Salt Lake Telegram | 1921-02-13 | Page 17 | $3,153,689 Fire Loss in Utah in 5 Years

$3,153,689 FI LOSS III UTAH ran Yearly Average Is $630,738, According to Report by Actuarial Bureau, Na- tional Underwriters. DURING the five-year period ; from 1915 to 1919 inclusive i ! fire Iokhi's in tin Rtate of Utah ; reached a 'grand total of! U.Vi.689, or a yearly average of $630,738, according to a report of ! the actuarial bureau of the national; board of fire underwriters, Just made , public. The" figures re drawn from an investigation and exhaustive study j of approximately 750 different fires J actually reported by the insurance I companies. To the figures as sub- j milted It la estimated that 25 per cent i should be added to cover fires not reported re-ported to the actuarial bureau or a further total of nearly $4,000,000. The causes are classified Into three groups, of which twelve are listed as strictly preventable with total of 95,2$4, or 81.2 per cent of th whole-nine whole-nine are dt'sisnated partly preventable i and total 91.416,805, or 44.9 per cent of the whole, and beyond these are I the unknown causes totaling $751,590, or 28.9 per cent. These unknown causes may be considered an proba- l.U. li)f,.aU' nl'.tltahln if ' known, they would be distributed among the other causes. A study of the figures, says the report, re-port, indicates the need of public i education in regard to fire prevention. It is to be realized that property destroyed de-stroyed by fire represents an utter 'and irretrievable loss to society as a i whole, while the Inexcusable toll in human life and suffering cannot be , computed. j If the huge five-year total could be i used instead of waited, the tinder- writers sny," It would have built $30 houses at $5000 each, sufficient to furnish homes for 3153 persons; or fej would build 315 miles of good roads at $10,000 a mile. J