88 



EEPOET OF THE 



No. 3 



Statistical Report of Railway Fires in Ontario, 1915, for those Lines Under 

 Jurisdiction of Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada, Order 107. 



C.N.R. G.T.R. C.P.R. A.C. 



Totals 



3. Value of property destroyed: 

 (a) Young forest growth •. . . 

 (6) Standing timber 



(c) Slash 



(d) Other classes of land . . . 



(e) Forest products 



(/) Other property 



$12 50 

 12,002 00 



2,300 00 



(flf) Total 



(d) Orand Total: 



1. Total number of fires 



14,314 50 



50 



Areas burned (acres) : 

 (a) Young forest growth 

 (6) Timber land . . .• 



(c) Slash or old bum . . . 



(d) Other classes of land 



1,530 

 1,9281 

 2, 262 J 

 223J 



(e) Total 



3. Value of property destroyed: 

 (a) Young forest growth . . . 

 (&) Standing timber 



(c) Slash 



(d) Other classes of land . . . 



(e) Forest products 



Other property 



5,944J 



$512 50 

 17,702 00 



(/) 



(g) Total 



200 00 

 1,580 00 

 3,102 00 



23,096 50 



$252 00 



2,488 16 

 25 00 



$5,000 00 

 7,600 00 



850 



$2,765 16 



14 



12,600 00 



41 



850 



30^529 66 



2, 191 J 

 5 



80: 



51 



813i 

 43 



333 

 17i 



2.283 



$679 00 

 10 00 



1 ,2061 



$170 00 



56 50 



150 00 



2,562 16 

 635 00 



5,411 25 

 7,600 00 



$3,886 16 



13,387 75 



927 



i ( 



110 00 



4,535 

 1,976^ 

 3, 603 J 

 246J 



927 



850 



10,361 acres 



$1 ,361 50 



17,768 50 



150 00 



200 00 



9,553 41 



12,187 00 



850 



41,220 41 



Notice that the statistical report takes into account all fires originating upou 

 a zone six hundred feet in width, that is, we receive reports upon all fires originat- 

 ing within three hundred feet of the railway track. (See Order 107, Sec. 13, 

 Subsec. E.) 



Fifty-nine fires were of known railway causes, doing a total damage of 

 $4,156.25. 



Twenty-three fires were of known origin other than railway cause, doing a 

 total damage of $6,534.50. 



Twenty-eight fires were of unknown origin, doing a damage of $30,529.66.- 



This gives a total of 110 fires originating within the six hundred -foot zone 

 and a total damage of $41,220.41. 



In the values assessed for fire loss in the above report, no estimal;e is placed 

 upon soil injury which in many cases is the most serious and permanent loss. 



In justice to the railways, I wish to point out that two of the serious fires, 

 namely, the $7,600 and the $5,000 fire occurring along the Canadian Pacific 

 Eailway were of unknown origin. The $7,600 fire was a saw-mill and the $5,000 

 fire was cord wood piled along the right-of-way. Neither of these fires can be 

 classed as forest fires. 



In addition to fires given in the above statistical report our Inspectors reported 

 thirty-six fires which came into the railway zone from outside. The bulk of 

 these were caused by settlers starting fires in a dangerous season and not con- 



