Conservation Commission 139 



(3) of the causes of forest fires. It is axiomatic that the aim of 

 any organization which has to- do with the suppression of fires must 

 he to prevent the occurrence of fires and to promptly extinguish 

 any which may occur. Any plan of campaign which is laid out 

 must he developed as a result of a careful consideration of the 

 causes of fires. 



Railroads 



For many years railroads have caused more fires than any other 

 agency. Up to within recent years it has been the practice of most 

 of the railroad companies to operate locomotives within the forest 

 region of the State, as well as in other places, without taking 

 proper measures to prevent the escape of sparks and live coals. A 

 large proportion of the damage done by fires within the State can 

 be directly traced to fires which started from sparks or coals 

 thrown out by railroad locomotives. One needs only to observe 

 conditions along the railroad, to appreciate the extent of this loss. 



If the right of way of a railroad is not properly cleared, at 

 least once a year, it soon accumulates a large amount of inflam- 

 mable material. A few dry days, then a spark from the stack of 

 a locomotive or hot coals from the ash pans, and a fire is kindled, 

 which, when once ablaze, will extend readily to the adjacent forest 

 land. 



The first and most important matter to consider in reducing the 

 fire danger along railroad lines, is the prevention of the escape of 

 sparks and coals from coal burning locomotives. These are various 

 methods of accomplishing this. One is to place suitable guards 

 around the openings in the ash pan of the locomotive, and a suit- 

 able spark arrester, which may be either of netting or of perforated 

 steel, in the front end of the locomotive to prevent the escape of 

 sparks from the smoke stack. The only absolutely safe method, 

 however, is to substitute oil for coal as fuel on locomotives in oper- 

 ation during the seasons of the year when the fire danger is great. 

 The clearing of the right-of-way at frequent intervals prevents 

 the accumulation of a large amount of inflammable material, and 

 in that manner renders doubly secure the protection obtained by 

 the proper equipment of the locomotive. 



