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Show FIRE KUSEH'S ALLY, i CHIEF BYWATER SAYS Carelessness Causes Hun-, Hun-, dreds of Millions in Losses Annually in U. S. FIRE WAR DECLARED ! Public Asked to Aid De-j De-j partment in Preventing Wastage. A war against fire, one of Ciermany's most potent allies in America, has been inaugurated in tvnlt Lake by W. 11. Py-wntor, Py-wntor, chief of the fire department, who issues an invitation for nil residents to : take part. , Reviewing the- causes of fires in Salt l.nke during the first, nine months of 1017, Chief Bywater has concluded that the total number of fires and losses may be materially reduced during the remainder of the year if the department receives co-operation from individuals and orgruiirjitions. Among the statements state-ments made by Chief By-water yesterday yester-day to emphasi-e the imperative need of more eare in the effort to prevent fires, were: 1'rom January 1 to September 30, V.17, llii fires were caused ,by carelessness in the use of mulches alone. ISeventeen fires were caused bv the carelessness of flinging cigarettes cig-arettes into inf lammablo materials. Careless handling of gasoline was responsible for twelve and forty-one forty-one were caused bv dofeetivo flues and fireplaces. Thirteen fires were caused by the placing of hot ashes in wooden receptacles or against wooden fences. Kvery one of these fires was the result " of absolute carelessness and each was readily preventable. The records of the department show that of all the fires to which we respond in Salt Lake. SO per cent are due to negligence and should .be prevented. When we leave Salt. Lake and study the national reports wo see. that this criminal carelessness is bv no means confined to our city, tfverv minute of the vcar $500 is being lost through fire", Last year the total fire loss for the United. St-its reached the amazing total of $2,io.000.000. This practically amounts to a per capita tax of ,3 for each person. Every twenty-four twenty-four hours a schoolhouse is burned down. It is reported that if tho people of Utah do not. take steps toward reduction of tho fire losses a state law- holding individuals liable for fires due to carelessness or neglect is to be presented to the next, legislature. leg-islature. The work of fire reduction reduc-tion esneeiallv is pertinent now when the nation is engaged in war and nisv need every resource before be-fore victory is achieved. Fire is Germanv 's'ally. and n glance at the totals of fire' losses in the I nited States will show what a potent ally it is. , , In our future endeavors to reduce I the number of fires and the total of the Iosfps ndditioTial fir? prevention pre-vention tv ov k will be I'arriod on in the valuable conges ted district by the firemen. The Boy iSconts aiui the utility orgynizntions of the country expert to eliminate numerous numer-ous ijrass tires, fulse alarms nnd generally to remove hairdous conditions con-ditions existing in some of our homes, pnch as accumulations of waste paper, hot ashes in wooden boxes and many others which a very small amount of care and thought would eliminate. It also is nlanncd to disseminate information informa-tion pertaining to fire h.i.zjinis. Local fire insurance agents are expected to help reduce the fire losses by making more thorough investigations in-vestigations of the property they cover with insurance, thereby eliminating elim-inating over-insurance an.i reducing the morn! hazard to a minimum. Adjustments of fire losses are to be carefully investigated and the discovery of payment of fraudulent losses will result in the prosecution of adjusters and policy holders implicated. im-plicated. Every loss by fire is sustained by all the people inasmuch as insurance insur-ance is a tax and as the losses increase in-crease the insurance tax must be increased, and when an adjuster is Too liberal and o erpay? a loss he induces incendiarism and helps to maintain high I ire insurance rate.. Additional arson investigators have been appointed and will et operate with arson in vest 1 gat ors employed by insurance companies. All fires will be investigated and no li es are to be d r a wn between , rich and poor, since property owners w ill not resent nor onjct to an investigation of an honest fire. Those withhold n jr inf orma-tion orma-tion and opposing investigation will receive unusual attention. Tho necessity for conservation is readily read-ily apparent. |