North Cache News | 1945-07-20 | Page 5 | Forester Cites Fire Causes

; Forester Cites Fire Causes Approximately 85 per cent of j all rural fires homes, barns, grass i grain field or forest fires are due to human carelessness, J. Whitney I Hoyd, Utah Extension forester, reported today as he urged increasing in-creasing caution for the remainder j of the summer in fire-hazard areas. The careless use of stove ashes is a frequent cause) of disastrous Ares, he said. In making state surveys this spring,, Professor Floyd found that at least six fires We the result of the careless Practice of discarding ashes in the rack yard.' A. garage in Eeaver county, a chicken coop in Wasatch county, and a pile of fence posts in Piute county were destroyed as the result of such fires. Home chimneys are often the i rause of a fire, the Extension specialist said. Foundation chimneys, chim-neys, built from the ground up through the house usually are ' safe, but bracket chimneys, attached attach-ed to the wall and built up from a wall-frame, are often the cause of many fires. Gasoline is probably the most Prominent contributor, to., the, loss of property and human ' lives in &es, Professor FloyS pointed) but. fe -people -realize the highly-! highly-! explosive nature1-' of ' gas and i oil fumes and It ' is -a well-known f act' that when gas fumes become mixed with air in the proportions of one to six parts of gas fumes to loo parts of air, the concoction Kcomes i a potent explosive. To prevent loss by fires this War, Professor Floyd advised all rural and urban home owners in e state to make inspections and determine which . causes of fire my be eliminated.