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Show Apathy, Not Excitement Is Worst Fire Hazard According To County Agent Fire like death and taxes sometimes is considered inevitable. inevit-able. That is not the truth. Years of investigating fire causes has convinced the National Nat-ional Fire Protection Association that about 90 percent of all f;-no arc tho rpsult nf rareless- ness in one form or another, according ac-cording to Russell Keetch, San- pete county agent. It's careless to stack old newspapers news-papers and magazines in a closet. clos-et. It's careless to store gasoline or kerosene in a barn. It's careless to roof a building with shingles which are not fire resistant. It's careless to take the chance that no harm will come from a dirty chimney. It's careless to toss away lighted cigarettes or matches. Any person who tolerates a fire hazard is being careless with his life and his property, Mr. Keetch declared. The spring clean-up program for farms calls attention to the hazards, such as dirty and defective de-fective heating plants and accumulations ac-cumulations of debris, which winter has intensified. The U. S. DeDartment of Agriculture and State Agricultural Extension Service cooperate with the National Nat-ional Fire Protection Association in sponsoring the campaign. Fire losses have been mounting mount-ing for the last 12 years. The entire fire loss for the United States last year was $711,114,000 the highest on record. More alarming than figures, however, - - - - is the fact that nine of every ten fires could be prevented and that, consequently, virtually all of our enormous fire toll is needless. need-less. Public apathy is the worst fire hazard of all, concluded the agricultural ag-ricultural leaders. |