Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-08-19
HOME AND FOREST
FIRES COMPARED
AMERICAN HOUSEWIVES AND
RANGERS HAVE COMMON CAUSE
AGAINST CARELESS SMOKER
Guilty Parties Are Entirely Innocent
Of Incendiary Intentions But Dam
age They Cause Is No Less Serious
for That Reason.
By THE FOREST RANGER

AItnOugn their respective sta
tons in life may be far removed,
the American housewife and for
est rangers in our national forests
have at least one cause in common.
Against the thoughtless smoker
who leaves his ugly marks on
home furnishings and the one who
turns the landscape from verdant
green to desolate gray they stand
in a united front.
Records of insurance companies In
dictate that damage caused by careless
smokers to interior decorations, ftIrni-
ture and clothing amounts to millions
Of dollars every year. Statistics of the
forest service show that these same
absent-minded individuals are respon-
sible for more man-caused forest fires
every year than nearly all other class
es Of forest users combined.
Most housewives have little time to
do more than take the tobacco burning
members of their household periodical
ly to task, but foresters, who for many
years have been making business of
preventing and suppressing smoke
caused forest fires, are convinced that
these individuals should have far more
than casual attention AS the most
dangerous Of all forest users, they be-
lieve that the careless smoker is a fit
subject for psychological study and
with this in mind have launched a
program to discover, If possible, what
1t Is that makes him tick
He Doesn't Mean To
Preliminary indications are that
whether at home or in the forest the
fire-Starting smoker has no tncendiary
characteristics. Ordinarily he has no
intention whatever of causing trouble
and often, strangely enough, he is
sincerely appreciative of value and
beauty both at home and in the out
of-doors.
Rather than indifference, his beset- /
ting sin is believed to be deep-seated
habits coupled with ignorance of ex-
isting hazards. In their dealings with /
forest users. tourists and recreationists /
over number Of years, the protectors |
of the national forests have become I
that smoker fires occur chief
" because the smokers themselves gen
orally do not realize the inflammabil-
ity Of the forest cover and for that
reason neither appreciate the existing
danger nor practice even average care.
Possibly another cause of careless
ness on the part of smokers using or
passing through the national forests Is
III OfEA HOWEl2AAE cClloC Vi
freedom. When some people reach the
vast western timberlands, foresters have
noted that they appear to be trans
posed into an entirely new and differ
INT world. The atmosphere of freedom
and scenic grandeur common to the
country seems to strike a responsive
,hord in their souls-impelling them to
literally whoop with Joy and throw
,aution to the four winds.
Lost without Ash Tray
Not infrequently when the smoker (
by Smelling off his civilized
estraints and giving invigorating re-
ease to the pentup inner man, he is
udely recalled to the world of real
SIN by seeing his inviting retreat be-
ng turned into forbidding wasteland. s
At home and in his office, the {
nth ash trays and cuSpidorS, while in
he forest these reminders of his OBJ S
cation to carefully and Systematically a
iScard his waste matches and tobacco '
re lacking. Investigations have shown {
hat some forest smokers In the abb b
ence of these mechanical receptacles r
o not know where or how to safely i
ispose of their residue even though @
hey may honestly desire to do so.
AS a matter of fact, the business S
safe smoking in the forest is no i
lore complex than that Of smoking t
afely in the home. The carpet of dry n
wigs and needles which covers the
1rest floor Is far more combustible
IAN the carpet which covers the I
oliShed hardwood of the drawing y
)om; but under this layer of extra 4
eouS tree material is the moist min Q
al soil which makes one of the most 4
cceptable and convenient spark ar S
.Sters known. d
The Safest Way a
BY scraping away the shallow layer a
duff on the forest floor and grind s.
lg his matches and waste tobacco
ito the soil with the heel of his boot, c
lie smoker can rest assured that the v
st lingering spark will be thoroughly n
nothered. s!
Knocking out pipe ashes on pieces of q
God or punky logs is just as risky "
; knocking them out on the arm Of s.
4 overstuffed lounge Rotten wood, r
ace ignited, burns as slowly and in =
diously as baled cotton. Sparks from v
nokerS waste have been known to 81
Itch and shoulder In such material
IT several days before ever breaking
1t in flame Pipe ashes can be best