FIRE PREVENTION

steadily mounting fire losses, particularly in north america, have greatly stimulated efforts looking toward fire prevention. fire losses of created re- sources in the united states increased from $447,886,677 in 1920 to $548,810,639 in 1924. the latter figure exceeds the loss in 1906, the year of the san francisco earthquake and fire, although in 1924 there was no great single conflagration. in canada, the destruction of created resources increased in the same period from $27,600,000 to $33,300,000. i. in north america in forest fires, also, similarly excessive losses are sustained by the united states and canada. in 1924 (u.s.a. forest service estimate) 29,000,000 ac. of forested land in the united states were swept by fires, numbering 92,c00 in all and entailing an actual money damage of $38,000,000, a figure exceeding by $18,- 000,000 the previous nine-year average. owing to different sta- tistical methods in use, an exact comparison with european ex- perience is at present impossible. in general, however, it may be stated that a stricter surveillance is observed in the state forests in europe, made possible in part by the smaller areas to be watched. the state forests of finland, in the period 1911-21, were damaged to the extent of less than 1/2oth of 1% annually. in norway, during the period 1913-23, the average yearly dam- age amounted to about $24,000, the area burned being about 1,770 ac. each year. in the prussian state forests, 1901-10, the average forest area devastated annually by fire was about 1620 acres. in the bavarian state forests, 1900-12, an average of 103 fires burned about 380 ac. annually, which was less than t/soth of 1% of the total forest land. prevention of forest fires ——the chief causes of forest fires are lightning, incendiarism, sparks from locomotives and carelessness of campers and of lumbermen. ‘to check the operation of these factors the supervision of forest areas, particularly in the united states and canada, has been instituted by governmental action. fire lanes are cut through the forest to act as breaks and are kept open by fire rangers in the employ of the government. other duties with which fire rangers are charged include an over- sight of lumbermen, campers and other visitors in forest areas with a view of inculcating carefulness. they are expected also to take immediate action in the event of fire. watch towers and airplanes are used in detecting any incipient conflagration. buildings and stock.—the causes of fires in buildings and stock are chicfly defective chimneys; carelessness in handling fire and inflammable material; defects in electrical installations, and ex- posure, that is, ignition from fires in adjacent property. the use of wooden shingles on roofs and, in mercantile districts, wooden window trim in otherwise fire-resistant buildings facilitates the spread of flames. some of the more recent conflagrations (1910— 25) in the united states have been those of paris, tex. (1,440 buildings, loss $11,000,000); nashville, tenn. (648 buildings, loss $1,450,000); augusta, ga. (680 buildings, loss $4,500,000 ); atlanta, ga. (1,938 buildings, loss $5,500,000); berkeley, cal. (584 buildings, loss $10,000,000); and chicago, iil. (loss $8,000,- fire control—fire prevention 000). to reduce fire risk, automatic fire alarm systems, automatic sprinklers and chemical fire extinguishers have been installed tn the larger buildings and to some extent, in private houses. conveniently hung coils of garden hose with means for attach- ment to the water tap are also of value. in order to educate the public to the importance of such meas- ures, fire prevention is taught in the schools of many of the united states and a “ fire prevention week ” has been instituted to call attention to this form of preventable waste. among the agencies in promoting fire prevention in north america is the national fire protection association, which formulates standards of fire protection appliances, and co-operates with local associa- tions in lessening fire risks, such as furthering the use of safe electrical installations. the national board of fire underwriters maintains laboratories for the testing of materials and devices falling within the scope of its services, makes civic surveys cover- ing elements entering into fire risks, and furnishes a model build- ing code for the guidance of cities desiring one. the u.s. chamber of commerce, also, acting through a committee on fire waste, promotes special studies of fire-risk conditions in individ- ual communities and urges such action as appears desirable. in most cities, desirability of action along the following lines has been indicated: (@) competent inspection by the fire department; (5) amore general use of fire-resistive roof coverings, protected window and door openings and automatic sprinklers; (c} adequate ordinances governing the storage and use of explosives and in- flammable substances; (¢d) adequate means for the conviction of incendiaries; (e) public education in the transmission of fire alarms and use of first-aid extinguishing devices. (f. h. w.) il. in great britain with the growth of cities and consequent risk of conflagration, fire prevention is a subject which has received much attention since 1g10. societies have been formed for the special considera- tion of the matter, and public bodies and insurance companies have given every possible assistance in devising means and methods for the prevention of fire. great britain is much behind in the matter of official regulation for fire prevention, and insur- ance companies have done more than the authorities by encour- aging improvements in construction and the introduction of appliances such as automatic sprinklers, automatic alarms, fire doors, etc. a large proportion of fires is due to carelessness. there is the thoughtless individual who throws away a match before the spark is out, without looking where it falls, and the careless smoker who leaves cigarette ends in close proximity to combustible material. the “ no smoking ” sign in factory and warehouse is often ignored, and the guilty individual fails to realise how his act is a menace to life and property. if notices prohibiting smoking in factories or other buildings are posted up, they should be rigorously enforced. smoking should be prohibited in all fac- tories, and the growing tendency to allow smoking in theatres and music halls should be strongly deprecated. | there has been a large increase in the use of highly inflammable liquids and material, and public attention should be called to the danger, both in the use and in the storage of these. many hazardous processes in manufacture from a fire hazard point of view can be rendered innocuous by the precautions recommended by insurance companies. apart from individual carelessness, fires are often caused through defective building construction, such as wooden joists or beams under hearths and entering flues, etc., insecure heating apparatus and defective lighting systems. precautions.—in large cities, building by-laws are fairly strict, but insurance companies have done more than the authorities to encourage improvements in construction. party walls through and above the roof and fireproof doors, where communications exist between buildings, often keep a fire from spreading. inse- cure stoves and flue pipes should never be allowed and proper fenders and guards for fireplaces are amongst the simplest pre- ventatives. electric light installations should be overhauled by experts from time to time, and fuse boxes should not be tam- pered with by people ignorant of their use. gas brackets and all fischer—fisher, h. a. l. 35 fittings should be securely fixed. it is the duty of each occupier | sary reinforcements to the army in gallipoli, fisher felt that he of a building to watch for signs of defects, and either to report them or have the defects remedied. many devices are in use for detecting fire, known as automatic fire alarms. the general principle is that the heat generated by a fire causes a metal to expand, making electric connection and setting an alarm bell in motion. automatic fire alarms may be connected up direct with fire brigade stations, thus securing an immediate turn-out to a fire. in spite of precautions, fires will occur, and every means should be taken to summon assistance and extinguish the outbreak. fire precaution is a natural step after fire prevention. every occupier of a building should know the exact position of the nearest fire alarm, so that the fire brigade can reach the scene without delay. it is often said that the first five minutes at a fire is worth more than the next four hours, and water should be at hand te put out the flames. buckets of water or chemical extinguishers should be in every building. there are many extinguishers on the market, some containing liquids, others powdered chemicals, but no class of fire extinguisher is a cure for all fires. the extinguishing agent must have either the property of allaying heat or a blanketing effect or a combination of both of these. fire in ordinary com- bustible materials can be put out with water, but fires in oils, greases, etc., must be put out with a blanketing agent. certain chemicals put a film or thin blanket over the liquid or material, thus excluding the oxygen long enough to allow the mass to cool below its burning point. fireproof buildings, efficient fire brigades and adequate water supplies have all contributed to reduce fire waste, but special mention should be made of the protection offered by auto- matic sprinkler installations. the installation of these is becom- ing quite common, and they have proved in practice to be won- derfully effective. automatic sprinklers consist of a head or water-jet connected with water pipes, in which a pressure of water is maintained, the head being released by the melting of solder when there is sufficient heat generated by an outbreak of fire and the water automatically plays upon the fire, quickly subduing it. in connection with the installation there is also a fire gong, which automatically works with the opening of a sprinkler head, and assistance is thereby summoned at once. (e. m. m.) fischer, emil (1852-1919), german chemist (see 10.426), died in berlin july rs 1919. fisher, john arbuthnot fisher, 1st baron (1841- 1920), british sailor (see 10.428). from roro until oct. 1914 lord fisher remained in retirement, although mr. churchill, now at the admiralty, constantly consulted him and it was on fisher’s advice that jellicoe was designated admiral of the grand fleet in the event of war. (at the time of the agadir crisis, however, fisher had expressed to lord esher and others strong disapproval of the war office plans engaging us in ex- tensive land operations in france.) fisher was recalled as first sea lord in place of prince louis of battenberg in the critical days at the end of oct. 1914. the * audacious ”? had been sunk, cradock heavily defeated off coronel, german submarines were active and there was no effective blockade of germany. fisher took the responsibility of weakening the british fleet in home waters and detached the “ invincible ” and “ inflexible’’ to engage von spee, with the result that a complete victory was gained in the battle of the falkland islands. to fisher’s boldness and realism again were due the new blockade policy and the laying of extensive mine fields. the association between churchill and fisher was most happy until it was broken by the dardanelles enterprise. fisher had never liked it; his own preference was for a landing on the coast of prussia and the employment of russian troons against the heart of germany. but he was persuaded by churchill into acquiescence, when, however, the first attempt to force the straits had failed, and german submarines had made their appearance in turkish waters, and it seemed doubtful whether the demands of the french campaign would allow the british to send the neces- could no longer continue to countenance the project of forcing the dardanelles. at the war council of may 14 1915 he had declared that ‘he was against the dardanelles and had been all along.” churchill afterwards told him that it was not fair to obstruct necessary measures at the dardanelles and then when things went wrong to turn round and say “i told you so, i was always against it.” fisher replied “i think you are right—it isn’t fair.’ that night mr. churchill in order to encourage the entry of italy into the war on the side of the allies gave instructions that four cruisers should go to the mediterranean 48 hours before the time arranged, and the minute was signed “first sea lord to see after action.” that was the first doc- ument seen by fisher on beginning work as usual at four o’clock next morning. he resigned and never entered the admiralty again. his resignation coinciding with the crisis about high explosive shells, brought down the already shaken liberal govt., and led to the formation of the first coalition. the manner of his leaving the admiralty became fisher less than anything in his life, but his motives were neither personal nor unworthy. he felt that as things were he had lost his power of service; that he could only hamper the dardanelles and be ‘unfair ’ to churchill without influencing events in the direc- tion which he felt was right. fisher did useful work later in the war as chairman of the inventions board, and when he died on july 10 1920 and was buried in westminster abbey, the crowds felt that they were mourning the greatest british sailor since nelson. their reverence was the more remarkable because fisher never com- manded a fleet in action, nor, except the falkland islands, is any great victory at sea traceable to his direct inspiration. his enemies accused him of exaggerating the material side of naval power at the expense of the moral and intellectual. he was not good in the logical presentation of an argument; he thought pictorially and the sequence of his ideas expressed themselves in a series of verbal explosions. but his prescience amounted at times almost to second-sight, and he had a genius for the burning phrase that lights up the truth from within. the most amazing quality of the man was that as he grew older he became more radical and revolutionary in his ideas. to the old man in 1org his own dreadnought of 13 years was a symbol of effete tradition; his slogan “ sack the lot ” was not the prosecution of a personal vendetta against the admiralty chiefs, but expressed his convic- tion that though the spirit was eternal, its forms were only made to be broken. he wrote two volumes of memoirs: afemories (1919) and records (1919), before his death; somewhat scrappy and disorderly in composition but full of his glowing vitality. fisher married, in 1866, miss kate broughton, by whom he had one son, cecil, and three daughters. fisher, andrew (1862- ), australian politician, was born at crosshouse, kilmarnock, aug. 29 1862, and began life as a coal miner. he emigrated to queensland at the age of 23, and eight years later was elected to the queensland legislature. he was elected to the commonwealth parliament in 1901, joined mr. watson’s labour cabinet of 1904 as minister of trade and customs, and became leader of the labour party in 1907 on mr. watson’s resignation. in 1908 he became prime minister, but his administration lasted only six months. at the general election in 1910, however, his party was returned with a sweeping major- ity, and he was prime minister for three years, during which period he tackled the question of imperial defence, adopted lord kitchener’s report of 1909 and passed a measure establishing universal military training. his ministry fell in 1913, but at the election of aug. 1914 he was again returned to power and gave australia a vigorous lead in the early days of the world war. at the end of 1915 he resigned and took up the high commissioner- ship vacated by sir george reid. this office he held until 1921. fisher, herbert albert laurens (1865- }, british man of jetters and politician, was born in london march 2r 1865. he was educated at winchester and new college, oxford, being elected in 1888 to a fellowship at the latter college, where he lectured for some years, he earned recognition as a scholarly 36 historian, and in 19rz-2 was appointed chichele lecturer in modern history at oxford. he was also a member of the royal commission on the public services of india (1912-5). in 1912 he was appointed vice-chancellor of shefficld university. in 1916, mr. fisher accepted the invitation to become minister of educa- tion in mr. lloyd george’s cabinet and was elected to parlia- ment for the hallam division of sheffield. in 1918 he was elected liberal member for the english universities. an education bill was introduced by him tn aug. 1917, which contained many im- portant reforms (see epucation). in jan. 1925 he was elected warden of new college, oxford, and he resigned his seat as member for the combined universities in feb. 1926. among his books are the mediaeval empire (1898); studies in napoleonic statesmanshtp (1903); a political history of england (1906); bonapartism (1908); life of f. w. afaitland (1910); the republican tradition in europe (1911); political unions (1911); napoleon bonaparte (1913); the common weul (1924), besides essays and review articles. fisher, irving (1867- ), american economist, was born at saugerties, n.y., feb. 27 1867. he studied at yale (a.b., 1888), berlin and paris. at first he taught mathematics at yale; but in 1895 was made assistant professor of political economy, and, in 1898, professor. he was editor of the yale review, 1896-1910. he served as chairman of many commissions dealing with public health, prohibition and labour. an authority on money inflation, he proposed that the purchasing power of the dollar be stabilised (see dollar stabilisation). his writings include: mathematical investigations in the theory of vaine and prices (1892); a brief introduction to the infinitesimal calculus (1897); the nature of capttal and income (1906); national vitality (1910); the purchasing power of money (1911); stabilising the dollar in purchasing power (1919).