11, 



Fire Lines 



Seven states at the present time have laws requiring 

 the railroads to build fire lines along their right-of-way 

 at danger points* However, in one of these states. New 

 Jersey, the law has been declared unconstitutional* For- 

 tunately this was not done until after most of the rail- 

 roads had seen the good results which were obtained from 

 the fire lineis which were constructed soon after the law was 

 enacted. The number of fires was ver^ greatly decreased 

 where there were fire lines so that now the railroads are 

 continuing to build fire lines even though they are not 

 compelled to do so, since the law was declared unconstitu- 

 tional. 



The purpose of these laws is to insure better pro- 

 tection to lands adjacent to the railroad right-of-way by 

 constructing fire lines on these lands from one hundred to 

 two hundred feet from the track. Usually the railroad must 

 obtain permission of the abutter before it may make a fire 

 line on his property. 



The New Jersey law provided that through woodlands 

 a strip ten feet wide must be cleared and plowed at a 

 distance of not less than one hundred feet nor more than 

 two hundred feet from the track. This strip must be kept 

 cleared of all combustible material and the area between 

 the track and the fire line must be biarned or kept cleared 

 of all dead wood, brush, grass, and leaves. Only one- 

 fifth of the total length of the fire line was to be com- 

 pleted each year so that it would take at least five years 



