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Show FIRE PREVENTION WEEK Fire Prevention Week in the nation and in Utah is being observed this week. It has been officially proclaimed by President Truman, with an urgent appeal. ap-peal. that the public give heed to the menace of fire and the need for intelligent, public-supported effort to prevent fire. The annual toll of fire in loss of life, in' injury and suffering, in loss of property and in general inconvenience, in-convenience, is huge and it has been increasing steadily in recent years. Last year the total property loss in fires in the United States was $715,000,000. That was the greatest great-est national fire loss in history. Last year over 8,500 lives were lost by fire. While the increase in loss of life has not been so steady as the increase in property loss, here again the toll has been greater than before the war. There is need for a vigorous and persistent effort to combat this toll. Most fires could be prevented with just a little extra care. If we could just get all the American people fire-conscious alert to the menace of fire and watchful in regard to the more obvious fire hazards in their homes, on their farms and in their place of business we could make sharp reductions in annual fire losses. Every citizen can and should do his part in the fire prevention effort by himself being fire safety conscious, and by supporting his local fire department and other fire prevention agencies in their work of combating the rising fire toll. The fire prevention appeal should strike home to every citizen because it is in his own interest. Good fire prevention work may save him or members of his family heavy loss, suffering, even death. And it certainly cer-tainly will save him money because successful fire prevention work means less fire loss and therefore lower fire insurance premiums. It is in every respect a worthwhile project. |