30 SECOXD ANNUAL CONVENTION 



The patrolman carried a map of his district and adjoining districts, show- 

 ing the major topographic features, approximate location of the Federal and 

 State patrol routes, patrolman's and fire warden's headquarters, and such 

 improvements as telephone lines, lookout stations, roads, trails, tool supply 

 boxes, and the like, as might be necessary to aid him in emergency. He also 

 carried some fire fighting tool like a shovel or collapsible canvas pail. 



The most important duties of the patrolman were putting out small fires, 

 warning persons he met of the fire danger, and recording their names where- 

 ever advisable. In the case of larger fires, where assistance was necessary, he 

 had authority under the State law to call out help to extinguish them. 



Often fires were left unextinguished by camping parties; fishermen stopped 

 to cook a meal and left the fire burning; many fires were also caused by 

 smokers and locomotives. The patrolmen found hundreds of such fires as 

 these on their routes last season and extinguished them. 



In addition to regular patrol duty and fire fighting, there was other work, 

 which included the watching for fires from lookout stations, burning slash, 

 and constructing protective improvements. 



Besides the practical tangible results of the cooperation under the Weeks 

 law, which have been apparent from the start, its educational value, although 

 not measurable, has been far reaching in effect. Except in a few States, last 

 year was the first that any systematic patrol of the forests by the State had 

 ever been done. It marked the general extension of the State organization, 

 in cooperation with the Federal Government, getting out among the people; 

 educating them, through the actual work done, in the need of fire protection, 

 and soliciting their cooperation. 



The most effective work of the patrolmen was in warning persons met in the 

 woods of the danger from fire and informing them about the fire laws. The 

 patrolmen were instructed generally to record the names and addresses of 

 fishermen, hunters, and campers wherever possible, and send them to the 

 district chief. In New Hampshire, for example, 4,200 warnings of this sort 

 were given. Over half the names were recorded and are now on file in the 

 office of the State Forestry Commission. Before the next fire season a copy 

 of the fire laws will be sent to each of these persons. The educational value 

 of this work can not be questioned. 



The result of the warnings given and the other protective measures adopted 

 is that the public is coming to know something about the forest fire laws of 

 the State and the practical value of fire protection. Loggers and those who 

 traveled the woods began taking greater care in the use of fire; quicker noti- 

 fications of fire were given to the proper State officers, where before they had 

 at best been desultory; in many cases private owners, who were skeptical at 

 the start, later saw the practical value of the work and began contributing to 

 it by the hire of patrolmen, building lookout stations, and the like; and the 

 increased interest of the public was shown by the widespread demand for 

 information on fire protection received by the various State foresters and the 

 Federal Forest Service. 



The first question that naturally occurs to one looking for measurable re- 

 sults is just how far the expenditures succeeded in saving possible losses. 

 Maine and New Hampshire furnish very good examples of comparative losses 

 in 1911 and 1903, two of the most dangerous fire years on record in these 



