234 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



out of every fourteen of known origin is caused by sparks 

 on roofs is not damning, any reasonable man will admit 

 that it is not a good showing, and everyone who builds 

 or possesses a home owes it to himself and his com- 

 munity to co-operate for the reduction of that four and 

 one-half million dollar loss. The question becomes one 



Courtesy Clear Lake Lumber Company. 



SHINGLE PACKER AT WORK 



The packing is by hand and the frame is inclined and hinged so that 

 the bundle may be easily packed and quickly removed when finished. 



of ways and means. Is the remedy necessarily the elimi- 

 nation of the wood shingle? 



In the first place the sparks very likely came from the 

 sudden burning out of the soot in a chimney flue. If the 

 flue had been properly built and then periodically cleaned 

 the original mishap would not have occurred. The care- 

 lessness of the occupant is really to blame, both for his 

 own loss and that which may have been occasioned to 

 his neighbors. What we lack here* is a little of the spirit 

 found in Europe, where a man who has a fire is looked 

 upon not so much as merely unfortunate, but as a public 

 offender. 



Rather than to forbid the use of wood shingles in 

 settled communities, the enactment of simple regulative 

 ordinances governing their use would appear effective. 

 Fire resistant paints and stains for wood are now quite 

 generally sold, combining with the fire retarding quality 

 the most artistic color effects. A regulation requiring 

 such treatment of shingles has been suggested as a re- 

 sult of various practical tests. In fact the special paint 



is often the real basis of the fire resistive power of 

 patented substitutes. The law might go further to con- 

 trol the specifications as to nails, as discussed below, 

 for experience has shown that a properly nailed shingle 

 will not fly off, even when ignited. A wooden shingle 

 is the only roofing which will continue to keep out water 

 for years after its most practical life has gone, and 

 after it has so seriously dried and cracked that a person 

 in the attic may see daylight through a hundred odd 

 fissures. The temptation is to leave the old shingles on 

 until the roof actually begins to leak, and there is where 

 the fire risk becomes greatest. Where many houses are 

 built close together there might well be an ordinance 



Courtesy Clear Lake Lumber Company. 



TYPICAL BUNDLE OF SHINGLES 



Each bundle is stamped with the area of roof which it will cover so 

 estimates of cost per roof may be easily made. 



governing inspection by the fire authorities to determine 

 when this condition really becomes a public danger. 



The experience of various communities with the shingle 

 roof problem is interesting. The great fire which destroy- 

 ed so much property in Augusta, Georgia, started in 

 the "fireproof" business section, spread to the residence 

 section, and was stopped in a wooden dwelling. Authori- 

 ties have stated that shingle roofs had nothing to do 



