Show FIRE prevention TIPS CAUSES OF FARM FIRES by J R nelson fort lewis college of the known causes the following are responsible for almost 85 per cent of the total losses from farm fires listed in the approximate order of their importance 1 defective chimneys and heating appliances 2 combustible roofs 3 lightning 4 careless use of matches and smoking 5 spontaneous ignition 6 flammable liquids 7 electricity in chimneys we find some fundamentally da wrong in construction and some that have become defective due to lack of care As for roofing fire resistant roofing will pay big dividends in fire protection tec tion the most fire resistant coverings are tile slate cement asbestos shingles and m metal etal ot 11 er roof ings such as heavy composition shingles prepared roof ings that have been teste tested dand and proved fire resistant and durable principal farm buildings should be equipped with properly installed and well maintained lightning rods statistics show that they are per cent effective in ia preventing damage from lightning to protect your livestock in pastures or yards it is wise to t ground around wire fences every ft spontaneous ignition can easily happen in your hay mow if un der cured or damp hay is stored in large quantities the spontaneous heating may continue until the ignition temperature is reached and the hay bursts into flames i if proper curing is nc s possible e due to frequent raino such hay should be stacked in the field alfalfa clover and soybean hays are the most liable to heat severely it has been suggested that the use of liberal quantities of salts salt will prevent spontaneous heating or ignition but this has not as yet been proved by experimentation and too much reliance can not be placed on salting as a safeguard although salting may retard fermentation well cured hay will heat if it is wet by rain coiner coming 1 through a leaky roof |