various cities of the United States.
Kenosha came in for full share of
publicity at this convention through
publication in Sire Protection"
journal issued by the National Under
writers, of a brief address delivered
to the convention by Chief Schwartz,
who was called as first speaker of the
session, and who told what has been
accomplished in his special depart
ment under this city's city manager
form of governme"t,
He called attention that Kenosha,
with population of $4,000, in 1924
appropriated for it's fire department.
$4,000, or $500 per capita, then con-
tinued as follows;
"The thought which animates the
Kenosha FIRE department is that good
apparatus, good men, proper water
4 IL - = ~
and prevention of fires will keep the
losses to minimum.
"As to apparatus, men and water,
this department is we'll supplied. A
constant educational program is main
tanned. The school children are in
structed in the methods of turning in
fire alarms and are taught to familiar
ize themselves with the location of fire
alarm boxes. At regular. intervals all
of the children are supplied with
questionnaires which they are re-
quired to fill out and return to the fire
department. These questionnaires are
designed to call their attention to the
most common causes of fires about
buildings and are filed out after ex-
aiming their own homes in conjunc-
tion with their parents. The effect of
this campaign is very obvious and its
results gratifying.
"The National and City Fire Pre-
vention Week are both proclaimed in
the city and a vigorous fire prevention
campaign is put on at that time. A
regular annual cleanup week is held
and many fire hazards are eliminated
by it.
Tells of Bureau Work.
1.-THE city of Kenosha has a Fire
Prevention Bureau which is headed by
the second assistant fire chief Under
his direction regular quarterly in
spections of all buildings are made by
the members of the fire department..
In addition to this, special inspections
are made in the business and indus
trial districts by the bureau itself. A
regular card-index and follow-up rec
ord system of this work is maintained.
Three hundred and forty-one build
ings were specially inspected in 1924
as to their electrical equipment alone,
and of these, corrections were ordered
and completed on 297.
"The chief of the Bureau of Fire
Prevention is also the electrical in
spector and this forms connection
with the building department. The
fire and building departments operate
most tremendously and together they
made in 1924, 1889 inspections of
buildings and equipment with view
to the reduction of fire hazards"
The point in Chief Schwartz's ad-
dress which created most interest in
the convention and was the subject OF
wide comment was the fact that exc
nosha operates under city manager
charter, which makes for splendid
cooperation between the fire, building
and water departments. The result OF
these efforts" the convention was
Told, SIS shown by the per capita fire
loss which in 1922 was $1.32, in 1923
s1.3s and in 1924 only So cents"
The municipal contest issue of Fire
Protection, which is circulated all over
The United States, not only contained
Chief Schwartz's address in full, but
also printed pictures of Kenosha's
ire drill tower, and of Chief Schwartz
Supt. of schools G. F Loomis has
organized a system of group confer.
tnces among the variars ni1hlit