December, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



443 



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HELPS TO THE 

 HOUSEWIFE 



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TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 

 EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 



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FIRE PREVENTION IN THE HOME 



By Winnifred Fales 



HE investigations of experts who are de- 

 voting their lives to the study of fire causes 

 and prevention have established three facts 

 which are of vital concern to every house- 

 wife and should in consequence receive the 

 most careful consideration: 



First: That "fifty per cent, of all fires are due to preventable 

 causes." 



Second : "Unnecessary conditions that are conducive to fire 

 exist in ninety-five out of every hundred homes." 



Third : "It is a rare exception to find a dwelling equipped 

 with even the simplest fire apparatus." 



It may surprise the majority of readers to learn that 

 more fires are started by matches than by any other single 

 cause, so that the match must be given first place on the 

 long list of dangerous things and conditions which are 

 subject to control. Being for the present both a necessity 

 and a very great convenience, it is of course not proposed 

 to eliminate the match, but only to regulate its use, since 

 it is through careless methods of handling and storage 

 that its dangerous potentialities become active. The latter 

 may take place in various ways. Children take matches to 

 play with. Careless servants throw them, only half extin- 

 guished, into the basket of kindlings. Rats carry them into 

 partitions. The master lights his after-dinner cigar and 

 tosses a match with the head still aglow into the waste- 

 paper basket, or aims it at the fire-place and it miscarries 

 and falls unnoticed on a newspaper, or a draught carries 

 it against a flimsy curtain. Not infrequently, the ignition 

 of a single match sets fire to an entire boxful, and, if not 

 at once discovered, the flames spread to surrounding ob- 

 jects. These are not mere matters of speculation, but 

 things which statistics show have happened innumerable 

 times. 



The attic in most houses is another constant menace. 

 The accumulations of old papers, letters, magazines, dis- 

 carded clothing and decrepit furniture to which it is usually 

 devoted become gradually covered with highly inflammable 

 dust and lint which is ready to burst into flame upon con- 

 tact with the tiniest spark. Lightning, an overturned can- 

 dle, or matches taken by children to play with in secret, 

 may supply the connecting link which precipitates disaster. 



Clogged or defective chimney flues are responsible for 

 numberless conflagrations, as is imperfect insulation of 

 electric wires. Unprotected gas jets near lace curtains, 

 wax tapers on Christmas trees, hot ashes placed in wooden 

 barrels, and the use of kerosene to start the kitchen range 

 fa habit which still prevails to an almost unbelievable ex- 

 tent), exact an annual toll of many hundred thousand 

 dollars and often a sacrifice of life and numerous comforts. 



These are but a few of the many fire causes arising from 

 preventable conditions, of which some at least are found 

 in nearly every home; wherefore, in order that the margin 

 of danger may be reduced to a minimum, it is incumbent 

 upon each one of us to see that our own premises are 

 shining exceptions to the rule. 



Starting at the attic, let us begin by clearing out and 

 disposing of all useless accumulations on every floor, paying 

 special attention to those in closets and under stairways, 

 and heroically nerving ourselves to part with the long- 

 treasured odds and ends which were "too good to throw 

 away," or for which we thought we might "some day" 

 find a use, for the sake of the increased safety of our lives 

 and property. 



Let a rule be made prohibiting the purchase of any but 

 safety matches, which can only be ignited by striking on 

 the box, and fasten on the wall of every room, out of reach 

 of rats and children, metal receptacles for both burned 

 and unburned ones. Store surplus stock in a tin box with 

 a tight-fitting cover. 



See that all oily rags, mops and dusters are kept either 

 in a galvanized iron can, or in a closet lined with tin or 

 asbestos. Benzine, naphtha and other inflammable liquids 

 should never enter the house except in the unleakable, non- 

 spillable cans. Never permit oil or alcohol lamps or 

 stoves, etc., to be filled while lighted. Recently a fashion- 

 able hostess was painfully burned and the costly furnish- 

 ings of her drawing-room ruined by a fire originating in 

 her attempt to refill the burning alcohol heater beneath her 

 afternoon-tea apparatus. 



Forbid the placing of ashes, even temporarily, in wooden 

 boxes or barrels. Cans of galvanized iron should always 

 be used for both ashes and waste paper. Make it a rule 

 to have the chimneys cleaned every year, and the electric 

 wiring inspected at reasonable intervals. Also be sure that 

 every member of the family understands the management 

 of the cut-out. It is a safe plan to shut off the current dur- 

 ing heavy thunder showers, and if electricity is the only 

 illuminant, let lamps or candles be purchased and kept in 

 readiness for such emergencies. 



The space directly above the furnace in the cellar should 

 be protected with tin or asbestos, and all the pipes con- 

 veying heat wrapped with fireproof material. If a hot- 

 plate or oil stove is used for cooking during warm weather, 

 stand it on a sheet of zinc or tin, the wall behind it being 

 similarly protected. Let the range stand on a cement foun- 

 dation against a wall of cement or brick. The tile floors 

 and wainscots seen in many modern kitchens have much to 

 recommend them besides their cleanliness and attractive 

 appearance, being practically fireproof. 



In building a new home, use cement or hollow tile con- 

 struction if possible. The fifteen per cent, additional cost 

 will be counterbalanced in a few years by the saving in 



