58 
H E 
HOME 
FIRE 
House & Garden 
HAZARD 
Rules and Precautions the Following of Which Will Do Much to Lessen the 
Huge Annual Fire Loss Throughout the Country 
ETHEL R. PEYSER 
T HE chief underlying reasons for fires 
in civilized communities are: care¬ 
lessness, ignorance and panic. 
The immediate causes are: kitchen stove 
and range maladjustments; heating stove and 
furnace and pipe lapses; trouble in chimney 
flues and pipings; carelessness with lamps, 
gas, oily rags, cleaning fluids; soot deposits of 
soft coal; spontaneous combustion; bad insula¬ 
tion; no insulation; cigarettes, etc.; no means 
to put out a fire when it starts; and, topping it 
all, hidden electric diseases cause almost more 
fires than any other one cause. 
In rural farm communities there are the 
forest and brush fires, which we need consider 
but grudgingly here, the many fires which catch 
from roof to roof, and the fires from the chim¬ 
ney which starts one’s own roof afire. Then 
there are lightning, incendiary fires by tramps, 
kerosene oil lanterns; creosote from the smoke 
and soot in wood-burning communities disin¬ 
tegrates the mortar in the masonry, and as the 
woodwork comes in contact with the chimneys, 
fires are the result. To these are added the 
other hazards common to all modern life today. 
Farmers or those living out of the range of 
the fire department should be more especially 
equipped against lire than any other groups. 
For example, a ladder is a great necessity, and 
yet many people who are in isolated places 
never spend a little money on a good one that 
might save the roof and then the home, to 
say nothing of lives. 
Dirty lamps with loose connections cause 
many a fire and should be thought about seri¬ 
ously. Wet days on the farm are great fire 
makers, for clothes are put near to the fire, 
and whoop la!—a very warm fire ensues! Can¬ 
dles, too, are handled carelessly and should be 
treated as inflammable material when they are 
lit. Most ashes will spontaneously burn if set 
away, as the fine bits of coal and grease adore 
fire. Lanterns plus hay if not carefully used 
are another cause of fire. So carelessness really 
is the root of 99% of fires, and yet we indulge 
ourselves in this ruthless pleasure. 
P ROBABLY the kitchen is one of the 
best little hatcheries in the home for 
fires. Why that is, is easy enough to 
see. The chief cause here is negligence and 
its first cousin, ignorance. 
Fires are swift followers of these conven¬ 
tions: 
Ignition of wood floors under, or walls back 
of, stoves; drying wood in ovens; kindling left 
over night too near the stove; clothes hung on 
backs of chairs too near the stove or on the 
clothes horse too near to the stove, especially if 
they have been cleaned with gasoline or other 
cleaning fluids; thin clothes, flimsy sleeves 
catching a llame make delightfully hot and 
dangerous fires. 
Fires may be guarded against in these ways: 
1. Metal shields projecting at least 6" at 
the sides and back and 12" in front of ash 
pans should be placed under all kitchen stoves 
standing on wood floors. 
2. All ranges on wood or combustible 
floors and beams that are not supported on 
legs, and have ash pans 3" or more above their 
base, should be set on brick foundations. 
3. Large ranges, if under combustible ceil¬ 
ings, should have metal hoods above with a 
ventilating pipe passing to the outer air 
through a sleeve or asbestos packing. 
4. Wood stud partitions back of ranges 
standing 12" or less away should be shielded 
with metal from the floor to at least 36" higher 
than the ranges. 
5. It should be remembered that tin, zinc 
or sheet-iron used to protect woodwork from 
heat should be so placed that there will be an 
air space between it and the wall. 
6. If a metal is against the wood, it only 
serves to conceal charring without preventing 
it. Bear in mind that bright tin reflects more 
heat than sheet iron. 
7. Watch stovepipes for parted joints and 
rust holes; clean soot from chimneys and 
stovepipes at stated intervals; do not allow 
plaster back of stoves to remain broken. 
8. There is now a fine asbestos product 
made which is a mixture of cement and wood 
and asbestos which if placed under the stove 
or even back of it will prevent fire. This ma¬ 
terial is not cold to the foot, can be highly 
polished and is most delightful in a well 
groomed kitchen. This too can be used for 
table tops and is polishable by a mixture made 
for its express demands. 
This asbestos wood is invaluable for parti¬ 
tions, obviating very thick and expensive 
walls; and due to its lightness it can be used 
for light frame houses and insure fire protection. 
It is used for switch-board and other insula¬ 
tions by electricians, etc. It takes various 
stains and finishes in imitation of wood or 
marble, is rigid, light and fireproof. 
It is the same physically as wood except 
that it is fireproof, takes a higher polish and is 
harder. It can be used not only for making 
walls, floors and ceilings fireproof, but window 
casing, partitions, base-boards, cabinets, and 
all trim. It is moisture resisting and imper¬ 
vious to weather conditions. 
T HE people that are the most careful of 
the pocketbook seem to forget the ordi¬ 
nary fire peril and don’t seem to realize 
the necessity for concentration on the cures, 
probably because they are optimists and do not 
think of any trouble—yet why pay so dearly 
for optimism? 
For example, most stoves should be at least 
24" to 30" from these things that combine so 
affectionately with them and should be at least 
6" off the floor if not standing on metal or as¬ 
bestos wood. If lath and plaster are protected 
by a metal shield, then the stoves can be within 
18" with safety. A fireproof material should 
be at least 36" square on the floor to catch 
flying embers from stove or fire. 
The fire clay linings in the stove should be 
watched and seen to be sound, and the fire in 
any stove should never be made above the fire 
clay linings. Possibly none of us has heard 
of these things before and they sound like the 
cry of an alarmist. Never fear. It is better 
to cry before you’re hurt, sometimes, than 
afterwards! 
Never put kindling into the oven. 
Deposit all ashes in metal receptacles or 
upon non-combustible floors, removing same 
from building at least once a week. Barrels 
or boxes should not be used for storing or carry¬ 
ing ashes unless they are constructed entirely 
of metal. 
Before starting fires in the autumn, thor¬ 
oughly clean out the furnace and flues thereto, 
also the fireplaces. Carefully examine them 
and immediately repair or replace any defec¬ 
tive part. Don’t burn out chimneys and flues 
by making an especially hot fire with paper, 
etc. Main chimneys should be cleaned from 
roof to cellar. All stovepipes where entering 
chimneys should be provided with metal collars 
and rigidly fixed in place. Replace any tile, 
crock or flimsy flues and chimneys with sub¬ 
stantial brick chimneys. 
Gas stoves or other heaters should have a 
ventilating flue to carry off the burned gas 
fumes, which are poisonous. Do not use port¬ 
able rubber or similar tuhing, but connect all 
gas stoves rigidly and securely with gas pipe. 
Examine valves and see that they are tight 
and do not leak. 
Never permit a stove of any kind to be set 
up without stone, brick, concrete or metal pro¬ 
tection underneath, or near a partition without 
a metal shield and air space. Never run 
stovepipes through partitions, or paste paper 
over flue holes. 
All types of open fireplaces or stoves, espe¬ 
cially where there are children, should be pro¬ 
vided with substantial spark screens. 
Don’t throw waste paper on an open fire 
unless you watch it more than carefully. 
Every period of extreme cold results in nu¬ 
merous fires due to forcing the heating appa¬ 
ratus. Keep this in mind next winter. Watch 
your heater. 
Keep hoods and pipes of kitchen range free 
from grease and lint by cleaning with hot 
water and lye. 
Do not hang clothes or bags near stoves, or 
on stovepipes or steam pipes or on electric bulbs. 
In the case of the recondite furnace whose being 
we take for granted, the same principles apply 
as to the stove. For safety, asbestos about the 
wood and adjacent places makes safety sure, 
{Continued on page 78 ) 
