172 Third Annual Report of the 



He is given authority by law to summon any able-bodied man to 

 help fight fire and any person who refuses to respond to such sum- 

 mons is liable to a fine of $20. Each ranger has a quantity of 

 tools, such as shovels, rakes, hoes, mattocks, pails, etc., at his head- 

 quarters, and tools are also stored at convenient places in different 

 parts of each patrol district so as to be readily available in case of 

 fire. Tents and camp outfits are also provided when it is neces- 

 sary to board men in the woods, as in the case of a large fire at a 

 long distance from any settlement. 



Fire Wardens 

 Fire wardens are appointed to supplement the force of regular 

 men. They are, however, paid only for the time they actually 

 spend in fighting fires. When a ranger has more than one fire in 

 his district at a time, he appoints a foreman to take charge of each 

 fire, while he himself moves from one fire to another, to see -that 

 the work is going on properly. The purpose of the force of fire 

 wardens is to secure a large number of men whose interests are in 

 the forest, and who are willing to take charge of any fires which 

 may spring up in their immediate vicinity. These men are 

 directly responsible to the regular rangers in whose district they 

 are located. There are at present about 200 fire wardens 

 employed by the department. 



Observers 

 The efficiency of the patrol force is greatly increased by the 

 operation of mountain observation stations. There are at present 

 43 of these stations in the Adirondacks and 7 in the Catskills, 

 making a total of 50. Each station has an observer assigned to it. 

 Most of the stations are so far from settlements that the observer 

 is obliged to live on the mountain. In fact, the best service is 

 usually secured when the observer lives on the summit of the 

 mountain, in the immediate vicinity of his station. In such cases 

 camps have been provided. These camps may be tents, board 

 shacks or log cabins. Every mountain station has a telephone 

 instrument in the shelter on the summit, and where the observer's 

 camp is at a considerable distance from the station, a second 

 instrument is placed at the camp. The mountain observers are 



