48 REPORT OF THE FOREST COMMISSION. 



FEDERAL CO-OPERATIVE FIRE PATROL. 



Continuing the assistance first offered in July, 1911, the Federal 

 Government placed $2,000 at the disposal of the Commission for 

 1912 to maintain a fire patrol in North Jersey under the so-called 

 Weeks Law, upon the same terms as those fixed a year ago. From 

 the experience gained in the fall of 1911, it was decided that with 

 the. amount available, the best results could be obtained, not by an 

 attempt to control the whole area for a short time, but bv a con- 

 tinued close watch upon certain local danger points. For this it 

 was possible to use several of the men employed last year and 

 thereby secure the benefit of their experience and interest. During 

 May four patrolmen and one look-out were on duty along some of 

 the most dangerous railroad exposures for the purpose, first of re- 

 ducing the number of fires escaping from these places and then 

 of finding out just how great the responsibility of the railroads 

 might be from even one small locality. This patrol was main- 

 tained until October I with patrolmen varying in number from 

 4 to 6. That the expense incurred by both Government and State 

 was justified is evidenced by the fact that these few patrolmen 

 extinguished an average of 18 fires per month, while in July alone 

 there were 35 fires put out. On October I, this organization was 

 enlarged to a patrol of 8 men; for the fall season their work was 

 laid out on lines quite similar to those of 1911, with the intention 

 of assuring as great a measure of security as possible from careless 

 sportsmen, nut gatherers and others in the woods. As the sum 

 remaining for use in this work was not large enough to permit a 

 patrol as thorough as last year's, the territory to be covered by 

 each man was necessarily increased. But unlike the patrol of the 

 year before, the service was continuous, not sporadic, and combined 

 road rind forest routes instead of traversing the open roads alone. 

 During the two months that this patrol was maintained there were 

 20 fires reported by the patrolmen, none of which got beyond 

 control. Most of them the patrolmen handled alone, while fire 

 lighters were secured for the rest. The cost to the Federal Gov- 

 ernment for the summer was $1,088.50, and for the fall $888. This 

 expenditure is balanced by the State's outlay for maintaining 

 its regular fire service. 



Again there stands out the fact that aside from all practical 

 results obtained upon the ground, this patrol, like that of last 



