A LIVING FROM THE LAND 



Fire risks to residences and other buildings 

 can be reduced by building the roof of fireproof 

 or fire-resistant materials. Wooden shingles, 

 while attractive and inexpensive, may become 

 so dry at certain seasons of the year as to furnish 

 tinder for sparks that may rise from a brush 

 fire or from burning buildings in the vicinity. 

 The use of slate or asbestos shingles is recom- 

 mended for roofs and there are other materials 

 now on the market which have fire-resistant 

 qualities and can be safely utilized. Flying 

 sparks carried along on high winds constitute 

 little menace to those who have equipped their 

 roofs with non-inflammable materials. 



It is important to see that electrical wiring 

 has been properly installed, and for this purpose 

 it is safest to secure expert help. If the menace 

 of fire is properly evaluated by the owner, he 

 will naturally take suitable precautions to 

 cope with it, both through utilizing adequate 

 preventive measures and through having availa- 

 ble equipment to make possible the smothering 

 of accidental fires which may develop. The 

 application of these available common-sense 

 methods of fire prevention will practically 

 eliminate the fire risk. An ounce of such pre- 

 vention effort is to be stressed rather than placing 

 dependence on means of fire suppression after 

 the combustion occurs. 



38 



