372 BIOLOGY AND HUMAN LIFE 



get in the way of another vehicle or in the way of the one that 

 startled you, for the driver, seeing you start across, turned to 

 pass behind you. Confusion or panic is very often the chief 

 cause of disaster in case of fire in a public place or in case of 

 accident on a passenger boat. We can improve the construction 

 of houses and ships, and we can provide better exits or fire es- 

 capes, quicker lifeboat tackle, and so on ; but these things do 

 not prevent people from losing their heads. Fire drills in schools 

 and factories, learning to swim, and familiarity with the con- 

 struction of buildings or ships all help. Aside from these things, 

 however, each one of us needs to get the habit of looking about 

 for the location of exits whenever we go into a theater, for ex- 

 ample, and for the location of life preservers when we go aboard 

 a boat. The constant habit of looking out for such things is 

 most easily and surely acquired during childhood, and the 

 opportunities for learning the principle are present in every 

 home, as well as in the situations in w^hich parents and children 

 find themselves outside the home. 



The handling of kerosene and gasoline, and even of illuminat- 

 ing gas, is always attended by danger. Not only may illuminat- 

 ing gas asphyxiate a person, when it displaces the air in the 

 lungs, but in many cases it contains enough carbon monoxid 

 to poison the body (see section 141). Kerosene and gasoline 

 should never be drawn by candle or lamp light, and should 

 never be used in the presence of an open flame or to encourage 

 a poor fire in a stove. The danger of fire from gas comes from 

 the fact that this substance forms an explosive mixture with air. 

 The odor of gas should be a warning that some has escaped from 

 the pipe or from an open burner. All flames should be imme- 

 diately put out, and the search for the leak or open cock made ; 

 if an artificial light is necessary, use an electric light on a long 

 cord, or an electric flash light. 



Fire is so important in the life of man that its benefits have 

 more than compensated for the destruction which it has caused. 

 We need it so much that everybody should learn to handle it 

 with perfect safety, whether in open fireplaces and bonfires or 



