186 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



8. Reducing the Fire Hazard by Facilities for Fighting Fire 



Even with the most careful attention given to preventing fires 

 from starting and with carefully constructed fire lines, a close 

 supervision is necessary during the dry season in order to detect 

 fires as soon as possible after they start. 



Usually on private lands the owner must organize his own 

 system for detecting and putting out fires. The mere fact that 

 a tract is carefully watched vastly increases its safety, as it renders 

 people less careless in handling fire when on or near it. When a 

 fire is once detected the efficiency in handling it and putting it out 



Photograph by Conn. State Forester 



FIG. 32. The operation of the hand-pump in fighting a surface fire. 



depends primarily upon the time required to reach it. A fire 

 reached in its early stages is easily put out. Fires in a recently 

 planted or seeded area are usually grass fires. They are put out: 



a. By beating. 



b. By the use of sand. 



c. By the use of water. 



Small grass fires and other surface fires usually can be beaten 

 out, particularly when the grass is short and there is but little in- 

 flammable material. Branches of red cedar or other conifers, old 

 gunny sacks, or strips of canvas serve as efficient beaters. Beat- 

 ing is impractical in a dense growth of brush. 



Sand is very efficient in checking and putting out surface fires 



