we helped to pay in 1921 amounted to three hundred and fifty million dollars. Since this is a matter which affects us personally we are quite naturally interested in how this amount is kept from being still larger, as well as how we can help to cut it down to a much lower figure. It is the duty of our city and state fire fighters to organize this undertaking. But there are many ways in which every one of us can co-operate with them. 2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF FIRE FIGHTING Many hundreds of years ago people thought that fire was holy, because it was a gift from the gods. It was considered sacrilegious to throw water on fires; hence the people of ancient times suffered many conflagrations without so much as lifting a finger to put out the fires. The citizens of Rome, however, had no such superstitition. The Romans secured wise housing regulations to prevent conflagrations, and used slave labor in extinguishing fires. The services of the slaves were generously donated by their masters. The method of fire fighting used by the Romans persisted down to modern times. It consisted of forming bucket brigades and throwing bucketfuls of water upon the flames. Augsburg, in Germany, had the first known fire-engine. It was a pumping engine operated by hand, and is reported in 1518. Paris and London had no official fire fighting companies until two centuries later. The first step taken in the New World toward fire prevention was in 1618, when wooden chimneys were prohibited in New Amsterdam. Eleven years later a tax of one guilder was imposed upon every chimney in the city, and the money was used to buy fire ladders, hooks, and 250 leather buckets. A Fire Bucket Brigade was organized, and eight "Night Prowlers" went on rounds of inspection to detect fires and give the alarm. The fire fighters of those days were all volunteers; the companies were recruited from the young men of the city, and became social as well as fire fighting organizations. Parades, picnics, balls, and water throwing contests made these early companies attractive, and they developed a great rivalry, each company striving to be the first on the scene of a fire. It was not until after 1865 that a paid professional fire department was organized in New York City, and the volunteer system abolished. Before then the city had two great fires, one in 1835 that destroyed over five hundred buildings, and a later one, in 1845, that wiped out three hundred buildings and killed thirty-five people. Chicago's fire department was reorganized after the great fire of 1871 that destroyed a third of the city. One year later a great conflagration in Boston resulted in the organization there of a modern fire fighting force. Now every large city has an efficient professional body of fire fighters, with electric signaling systems and modern apparatus. 3. WHY WE HAVE FIRES To most of us it comes as a shock to learn that the majority of fires in our country are caused by carelessness. This means that we are simply throwing away millions of dollars and sacrificing thousands of human lives because we do not take proper precautions against fire. Most fires occur in people's homes. This is because houses are not always well built, and because people in their homes are more careless than they are in their places of business. Chimneys resting on wooden beams, fireplaces with a wooden foundation under the brick hearth, thin chimney walls, and chimneys lined with plaster instead of tile-all these conditions are causes of the fires starting from "defective flues." A defective flue fire merely means that when the house was built, somebody was careless. Nearly every such fire could be prevented. Fires often start in the cellar. Furnaces are set too close to wooden partitions, or to the wooden floor construction above. This woodwork is dried out by the heat until only a spark is needed to ignite it. Then some cold winter night, when an extra hot fire is built up, the furnace may become red hot and radiate heat enough to set fire to the woodwork above. If the furnace is set at a proper distance from all woodwork, or if it and the pipes leading from it are enclosed in asbestos, homes would be safe from such fires. Shingle roofs, too, when the shingles are of wood, are spark-catchers that cause many fires. But far too many dwelling-house fires are due to the carelessness of the people living there. Matches carelessly stored or used, rubbish allowed to gather in the cellar, and cigarette stubs dropped in waste baskets cause many fires in homes. 4. HOW WE CAN PREVENT FIRES There are two ways of preventing fires. One is by securing and enforcing wise building laws, which ensure that no house shall be built or maintained in a state of fire danger. The other way is to educate everybody, first to an understanding of the causes of fires, second, as to the way these causes can be avoided. One of the most important duties of the city department that supervises buildings is to make sure that the plans of new buildings are drawn with every possible precaution against fire. Most cities require that chimneys and flues and other parts of buildings be so constructed that fire danger is reduced to a minimum. Large houses that are to be used as tenements, if over a certain number of stories high, must be of "fire-proof construction, with metal doors, fire-proof walls between apartments, and other fire-resisting devices. Old buildings are inspected, and in cases where dangerous conditions are found, the owner is ordered to make alterations. Although old buildings cannot be entirely rebuilt to make them fire-proof, many can be altered by putting in metal-covered doors, and even fire-walls to divide them into sections. Then if a fire starts in one section of the building it can be prevented from spreading over the entire structure. Business buildings in some cities are regularly inspected as often as once a month. Firemen go all through them looking for piles of rubbish, defective wiring, and dangerously located storage tanks for gasoline or other inflammable materials. Special regulations are enforced for the handling and storage of all explosives or other combustible materials. Fire escapes are examined to see if they are in good condition and unobstructed. Many cities recommend the installation of sprinkler systems, which automatically drench a blaze as it starts, and thus prevent a conflagration. Such a system consists of rows of narrow pipes fastened just below the ceiling, and fed by water from a supply pipe connected with a tank or water main. At intervals along these small pipes are "sprinkler heads." Each head contains a valve held in place by fusible solder. If a fire starts anywhere in the room, the heated gases rise toward the ceiling, and the solder in the nearest sprinkler head melts. This releases the valve, allowing the water to burst out in a shower that drenches the fire before it has a good start. So long as the individual remains careless we will have our large fire bill to pay each year, regardless of these legislative and mechanical measures for prevention. It is the individual citizen, young or old, who must realize his responsibility and learn to be more careful. Every man, woman, and child in this country should learn to look upon the match, the cigarette stub, and the rubbish heap as potential enemies that may be as great a menace as an army of invasion. 5. HOW FIRES ARE FOUGHT The Fire Alarm. Most of us have heard the saying that the first five minutes of a fire are worth more than the next five hours. One person with a pail of water-or, better, a hand extinguisher and presence of mind-can put out a blaze immediately after it has begun. But fires usually get more of a start than that before they are discovered. Therefore our cities have organized a fire service that is the finest in the world, based on the primary necessity of speed in reaching a blaze. Fire companies with their apparatus are housed in conveniently located districts. When an alarm sounds, the nearest company can respond from its station but a few blocks away. Rubber-coated figures slide down poles and leap on the great trucks; and off go the fire-fighters incredibly soon after the |