Milford chronicle., 1937-11-05
FIRE PREVENTION

4 rect some faults that cause fire b.
carelessness in your own homes o.
personal surroundings. AS you al
ready know, fire is one of mans bes
= friends and, also one of his worst enc
mics. In prehistoric times fire wal
mans best helper. 1t cooked his food
kept him warm and prevented the
wild beasts from getting to him. II
fire had not been discovered, 1t is
doubtful that man could have surviv'
ed the hardships or wild beasts and
be in the state he is today. Fire is
good servant but poor MASTER
In connection with this l shall de-
monstrate the fire losses of the United
States as compared to Great Britain
and Holland. The fire loss of the
United States, which is about $780,
600 900 annually, is greater than any
other country in the world. This en-
ormous loss costs each citizen about
$500 annually as compared to the
$.75 of the British and the $.12 of the
Dutch. In addition to this. over three
fourths of the fires in the United
States are caused by carelessness on
the part of the people.
In the order of destroyed property
values the ten principal sources of
fire are as follows: Q) exposure, (2)
matches and smoking. 90 defectice
chimneys and fiues. "a stoves, fur
naces and their pipes, 80 misuse of
electricity, 90 spontaneous combus-
ton, "a sparks on roofs. (S) petro-
leum and its products, t9l lightning,
and u0D hot ashes and Goals.
There are numerous ways of pre-
venting fires in the home. One way
is to inspect your electrical equip
ment to make sure that the insulation
of the wires is in good condition, that
all connections are tight to prevent
setting a fire, and that the fuses used
are the right size for the electric cir
cult. Never use pennies in place OF
fuses. The fuse is the safety valve
of your electric line. Its purpose is
to protect your line from being over
loaded. Overlooking line is thing
you should never practice. as a line
overloaded with irons, toasters. heat
ers, perculators, and other appliances
may burn through the insulation and
start fire. In all appliances be sure
that the wires are in good condition.
A frayed wire may mean a fire.
Another thing to be cautious about
in the home is the storing and care
OF infiamable liquids. All oils, paints
and volatile liquids should be kept in
safe places, away from flames. In us
ing insecticides keep away from open
flames. Be very careful when hand
ling alcohol, benzine. or kerosene in
connection with lamps or lanterns. {!
Never use gas or kerosene to start a I
fire as it may explode, injuring your
self and starting a serious fire. In /
fiamable cleaning fluids should not /
be used near open flames as the |
fumes from the fluid may catch fire
and set the whole liquid burning or
exploding. Never use lighted match
or an open flame to hunt for a gas
leak in the home. Another way to
prevent fires is to keep all oily or
panty rags or oily mops i'll metal
containers so that spontaneous COM
bustion will not occur. The metal
conducts the heat away, and the kind
ling temperature is not reached.
General cleanliness of the home is
an important factor in preventing
fires. All waste paper and rubbish
should be disposed of as quickly as it :
The cellars and attics |
OF your homes should be clear of old
papers or rubbish where fire may
start Inspect your chimneys and
keep them free of SCOT, birds nests, {
and cracks. In front of open fire. S
braces keep a strong high screen TO S
prevent flying sparks from setting '
fire to rugs, furniture, or draperies. i
Make sure that the furnaces or stoves c
and their pipes are clean and in good
condition. If you must store ashes, b
keep them in metal box. but not is n
wooden or cardboard one as the hot h
Goals may set it afire. b
There are other ways of preventing il
ire in the home. Try to have light b
ling rods on the house to prevent
lightning from setting fire. There il
re many other ways too numerous s.
o mention here. "
Smoking and matches. rating Sc
ond for destruction of property, Ii
ause many fires that could be pre- d
ented. To help prevent fires from fl
hese two sources be sure to ex- o
inguish all lighted matches, cigars, b
r cigarettes before throwing them VI
way. Smoking in bed is dangerous d
ractice which causes many fires and il
eaths. Matches should be kept in
n boxes away from mice and out CT
+ reach of children. 81
An example of carelessness with Il
GIFTED match is illustrated by the II
uge forest fire started in Idaho. A 81
lreless worker, after lighting Gig
rette, tossed a lighted match into ly
lie edge of the forest. Hours later d'
lie fire was raging, growing larger sc
i the while. Before it was put out,
of dollars worth of properzfn
was destroyed. The great acreage III
irreplacable timber was lost. A sc
reat amount of animal life was de- 81
royed, and their refugees burned. al
any people were left homeless,
lusing want and suffering. All of m
lis was caused by one lighted match 10
searded by that careless worker. fir
If fires are started by carelessness We
, otherwise, there is different equip pI
ent to put it out. In the city there fiC
'e usually several large fire ocm- OF
lnies in different sections of the
ty. These companies consist of ly
cups of paid firemen and different m
nds of trucks. For instance, there Sc
'e chemical trucks to fight oil, gas, r.
small fires. Then there are hose TO
ucks which pump water under high OF
'essure through hoses. Ladders lin
ON ladder trucks are used to ascend le
lildings to fight fires and rescue fir
.ople. There are fire-boats for the ha
otarfront frao To tronanort tho Iix