WHILE IN OR NEAR THE FOREST : 
Never toss away burning matches; never 
let anyone throw down lighted cigars, 
cigarettes or pipe ashes. 
Never start a fire in the woods among 
leaves, dry wood, or against a log, or 
against any tree, whether it be dead or 
alive. 
Never start a fire in the moss or peat of 
a dry bog. It may smoulder for days, and 
at last break out in open flame. 
Never leave a fire until it is surely out. 
Never start to burn brush or stumps in a 
clearing in a dry time, or on a windy day, 
and never leave a fire burning in a clearing. 
Stay with it until the fire is completely out. 
Fighting a Big Blaze. 
But while an ounce of prevention is worth more 
than a pound of cure, what is a Boy Scout to do 
when he sees a forest fire already under way? 
By that you probably mean a fire too big for one 
person to extinguish. Let us remember that the 
biggest blazes in the forest started with a few sparks 
that any boy could scuffle out in a couple of minutes. 
But when a fire actually commences spreading 
along the “forest floor” of dried leaves and needles 
and twigs it requires quick action and plenty of 
skilled help. If there is a fire ranger in the district 
get into touch with him at once by telephone or 
other means, or tell the nearest railroad agent. The 
ranger will gather assistants and organize them into 
a fire fighting brigade much as the chief of a city 
department marshalls his men about a burning 
house. Skilled forest rangers, given plenty of 
helpers, can overcome any but the most violent and 
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