The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-12-28
Annual Report From
 City Fire Marshal
(Continued from Page 1)

been only out of the 1882 fire year" a short time before a F wood dwelling, with a garage near by, as well as chicken house, were set on fire, out East Farms way, and totally destroyed. At this fire we brought in several in- vestigators, and we were all con- vinced that three separate fires were started. It was an after nid- night fire, and litle evidence was obtainable for the investigation we started. The flames wiped out everything.
 Later, there were several sus-
 picious fires in the north end, Tn
 one of which the state police took a part.
 But we can state that most of the fires were explained, and the cause obtained without much de- lay.
 Fire Prevention Week
 Fire prevention week was duly observed by the department. A fire display was given in store kind ly donated to us, and in addition every school house in the city was visited and fire drills practiced. Fol lowing the advice and instruction of the board of fire underwriters, addresses were also made to the
 large number of pupils we appear. ed before. The program was one or the most extensive ever given un- der the auspices of the department, and we hope much good will come as a result of the undertaking. Domestic Oil Burners During the year this bureau has ;rcnanfnd a total of 293 oil burners, number of which were installed during the past year. In all new installations this bureau requires every known safety to be placed on the unit, and the woodwork pfoperly pro- | tected. Under the law no such in- stallations can be made without a permit from this office, and yet In some cases it has been attempted. Shut-off switches, even in old in stallations, must be located in the cellar stairway. Oil burners proper | ly handled seem to function prop erly; only in cases where safety units are lacking do they seem to cause trouble to the fire depart ment. Carelessness adds greatly to their danger, in that once installed, ! in some cases, we have obtained information that they were neglect ed until trouble occurred. Home owners are warned that nightly in- spections of their heating unit for the house should be inspected be-
 fore retiring. Such inspections have been known to be just in time to prevent fire.
 The Cause of Fire
 It would be well if people gave a passing thought to the cause or
 fire in Waterbury. Just like other cities, carelessness enters into the situation, and brings about a con-
 dition which causes fire. Go into some places of business and ob- serv for yourself; Kerosene or fuel oil stopped around wood floors; lacquer and turpentine stored near a flame; Christmas trees stored over hot furnaces; chimneys ne- glected: stove pipes broken and cracked; children reaching by chair to the shelf and pulling down a box of matches for play; house. wives and good looking girls talk ing chances with their lives by cleaning clothes with gasolene; men and women smoking cigarettes and tossing lighted butts into waste paper baskets; bon fires being started without permission and left to burn without regard to rights of neighbor or property about; oil heaters in apartment houses not looked after until trouble occurs, and oily rags and mops stored in tightly closed closets and rooms. These are only a few of the causes of fire here, but they show the in- difference of people toward fire, and the rights of others.
 Overcrowding
 Owners or managers of places where people gather, churches, dance, halls, theaters, in some in- stances, appear indifferent to the laws governing public assembly. No person has the legal right to overcrowd any building, and we propose to stop it, every time we meet such a situation. Exits are too few in some of these places to per- init of chances being taken, yet we have found occasions when we thought those in charge were play ing with the lives of some people, in their resire to crowd them into a building, beyond the seating caacpity, and without any way of egress except the main entrance. We wonder to ourselves many times just what defense could be made, were a life or two lost on account of this condition. Jamming people in aisles, and forcing them to stand for an hour or two listen- ing to speakers borders on "hay- jerk" management, and is dan- gerous to all involved.
 Fees Collected During the Year
 During the year the fees of this office were increased slightly by a more extensive drive into the cus- tom and practice of the sale of ex- plosives. The sale of gasolene also brought little more into the city treasury, as was also the case with the sale of fuel oil. But it is our opinion that the sale Of explosives and their uses, plus the distribu- ton of gasolene and fuel oil should bring more of a revenue to the