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Show GASOLINE FIRES , CAUSE OF PANIC Experienced Man Knows What to Do and Jumps-Immediately for Some Preventive HAVE SHALL EXTINGUISHER t Large Chemical Devices A re Too Bulky and cannot Be Laid In Any ' Position Start Work of Extinguishing Ex-tinguishing In Drip Pan. When' gasollno takes flro It Is a serious se-rious matter, but tho, most dangerous accessory to a flro is tho ono you lqnst expect, namoly, punlc, writes William II. Stewart, Jr., in Now York Tiroes. Tlio avcragb person has such an unreasoning un-reasoning fear of gasollno that ho loses his head completely. Tho flint few fires will leavo ono completely unnerved for a time, but after u llttlo oxperlcnco in fighting them panic disappears, dis-appears, and self-control is gained. This does not mcdn that ono shoulil delay or raovo any moro slowly, but should know what to do quickly. Small Extlnoulsher Is Best Tho novlco stands aghast as tho first burst of ftamcu como from tho carburetor. Tho' experienced man Jumps for tho nearest preventive. At least ono small flro extinguisher should bo carried on every car, Tho large chemical devices aro too bulky and. cunno't bo laid in any, position, whereas tho ordinary Instrument may bo stored away in a small space. Tho best place is beneath tho hood on tlio carburetor side This is where tho flro starts and nrtjy bo reached by raising tho hood. Somo carry them nn tho running board, but this is ob-Jectlonablo ob-Jectlonablo on account of theft liability. liabil-ity. If placed under tho seat or so-cured so-cured by a lock they aro not readily placed in service, und tho machine may bo badly damaged meanwhile. Always turn off tho gasoline nt the. tank to stop feeding tho flames. Ordinarily Or-dinarily thcro is not more than two ounces in any float chamber, and this will not last long. - All the parts about tho carburetor nre metal nnd not easily eas-ily harmed. It is also well to uso tho self-starter to turn the engine. This will draw flames Into the manifold. Quite often the whole flro may be ex-tiugulslifd. ex-tiugulslifd. if this Is done, in tlmo. Begin at the Bottom. So remember, always start at the bottom nnd work upward. If there is a flu in o. on tho ground beneath the car uo'lho self-starter with gearH In mesh' to moyo to another position. Sand is good If available, but never throw sand on the carburetor or any other part of the machine It falls away, leavlpg gasoline freo to burn; and also gets Into tho mechanism, doing do-ing Jncalculable hnrm. On a flat sun face sand 'is 'excellent, or any other dry powder. Even flour has sayed many a 'homo where gasollno has been uspd carelessly, The old method of covering the fire with a rug or curpet Is gopd, but the extinguisher is better.. bet-ter.. This covers the fluid with n lay. er of heavy nonlnflammnblo gas which smothers the .flame, Everydno knows that any kind of a fire ,1s dangerous; but' If the above suggestions aro employed under self-control self-control the flames starting from n carburetor backfire wlll be efficiently steppod at the source, |
