16 STATUS OF FOEESTEY IN THE UNITED STATES. 



It is interesting to note that the fire laws and amendments consid- 

 ered by experts the most satisfactory have been enacted within the 

 past ^Ye years (Cahfornia, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, New 

 Jersey, Idaho, Minnesota, New York). 



The fire organizations are variously headed; in some cases by the 

 State forester or State forest commission and in others by a State 

 firewarden specifically charged with fire protective work. The under 

 ofiicers consist of local town or county firewardens, usually of two 

 grades. In a few cases special patrol officers are authorized. Fire- 

 wardens may be: (1) Local State or county officers serving ex officio, 

 without extra pay; (2) independent State, county, or town officers with 

 pay; or (3) private employees appointed by the State, but without 

 State pay and either wdth or without special pay from private owners. 

 They possess the power to arrest mthout warrant, to impress, and in 

 general to enforce the fire laws. Firewardens and similar officers are 

 commonly authorized and directed to call out or impress extra help 

 in putting out fires and to pay for such extra help at a fixed rate. 



Nearly all of the States have long had legal provisions against set- 

 ting fire to forests and waste land. In recent years, however, such 

 provisions have been made more specific and effective. Willfulness 

 or mafice were formerly required in order to constitute the setting of 

 fire a misdemeanor; but neghgence is now commonly sufficient, and 

 in some cases accident does not excuse. The laws include general 

 penalties for fires; prohibitions against setting fires without permit 

 during seasons of danger; provisions for safety apphances on locomo- 

 tives and other engines, except those burning oil as fuel; the require- 

 ment that railroads keep their rights of way clear of infiammable 

 material; and other similar requirements for railroads, such as that 

 warning notices be posted at the stations or that employees be spe- 

 cially instructed in the preventing and extinguishing of fires. 



The following improvements in existing fire protective systems 

 are urgently required: 



(1) Greater independence of the head officer and his direct respon- 

 sibihty to the governor. It is a distinct advantage to have a State 

 firewarden who devotes his entire time to fire protection. He should 

 be appointed from a nonpohtical State civil-service list and hold office 

 during efficient service. His duties should include the personal 

 superintendence and instruction of the local overwardens, who 

 would be his own deputies; the appointment and removal of local 

 officers when tliis is consistent with State and local policy; the audit- 

 ing of firewardens' accounts ; and the enforcement of fire laws against 

 offenders. This arrangement is in the direction of State rather than 

 local enforcement of the laws. The New Jersey provisions more 

 nearly meet these requirements than do perhaps any of the other 

 State forest-fire protective laws. 



[Cir. 167] 



