Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-03-26
FIRE FIGHTING
AID FOR FARMS
Fire Marshal Department
Suggests Cooperation Be-
tween Village, Farm.
Reasonably Priced and Eff
fective Equipment is
Tried Elsewhere.

For some time the state Fire Mar
shaIs Department has been stressing
the need of protecting the Minnesota
farms from fire. The Department
took this matter up and has been
working on it for the last II months.
In a Works project it has been max
ing a fire map for every county in the
state which maps are to be deposited
with the county auditor. In addition
the department has been working
with a few villages and cities and
the surrounding townships seeking to
have the adjoining townships around
a town, having an organized fire de-
partment, subscribe jointly to the
purchase of a piece of fire equip
ment to be housed in the town or
village having an organized fire de-
partment, and which piece of farm
fire fighting equipment shall be used
for fighting farm fires. This piece of
equipment is called a water wagon"
and carries 300 gallons of water. a
booster pump, booster lines, ladders
and pump for drawing water from els
terms, wells, stock tanks, ponds, etc.
This water wagon" is capable, from
the supply carried from the engine
house of throwing a stream for fifteen
minutes. While this stream is being
thrown a bucket brigade can keep
filling this tank.
This type of equipment is newly de-
signed for farm fire fighting purposes.
It's cost, when spread over an area
of five or six townships is approx
mately $500 or $500 per farm, and it
has a life of twenty to twenty-five
years.
Suggests Workable Plan.
Under the plan worked out by the
Fire Marshal Department, the town
or village which desires to work out
this plan calls in representatives of
the surrounding townships and con-
ference is had at which time the
State Fire Marshars office has it's
representatives present to outline the
plan. The method of raising money
is either by private subscription of
each of the farmers benefited, or by
assessment levied by the electors of
the town meeting against the bene-
fitted properties under Mason's Mime
sofa Statutes of 1927, Section 1927,
Subsection 10.
1.-The State Fire Marshal Depart
ment made a survey of Minnesota fire
equipment in connection with Works
Project No. 702, and found that there
was need of a rural fire fighting pro-
gram based on the selection of key
towns and villages to house modern
equipment for fighting farm fires"
said Dewey w. Johnson, deputy COM
missioner of Insurance and State
Fire Marshal, in charge of the Fire
Marshal Department.
1T is apparent that with the
growth and development of diversified
farming in Minnesota that each year
finds more of Minnesota's wealth
placed in farm buildings and equip
ment, and, since great portion of
Minnesota's citizens live on the land,
there is need for such a farm fire
fighting program as this department
is now advancing. We hope that when
this program is carried out to it's
fullest extent that every town or viii
lage having fire equipment in Mime
sofa will have worked out a plan with
it's adjoining and neighboring town
ships so that piece of farm fire
fighting equipment will be housed and
manned by the local village or city
department subject to the fire calls
of neighboring farmers. This plan is
now being worked out in Milan, New
Prague and Jordan and was taken up
at their annual meetings, and votes
were taken authorizing the town
boards to act Jointly with the other
townships and key city or village to
acquire such equipment. This pro-
gram carried out logically will cut
the cost of insurance to the farmers
through the Township Farm Mutuals,
and will be of great aid to the Town
ship Farm Mutuals in protecting the
property from fire which they are
now insuring."