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Canadian Forestry Journal, November, ipi6 



Mechanical Aids in Fire Fighting 



The use of mechanical equipment for 

 the extinguishing of forest fires is 

 steadily gaining ground, with corre- 

 spondingly good results in both effi- 

 ciency and economy, says "Conserva- 

 tion." A recent development in this 

 direction is the increased use by the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway of tank cars 

 for the protection from forest fires of 

 the territory immediately adjacent to 

 its lines. 



This company, having previously se- 

 cured excellent results from the use of 

 tank cars on its lines in Maine, has 

 now extended this method of protection 

 to include a portion of the Muskoka 

 district in Ontario. Two tank cars, 

 comprising a single unit, have recently 

 been placed at MacTier, Ontario, for 

 use between Pickerel and Coldwater 

 Junction, a distance of 116 miles. On 

 one of these cars is a pump, and on the 

 other a hose rack. Each car carries 

 also a tank holding 7,000 gallons of 

 water. The pump has a capacity of 



400 gallons per minute. A total of 

 4,000 feet of 2.5 inch hose is supplied, 

 so that fires may be reached at a con- 

 siderable distance from the track, if 

 necessary. 



While the primary object of such 

 equipment is the suppression of fires 

 due to railway causes and the protec- 

 tion of company property, a great deal 

 has actually been accomplished in the 

 direction of controlling fires coming in 

 from the outside- 

 Other Canadian lines making closely 

 similar use of tank cars for fire-fight- 

 ing purposes are the Grand Trunk, 

 Temiskaming and Northern Ontario, 

 and the Canadian Government Rail- 

 ways. It is reported that the use of 

 one of the tank cars on the Temiska- 

 ming and Northern Ontario Railway 

 during the great fire of July 29 and 30, 

 was the direct means of saving the 

 greater portion of the village of Por- 

 quis Junction from total destruction. — 

 C. L. 



$14,000,000 Saving to Nation Since 1910 



Henry S. Graves, chief forester of 

 the United States, who was in Denver 

 recently on an inspection trip of Colo- 

 rado and Wvoming, called attention to 

 the splendid work of the forest service 

 in cutting down the former enormous 

 losses caused by forest fires. In round 

 figures, the reduction since 1910 

 amounts to $14,000,000. 



Mr. Graves drew comparisons by 

 showing that in 1910- damage to timber 

 on the public domain amounted to 

 $15,000,000, whereas in 1914, in the 

 North-West alone, 7,000 forest fires 

 threatened the destruction of timber 

 valued at $100,000,000. and the dam- 

 ages were held down to $300,000, ow- 

 ing to the alertness and efficiency, of the 

 Federal Foresters. 



"The record of 1916 will excel the 

 past in value of property preserved and 

 in efficiency attained," Mr- Graves ex- 

 plained. "The principal work in con- 

 nection with the administration of Na- 

 tional Forest reserves is to protect from 

 fire and to open up hitherto impene- 

 trable forests with trails first and roads 

 afterwards. - 



"In the past the average damage in 

 normal seasons was not less than $10,- 

 000,000 per annum. In extraordinary 

 years, it was greater." 



Mr. Graves stated that 20,000 miles 

 of forest trails have been built this 

 year, and 20,000 miles of telephone 

 wires have been strung, in addition to 

 many other valuable and important im- 

 provements. 



