Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1927-04-28
FIRE PREVENTION
AND PROTECTION


THE need of fire prevention and
spfotection is extremely necessary
whether one is considering the home
the pdblic institution, or the town in
which one lives. Fire coasts annually.
in the United States, abeut $4,000
human lf~es. sMany thrifty citizens
lose the savings eff a. lie time, in an
hour. It is a sproblem which each of
us must face at some time. y: : /.
: When we speak Of fire protection,
ordinarily, we think of that afforded
by the town A town may have very
good fire department, with efficient
firemen and equipment, but is that
protection and prevention carried on
in the home? The way to abolish an
evil is to do away with the cause of
that evil. Take the root of the evil
and you will have no evil. Therefore
we should think always of fire pre-
vention before fire protection.
Many Of US are prone to be care
less with fires. We leave matches in
unsafe places where mice or children
may get them Often we burn refuge,
{old rags and such things) near
dwellings, ard leave the fire burn
ing, with little concern as to whether
it dies out or spreads. Another dam
gerous practice is leaving gasoline
or kerosene where it may come in
contact with flames. 1t is common
place accurance to see a man work
ing on car, and at the same time,
smoking a cigarette. Let us hope that
he becomes more thoughtful before
his actions result in a calamity
In this season of the year, it is the
lads delight to set fire to large
field Of broom sage. This nlay be a
pleasure TO The lad, but should the
fire spread beyond his control, it
might result in the destruction OF
some building or residence. So here's
to the proverb Think before you
act"
In connection with this problem Of
fire prevention we must think Of the
smokers. I am sure YOU will all agree.
that a carless smoker H. menace
to community. IF a person must
smoke, he should put forth a special
effort to be careful in the disposal
of the unsmoked part Of the cigar or
cigarette.
For example, man who has work
ed hard all day may come home in
the evening and after the evening
meal, seat himself in his favoritc
chair and while reading the daily
paper smoke cigar. A few moments
later he may earelessly drop the
cigar onto the rug. In little while
he takes his family to a public enters
tainment only to be disturbed in the
course of the evening by the fire a.
larm, the news that his house is on
fire. 1t is probable that he never
thinks that the fire was caused by
his own carelessness.
Then too, think of the public insti-
buttons in which number of people
are assembled day after day. In such
places there must be vre protection.
Who knows when fire is likely to
get started and endanger thousands
of lives?
We find that fire prevention is
fire protection Before we can have
good fire protection every individual
in the community, must first practice
fire prevention both in the home and
abroad. Children as well as. men and
women, must be taught the impor-
lance of fire protection. Therefore
let US, as fellow citizens, cooperate.
with our town in furthering fire pro-
lection, by doing all in our power as
individuals to prevent fires Z. E.
ST.. III. .'