LOGGING PRACTICE IN THE LAKE STATES L7 
and any other experts attached to the main headquarters. The per- 
manent field force should consist of division chiefs and deputies, each 
in charge of a unit of territory, possibly a county. ‘These county or 
division chiefs and deputies should also act as inspectors and be 
responsible for the efficient work of the fire-protection force and 
lookouts. 
The seasonal field force should be organized by groups of townships 
(about four townships to a group) or equivalent protection units 
with an administrative officer employed full time during the fire 
season in charge of each unit of area. They should carry on educa- 
tional work by personal contact with the resident population, appre- 
hend violators, keep fire plans up to date, and install patrols in times 
and places of special hazard. 
For each such unit there should also be an organized suppression 
force paid by the hour or day and ready for action at any time. In 
addition, arrangements should be made for hiring temporary labor 
locally by the day as needed. 
The detection system should include a sufficient and properly dis- 
tributed lookout and patrol force, employed as needed during the 
fire season. The lookout and patrol men should be under the im- 
mediate charge of the division chiefs and their deputies. 
EFFECTIVENESS 
Among the first requirements for insuring the effectiveness of the 
fire-protective organization are of course adequate improvements 
and equipment, and well-thought-out plans for detection and sup- 
pression. 
Improvements and equipment.—sSteel towers with inclosed ob- 
servatories equipped with maps and simple fire-finding instruments 
should be located at intervals so that the observer has not more than 
a 12-mile, or preferably an 8-mile radius to cover. A telephone sys- 
tem for quick communication between the lookouts and the men re- 
sponsible for suppression is essential. There must be a transporta- 
tion system which will provide for moving in fire crews in a rea- 
sonable time. Tools and fire-fighting equipment must be kept on 
hand at headquarters for the permanent field force, and at other 
strategic points. The tools and equipment should include not only 
shovels, saws, axes, mattocks, water bags, and water buckets, but for 
certain areas back-pack pumps, power pumps, and similar equipment. 
Pumps are not only desirable but necessary in certain areas, and 
with them fires can be suppressed at less cost than by the usual 
methods and by man power alone. 
Among desirable safeguards against fire are the so-called fire lines. 
Fire lines are strips of plowed ground which serve as barriers to 
the spread of surface fires or as base lines for starting back fires. 
Fire lines are almost a necessity in valuable second-growth pine or 
plantations of pine on dry sandy soils, but less so in second-growth 
hardwoods or mature forests of either hardwoods or pine. They 
are considered indispensable on the Michigan National Forest and 
on some of the Michigan State forests, where large areas are planted 
73098°—28——3 
