Safe (fireplace)

“ You see all of us had to turn out when it got so near to Cranford. My house is safe, I do believe. I’m mighty scared of fire, ma’am, and I’ve always figured on having things fixed so’s a fire would have a pretty hard time reaching my property. ”

“ I stayed until the fire seemed finally out and by burning a space to meet the oncoming flames, I trust the danger is past. Those who are accustomed to wood fires, and there are men in the village who have had experience and directed the work, now think it is safe. ”

“ When our buildings are all as excellent as theirs, and our citizens are all working as harmoniously together to prevent fire, we may find it safe to adopt some of the deliberate and careful methods of the German firemen. ”

“ By taking precautionary steps, and by discussing and practicing evacuation plans with our families, we can empower ourselves and our communities with the tools to prevent fires, and to save lives, property, and livestock when fires do occur. This week, our Nation honors the dedicated firefighters and other first responders who do the hard, dangerous work of keeping our communities safe from fire. Many have laid down their lives to save our friends and neighbors, and their selfless sacrifice defines the nature of courage. ”

“ Everyone can take significant steps to mitigate the risk of fire, from installing and maintaining smoke alarms on every level of their home to practicing safe cooking behaviors. Families can help protect themselves by designing and practicing an escape plan that includes an outside meeting place with multiple exit paths out of each room. ”

“ Effective fire escape plans should include two ways out of every room, and assurance that all exists are accessible. Windows painted shut, blocked doors, and security bars can be deadly hazards that can trap fire victims inside and hinder rescuers' attempts from outside. Equally important, we must resist any temptation to reenter a burning building. No valuable is worth as much as a life.
Fire Prevention Week is a time not only to think about our own safety, but also to show our appreciation to the brave men and women who risk their safety in our Nation's fire services. ”

“ But whatever the cost of these highly advantageous systems of construction, there are certain buildings which demand the application of the very best methods of erection in order to secure their safety from the devouring flames. In public museums and art galleries we have buildings which cannot have too much attention and money paid to make them safe; and their safety from or liability to fire is a topic of much interest. ”

“ This year's Fire Prevention Week theme, "Get Out, Stay Out: Your Fire Safe Response," drives home the importance of planning for fire emergencies before they occur. The United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association are working with the Nation's fire service to spread this important message. Time and time again, firefighters respond to fatal fires where residents didn't take the time to learn and practice alternate means of escape, or they did not realize the need to get out quickly and stay out. ”

“ Every fire-place should have a hearth of bricks or tiles at least two feet wide, and the fire should be protected by a wire screen. If there are young children in the household, there should also be a fender to keep them at a safe distance from the flames. Some kinds of light wood, especially chestnut and hemlock, will snap and produce many sparks. These sparks fly out in all directions unless the fire is covered with a wire screen. Do not build a roaring fire in the fire-place, as it may carry sparks to the roof. ”

“ We have persistently endeavored to influence the introduction of improved and safe methods of building construction, to encourage the adoption of better fire protective measures, to secure efficient organization and equipment of fire departments with adequate and improved water systems, and to have adopted rules regulating the storage and handling of explosives and inflammable products ”

“ One French safe had nothing but its four sides left intact, its front, back, and inside having disappeared as if driven out by a cannon-ball. The cast-iron safes, of which there were several, proved, as might be expected, utterly useless, being found when pulled out of the ruins twisted into all sorts of shapes, or cracked and broken like glass. Other safes, by makers whose reputation can hardly be affected by damage done in such an unprecedented fire, had their contents very seriously injured ”

“ Life is more precious than property, and events have too often proved how fatal even a moment’s hesitation is in sending for the fire-escape. It is the fire-escape man’s duty to proceed to the place of alarm immediately.
2. In the absence of a fire-escape, or pending its arrival, ladders and ropes should be sought for. Two constables or other qualified persons should ascend to the roof through the adjoining houses. The most efficient assistance can sometimes be rendered by an entrance to the upper part of the house on fire, either by the attic windows, the loft-door, or by removing the tiles ”

“ When each worker in the establishment knows that in case of a fire he can leave the building with speed and perfect safety, he has absolutely no worry or distraction from the fire standpoint.
Fire protection should include not only seeing that the building and all it contains are made as fire-proof as possible, and installing all possible devices for putting out a fire should one start, but also the fire drill. ”

“ The hearth is made of fireproof material and should be wide enough to catch all sparks flying from the fire. A screen is often needed for safety from fire. Do not pile reserved fuel or put rugs on the hearth.
Fireplaces and chimneys should be built of fireproof brick, stone or concrete. Have them examined once a year for cracks, as these make them unsafe. The walls of the chimney and the fireplace should be thick enough to prevent danger from fire. ”

“ No regulations for fireproof building can be complete without most stringent rules for using the best fire resisting doors, for what the door of a boiler-furnace is to the fire within, the door of a room is to combustion going on inside: it will, if insecure, allow air in to feed the flames so long as there is fuel to burn. ”

“ Where the strength of the men and the supply of water used to be wasted, by being thrown against windows, walls, and roofs, the firemen now seek out the spot where the danger lies, and creeping on hands and feet into a chamber full of flame, or smoke, often at the hazard of suffocation, discover the exact seat of danger ”

“ The energies of each band of firemen were commonly reserved for the protection of property only in which their own insurance company or parish was immediately interested. As a rule, whatever water was thrown upon a burning building was dashed against the walls, windows, and roof from the outside only, very little if any really reaching the actual seat of the fire within. ”

“ Building a single strong-room is a very different matter from erecting a fireproof building; the latter is a larger and more difficult question, which will be noticed by itself; but the room that is to be made secure may be and generally is part of a building with no pretensions to special safety against fire or thieves. ”

“ For one thing, there was small need of explanation of the alarm; for from the neighborhood of the pavilion there was an unobstructed view of the opposite shore of the lake and the extent of the fire’s spread. Already the flames were making a wonderful spectacular display, which served as most effective warning to the cottagers of the need of haste in forming their fire brigade. It was almost like a warship’s crew obeying the call to quarters, so hurriedly did every able-bodied man turn out for service. ”

“ If you can send some one else to ring the alarm, telephone to the nearest fire station. The number of this station should always hang in a conspicuous place near your telephone. If there is no fire alarm system, and you have no telephone, shout "Fire!" and arouse the neighbors.
If you leave the house to summon help, be sure to close the door. Fresh air will make the flames burn faster, and spread more rapidly. If the fire is in one room, try to keep it there by closing the doors and windows. If it is in a closet, shut the door until you can get help. ”

“ Cases where exceptional security from fire is needed seldom occur and are more easily met. Dealing, therefore, with an ordinary warehouse, which is to be a fireproof building, it should be remembered that its fire-resisting qualities are determined not only by the materials of the actual structure, but also by its interior fittings, and, above all, by the goods stored or manufacture carried on in the place. A house of brick only obviously will not burn, but fill it with cloth or cotton goods, and the house as well as the goods may be destroyed. ”

“ If the fire be in an upper floor, the inmates should be got out immediately, although the lower part of the house may generally be entered with safety for some time. If in the lower part of the house, after the inmates have been removed, great care should be observed in going into any of the upper floors, as the flames very often reach the stair before being observed by those above. The upper floors are, besides, generally filled with smoke, and, in that case, there is great danger of suffocation to those who may enter. ”

“ One place we can all start is with this year's Fire Prevention Week theme, "Fire Drills Save Lives." Everyone should plan ahead noting the most convenient fire exits. Families should install and maintain smoke detectors in their homes to provide early warning of fire. ”

“ Because fire deaths most often occur in homes, I call upon American families and other property owners to install smoke detectors, to practice exit drills, and to be especially vigilant in guarding against fires. ”

“ Underestimating fire's deadly speed has cost many Americans their lives. Smoke alarms are one of the most effective safety tools available to ensure sufficient escape time, and research shows that by installing and maintaining working smoke alarms, we can reduce the risk of fire-related death by nearly 50 percent. Another important safety measure is a home fire escape plan, which enables everyone in the household to exit quickly during a fire emergency. ”

“ It is quite obvious that a fire brigade, however complete in its apparatus and equipments, must depend for its efficiency on the state of training and discipline of the firemen. Wherever there is inexperience, want of co-operation, or confusion amongst them, the utmost danger is to be apprehended in the event of fire. It is amidst the raging of this destructive element, the terror and bustle of the inhabitants, that organization and discipline triumph, and it is there, too, that coolness and promptitude, steadiness and activity, fearlessness and caution, are peculiarly required ”

“ As a means for the prevention of accidents, especially where there are women and children, the provision of a fire-guard is urgently recommended. These are now made at such a reasonable price that it is incumbent upon even the poorest to obtain them. ”

“ Experts may differ as to the most appropriate way of dealing with fire hazards in lodging houses. Appellant, indeed, says that its building, far from being a fire-trap, is largely fireproof; and to the extent that any fire hazards exist, they are adequately safeguarded by a fire alarm system, constant watchman service, and other safety arrangements. But the legislature may choose not to take the chance that human life will be lost in lodging house fires and adopt the most conservative course which science and engineering offer. ”

“ The International Fire Exhibition held in 1903 at Earl’s Court, and the Fire Prevention Congress of the same year, may be said to have revolutionized thought on the subject of fire brigade organization and equipment in the British empire; but, for all that, the advance made by the fire service has not been so rapid as the development of the fire-preventive side of fire protection.
Fire Protection.—The term “Fire Protection” is often misunderstood. ”

“ Many fires commence from a spark or ash falling out of the fire when it is not properly protected by a guard or fender. The habit of raking out a fire at night is a popular but mischievous one. If left to burn in the grate there is far less chance of danger than in raking out the hot ashes, which are likely to split the hearth-stone or fall on the floor or carpet. Gas-burners are dangerous when placed near the ceiling. A remarkable instance of this took place where a gas-jet set fire to a ceiling 281⁄2 inches from it. ”

“ A man, for example, in the third or fourth floor of a house on fire, who is uncertain as to his means of escape, in the event of his return by the stair being cut off, will not render any very efficient service in extinguishing the fire; his own safety will be the principal object of his attention, and till that is to a certain extent secured, his exertions are not much to be relied upon. ”

“ Of course, every home has certain fire hazards but they can be reduced to the minimum by a few elemental improvements and precautions. Some call for slight additions to the house equipment; others are simply the old-fashioned art of self-fire policing. This program of little things starts in the cellar and ends in the attic. ”

“ For Inmates.
1. Every householder should make each person in his house acquainted with the best means of escape, whether the fire breaks out at the top or the bottom. Provide fire-guards for use in every room where there is a fire, and let it be a rule of the household not to rake out a fire before retiring for the night, but to leave the guard [113] on. In securing the street-door and lower windows for the night avoid complicated fastenings or impediments to immediate outlets in case of fire. ”

“ Unless local authorities advise otherwise, fill buckets, bathtubs and other containers with water, for use in emergency fire fighting.
If a fire does occur, your home might be saved if you know how to fight fires, and have on hand some basic firefighting tools. These should include a garden hose, a ladder, buckets filled with sand, containers filled with water, and a fire extinguisher. Keep in mind that vaporizing-liquid types of fire extinguishers can produce dangerous fumes when used in small enclosed spaces. ”