A FIRE PROTECTION PLAN 645 



been recently cut over and no damage to merchantable timber resulted. As it 

 was, as many as ninety men were engaged some time in fighting it, and if it 

 had not been discovered promptly by a patrolman and fought vigorously, a 

 heavy loss of merchantable timber would have resulted. 



The section crews were of valuable assistance during the dry period, and 

 many minor blazes, only a few yards in diameter, were extinguished by the 

 prompt arrival of some track walker — usually the section foreman himself — 

 who followed up the passing trains. 



The fire chief has been so vigilant that at one particular dry period of 

 two weeks he suspended the running of log trains except in the early morning 

 and at night — times of the day when fires are least likely to be started. 



THE AREAS WHERE CONTRACTORS ARE CUTPING TIMBER. 



The intermediate district not covered by the railroad or pati'ol is that 

 area in process of being lumbered. The contractor or boss of the company 

 camps is responsible for this area. There is a clause written into his con- 

 tract fixing on him the responsibility for any fire damage in the district un- 

 der his care, and a notice is tacked to his shanty so that all his men may see 

 it. This informs him that for any logs burned he will not only lose the scale 

 or tally of the logs, but in addition, he will be charged with the value of the 

 logs thus destroj'ed. 



At different seasons of the year there is a real danger where contractors 

 are burning brush along the railroad to get an open place for what they call 

 a "landing" or place to stack up the logs. A careless man will sometimes 

 leave a brush fire while he goes oti' to his dinner, or trust to luck that all will 

 be well if he allows it to burn all night. More or less fixed habits of this sort 

 are not easily overcome, but during the nine months that the regulations 

 have been in force no fires have resulted. This has undoubtedly been due to 

 increased vigilance upon their part and to suggestions from passing fire 

 guards or the assistant fire chief who inspects their cuttings from time to 

 time. 



To increa.se the efficiencj' of the three divisions described above, a forester 

 visits the property at intervals. Written reports are turned in to the fire 

 chief fi'om the patrols once each month and these are kept on file for the use 

 of the forester who goes over them carefully to note the results of each dis- 

 trict. 



The forester receives verbal reports from the railroad department and 

 traces to its cau.se any fire that may be reported to the oflice, and wherever 

 possible extra preventive measures are taken that a similar fire may be 

 handled to better advantage. To illustrate this, it has been found that small 

 hand pumps are of great assistance to track walkers in fighting small fires, 

 and these will, in future, be added to the pails which the men now carry. 



It can also be seen that as more timber is cut and new railway lines pro- 

 jected into the uncut forest, slight changes must be made in the different 

 patrol districts. The forester provides for these as the operation progresses 

 so that each division is protected. It is also planned to make minor changes 

 from time to time in all the divisions as quickly as the men become most effi- 

 cient in the duties now assigned to them. This is in accord with the plan of 

 gradually making the plan more intensive in its efficiency. 



To sum uj) the results of a year's trial of the plan we must take into con- 

 sideration the region as a whole. It has been everywhere a season of unusual 

 drought, and large fire losses have been sustained by neighboring lumber 

 companies. One company has lost much standing timber as well as logs, log 

 cars, and a railroad bridge. Another company had fire sweep through its 



