Evening star., 1926-10-02
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS


Fire! Fire! Fire.
There is no more thrilling, curdling
cry than Fire"
Next week will be Fire prevention
week in Washington. Just as some
good folks would OUTLAW war" and
so dispense with the Army and Navy.
it is proposed to outlaw fires and
give the Fire Department Il rest.
How we'll that effort will succeed will
depend upon the efficiency of the indi-
vidual householder and business man.
ager in cleaning up the fire-produc-
ing rubbish around homes and bust
ness blocks. Last year the depart
ment made 1SS,16S inspections and
served 6,0S8 written notices upon peo-
pie tolerating fire menaces.
There is that garret with its heaps
of papers and old clothes. There is
the furnace chimney which has
smoked ever since the oil-burner,
which did not work well, was put in
and then put out. The chimney is
choked with SCOT. and SCOT is almost
like tinder. A spark will set it all
atlame and sparks will flare to the
treetops. They may not ignite your
own tin or slate roof, but how about
their falling upon the rubbish pile in
your nolBnDOr ydrO!
1T is up to the neighbor to clear
up his own inf1ammable rubbish, of
course" but his three-year-old baby
is not responsible for the carelessness
of you and her daddy. Will you at
tend her funeral? 1t takes so slight
burn Of baby clothes to make a
funeral. A spark--and a lifelong
grief! Clean up. Burn out your chin
ney now. Build fire in your fur
mace, and if you can get it to draw
enough to make hot Goals, throw on
a pound or two of common salt. That
will form an acid gas which will
clean out the chimney SCOT. Scraps
of zinc will do the same. Or try to
find that almost extinct human-a
chimney-SWeep.
In England. France and Germany,
any householder who has a chimney
fire is subject to arrest and fine. for
it indicates that he has been criminal
" neglectful of his chimney, willfully
jeopardizing the property and lives of
his neighbors. There were 1877 fires
last year, In Washington. due to
sparks falling on combustible ma
terial.
Last fiscal year saw 1.O98 dwelling
fires in Washington, of which All
were caused directly by defective and
unclean chimneys. There were 401
fires caused by brush heaps. grass,
leaves, trash, neglected in back yards
or set afire for bonfires.
The most numerous single cause
of fires was automobiles, consuming
either the machines or adjacent
property-442 cases. Next to them
came careless smokers. those reck-
less ones who toss matches or stubs
iS0t@ no yaf.
or upon awnings or around garages.
They walk mile fo ra cigarette, but
not yard to dispose of a blazing
match.
Stoves and electric apparatus pro-
duced only about 100 fires each. And
that bette noir-spontaneous combus-
tion--waS charged with only p sins
one less than hot ashes put into
wooden containers.
Washington has an excellent rec
ord as 10 fires. 1t stands second
lowest in a group of II cities of its
class. It's fire loss per capita, in the
fiscal year 1925. was only $1.S3;
Chicagoans' lost $2.23 per capita; New
York City. $316; Boston, $6.19; Bal
timore, $2.45: Philadelphia, $2.3S, and
Pittsburgh, $3.5S.
Our record is not growing worse
In 1920 we lost $2.05 per capita. In
1928, there We're some unusually
large losses. bringing the per capita
up to S4.70. but other cities also had
unusually bad fires the same year
Some cities have made annual losses
exceeding $46 per capita, while ar
average of $40 to SIS is common. In
1925, Pine Bluff. ARK. had a loss OF
$47.62 per capita. " ashington retains
many old buildings which are heri