13 



to get a complete system of fire lines. However, one 

 weakness of the law was that nothing could compel the owner 

 to allow the building of these fire lines on his property. 



The Minnesota law says that "Every railroad company 

 shall establish and maintain such fire breaks along the 

 route of its railway as can be constructed and maintained 

 at not excessive expense. The intention shall be to ad- 

 just the protective measures to the local conditions, and 

 to make the expense proportionate to the fire risk and the 

 possible damage*" 



Patrol 



Eight states now have laws that provide that the 

 railroads must riiaintain fire patrol for duty at critical 

 points along their tracks during the danger season. The 

 purpose of these patrols is to discover and extinguish 

 fires as soon as possible after the fires start. 

 Speeders are used a great deal in patrol. The Minnesota 

 law requires that "when in the judgment of the State 

 Forester there is danger of the setting and spreading of 

 fires from locomotive engines, he shall order any railroad 

 company to provide patrolmen to follow each train throughout 

 such fire patrol district or districts as he deems necessary 



to prevent fires, and upon its failure to do so, the 



State Forester may employ patrolmen with the necessary 

 equipment to patrol the rights-of way of said railrof^, ,and 

 the espense of the same shall be charged to the said railroad 

 company, and may be recovered in a civil action in the name 



