xt7n2z12rr7f https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7n2z12rr7f/data/mets.xml Kentucky. Department of Education. Kentucky Kentucky. Department of Education. 1940-09 volumes: illustrations 23-28 cm. call numbers 17-ED83 2 and L152 .B35. bulletins  English Frankford, Ky. : Dept. of Education  This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Educational Bulletin (Frankfort, Ky.) Education -- Kentucky Educational Bulletin (Frankfort, Ky.), "Fire Prevention Manual", vol. VIII, no. 7, September 1940 text Educational Bulletin (Frankfort, Ky.), "Fire Prevention Manual", vol. VIII, no. 7, September 1940 1940 1940-09 2021 true xt7n2z12rr7f section xt7n2z12rr7f  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

‘ ’ JOHN W BROOKER
""" Superlntendeni of Public Instruction

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ISSUED

MONTHLY

. Entered as second- class matter March 21,1933,at the post office at
i Frankfort, Kentucky, under the Act of August 24, 1912

Vol. VI“

sépfember, 1940 No. 7

 

 

  

 

 

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Commonwealth of Kentucky

FIRE PREVENTION
MANUAL

COURSE OF STUDY FOR

Kentucky Boys and Girls

i

‘ KEEN JOHNSON ..............

 

 

J ....... Governor
0 . . .
S HN W- BROOKER ............................. State Supcrmtende'nt Public Instruction
HE .
RMAN GOODPASTER ..................... Director of Insurance

D. P . . .
' VANDIVIER ................................. SUPOT’UISO’I‘ FM‘B Prevention and Rates

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

661

Preface .............................................................. . 662
Foreword

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 4' 663
The Challenge—Preventing Fires—September

Forest Fires—October ______
School Inspection, Home Inspection, Fire Drills—November ------- 686
Matches, Holiday Hazards, Rural Schoolhouse Fires—Decembei ..... G95
Gasoline—January _____________________________________________________________________________________

Electricity, Gas, Radio Hazards—February ..................................

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

704
Forest Fires—March ________________ 713
Clean-Up Month—April __________________________ - .- . 0m-
Preventing Fires on the Farm—Program Discussron ‘Mateual £01 C 717
munity Meetings—May ____________________________________________________________ 720
Motion Pictures on Fire Prevention ......................................

 

 

 

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PREFACE

The State Department of Education is pleased to cooperate with the
Division of Fire Prevention and Rates in preparing this Manual. The
Department at all times emphasizes safety education.

This Course of Study has been prepared as provided by See. 76213-7 (f)
and Sec. 7‘62b-18 (b), quoted below:

“See. 762b-7 (f). To cause fire prevention to be taught in all public
and private schools at least once each week, and fire drills to be held in
said schools at least once each month and to require that all doors and
exits in school and public buildings open outward and be kept unlocked
while such buildings are occupied for school or public purposes.

“Sec. 762b-1S (b). To establish and maintain museums and exhibits
of safety and fire prevention, in which shall be exhibited equipment, safe-
guards and other means and methods for protection against fire loss, and
to publish and distribute bulletins on any phase of this general subject.”

_ Acknowledgment is hereby given to Mr. D. P. Vandivier, Supervisor of
Fire Prevention and Rates and Mr. Mark Godman, Director of Supervision
111 the State Department of Education, who have been responsible for the
compilation and organization of this bulletin.

The material in this Manual has been carefully selected and logically
arranged for teaching. -It is the official Course of Study in the subject of
Fire I)l‘evention for the schools of this Commonwealth. This office con-
S‘ldel‘S it of utmost importance that all teachers and school officials pay
:Eéleftlmlous'and definite attention to the principles of fire prevention and
Our zoolltllned herein. Through a conscientious teaching of this material,

ys and girls should learn to prevent fires by forming habits of

mm . ' I I
,[ fume”, The savmg of many lives and thousands of dollars in property
\alue should result.

JOHN W. BROOKER
Superintendent of Public Instruction

 

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FOREWORD

To Executives, Teachers and Pupils
Kentucky Public and Private Schools:

This manual is the first attempt in Kentucky to provide material for
the use of our teachers in Fire Prevention instruction. A State law pro.
vides that Fire Prevention be taught in the schools, but until now there
has been no provision for suitable teaching material. Considerable time
has been spent in determining the kind of material used in other states
where Fire Prevention instruction is given. As a result of this survey
the State of Nebraska was found to have the outstanding Fire Prevention
Manual now in use. With the kind permission of the Nebraska State Fire
Marshal we have followed very closely the form and content of their
manual in the preparation of this material.

Fire Prevention is a very practical problem and well deserves a place
in the course of study in every public and private school. There was an
unfriendly fire in Kentucky every hour during the year 1939. Fire may
break out any hour in the day and usually strikes at the .most unexDeCted
time, and often at a place where there are no available means of adetllla‘te
fire fighting. Lives may be at stake in every fire and untold financwl
losses are sustained. Probably two-thirds of all these fires could be Ill'e'
vented. If that be true an intelligent study of Fire Prevention methods
may save an untold number of lives and much fire waste.

The Department of Fire Prevention and Rates is always ready to 314;:
the elimination of fire hazards and is glad to help with making 11151”th
and in conducting fire drills.

The State Department of Education is co-operating with the Departmegi
of Fire Prevention and Rates and asks for a practical and sensrble use

this book.
D. P. VANDIVIER

Supervisor Fire Prevention and Rates
MARK GODMAN' . .
Director Division of Superl’ls1011

 

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September
THE CHALLENGE—PREVENTING FIRES

|. Specific Aims to be Developed through This Unit

A. Simple Habits
Reading and reporting fires described in the newspapers.
Being careful and preventing fires.

B. Essential Knowledge
Facts concerning serious fires.
Facts concerning fires caused by carelessness with bonfires.

C. Simple Feelings or Appreciations
An appreciation on the part of pupils of the serious fires caused
by carelessness.

II. Teaching Procedures and Content
A. Finding the Starting Point
Pupils comment on the causes of certain fires and how
same might have been prevented.

B. Content

1. Facts to be discussed about fire losses in the nation.1

For many years past America has burned up an average of over a
quarter billion dollars annually. Among the causes listed as preventable
are chimney fires, With average annual losses of $25,000,000; fires from
hOt ashes, coals and Open fires, with losses amounting to over $6,000,000;
from matches and smoking, with losses of more than $35,000,000; from
”{bbiSh and litter, with losses of over $2,000,000; from sparks on roofs,
“ml losses, of over $15,000,000; and from stoves, furnaces, boilers and
then" pipes. with losses of almost $23,000,000.

. Under partially preventable causes are listed misuse of electricity,
with losses of almost $18,000,000; exposure (including conflagrations),
Wlth losses 0f OVGI‘ $47,000,000; and spontaneous combustion, almost
$16,000,000.
Unitzgesgt vast sums, representing the average annual fire loss in the
COlleges ates 9W3"? five-year period, would build a fourth‘ of the
in fun thand 111111Versit1es in the United States, and purchase Wlth‘C'aSh
to maint e glounds upon which they are erected. -It would be suffrcrent
first 1111:”: and 01'“)th the entire Navy Department for one year. Twenty

attleshlps, or many times that number of destroyers and sub-

ni ' .
““195, could be built with this amount. It could build, 01‘ buy and pay
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The National Board of Fire Underwriters, 85 John Street, New York CH}!-

663

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cash in full for 80,000 modern one-family suburban homes, sheltering
480,000 people—a city of residences larger than the four cities of Louisville,
Lexington, Paducah and Frankfort.

Causes of fires in Kentucky as reported during April, May and
Julie, 1940- (listed in order of their frequency)

 

   

 

 

 

 

   

 

 
 
   

 

Unknown Causes ____________________________________________________________________ ._ _______________________________ 268
Matchestmoking .................... , ________________________________________________________________________ 220
Defective chimneys, flues, etcl ....................................

Electricity—Except small devices ...............................................

Exposure (communicated)

Sparks on roof ___________________________

Hot Ashes and Goals—Open Fires ................................................. 91
Lightning _____________________________________________________________________ 66
Miscellaneous—Causes known not classified .................................................. 62
Petroleum and its Products 49
Stoves, furnaces, boilers and their pipes ................................... 49
Gas—Natural and artificial .................................................................................... 26
Rubbish and Litter ................... .................................................. 25
Hot Irons (including electrlcal devices) ............................................................ 19
Hot Grease, oil tar, wax asphalt, ignition of ................................................ 17
Open Lights ............................................................................................... 13
Explosions __________________ 12
Spontaneous Combustion ......... 12
Incendiarism _________ ..................................... 5
Friction, Sparks occasioned by running machine ................... i

Sparks Arising from Combustion

 

  

Steam and Hot Water pipes
Total number of fires .............................................................................. L334
L088 RECORD
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Number of Fire and Lightning Claims Paid by CaUse
Years 1936-1937-1938
Year Year Year
1936 1937 1938
Cause Claims Claims Clzilms
Chimneys, Flues, Cupolas and Stacks, Overheated 35
01‘ Defective _________________________________________________________ 787 8
Electricity including Hot Irons and Other Electrical ”7
Devices 506 500 5:9
Explosions ‘3 40 406
Exposure ____________________________________________________________ 617 416 06
Fireworks, Fire Crackers, Balloons, etc. ............................ 19 19 12
Friction, Sparks Occasioned by Running Machinery 11 16 114
Gas~Natural and Artificial .................................................. 130 98 573
Hot Ashes and Goals—Open Fires ___________________________ 603

 

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Hot Grease, Oil, Tar, \Vax, Asphalt, Ignition of .............. 68 95 95
Incendiarism 44 36 49
Lightning—B111ldlllgs Rodded and Not Rodded ................ 879 624 911
Matches—Smoking .................................................................. 1,239 1,149 1,166
Miscellaneous—Cause Known but Not Classified ........ 51 40 34

Open Lights ............................................. 306 277 246
Petroleum and Its Products ............... . 275 280 273
Rubbish and Litter .................................................................... 26 15 32
Sparks Arising from Combustion __ 71 41 35
Sparks on Roofs .................................. 992 749 573
Spontaneous Combustion ......... 96 85 103
Steam and Hot Water Pipes 1 1
Stoves, Furnaces, Boilers and Their Pipes ________ 470 391 386
UnknoWn ______________________________________________________________________ _._1,348 1,147 1,274

8,921 7,408 7,797

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is always a great treat to go to a wienie roast where we gather a
few sticks, roast wienies, toast marshmallows, and boil the coffee over the
fire. There are some important facts, however, which we should
remember.

There are many things that need to be considered in lighting a fire.
Never start a fire if the wind is blowing, for sparks may travel a long
way, Do not build a fire if there is any possibility of its spreading to
leaves or wood. Do not build a fire too near a tree as its growth may be

seriously injured. Do not build too large a fire and do not po‘ke it or stand
too close to the blaze.

Many times when people forget to put out fires, forests and property
Of all kllldS are burned. Carelessness is very costly and because 0f it

thousands of people have lost their lives and damage amounting to millions
of dollars has been done.

SUgg‘ested safety-first rules for bonfires:

1. Do not build a bonfire for fun.

2. ‘If it is necessary to build fires outdoors, see that the ashes are
com before you leave them.

3. Do not set dead trees afire without adequate control.
. 4. Before lighting an open fire, be sure that it is completely enclosed
In a stout wire screen.

5' Do not allow children to play too near the fire.

6. Do not throw large pieces of loose paper upon an Open fil'e-

0. Activities '

1. Writing original songs for English assignment

a. Tune—“Are You Sleeping?”2
Fire prevention, fire prevention,
For this week, for this week;
Always put out your matches,
Always put out your matches,
Before you leave,
Before you leave.

2 JO 7
lee Hath, LOS‘an Center School, Cedar County, Nebraska.

665

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

b. Tune—“Mulberry Bush”
Keep your matches in tin cans,
In tin cans, in tin cans;
Keep your matches in tin cans,
For your own safety.

Keep your gasoline in red cans,
In red cans, in red cans;

Keep your gasoline in red cans,
If you are wise.

Don’t go away with bonfires burning,

Bonfires burning, bonfires burning,

Don’t go away with bonfires burning,
Day or night.

c. Tune—“Row, Row. Row Your Boat"4

Keep, keep, keep your rules,
Keep them every day;
Fire, fire, fire, fire
Out of your life will stay.
2. Developing Code Puzzles and writing Fire Prevention jingles for
English.

PUZZLE FOR CHILDREN5
What Would You Do If Your Clothing Caught Fire?

WORK out this code message and you will learn how to save your
life—or possibly the life of someone else!

R3F2 TSK3RZS T3WH CSSH PSZZD HTlT P24PL2 S4L2 HT23R D21HS‘
HTZSR LC4HT‘3GN TICHCZS R3F2 1DN HTZY N5R. HT2Y 822 HT2

LFI’SZM 1DN 3MM2T31D2YL MSJP. HWZN LC4HT3GN Tiochs R3F2
RD4P T4 HT2 LF44R 1DN L4RL 3TN4 1 G5R 4R LBlKN2T T4 MS4HT2R
HT2 R3F2, PZZKS‘GN HT2 G5R G3TTH 1T45B HT2 CZNK T4 RP4CZTT
HT2 CIFZ 1DN R13H. MZRZBMZR HT3s R4F R45Y 4Nw K1S2 1DN 3T
YlM 2N2V 2B1NL2 Y45 M4s2 YlD T4 V1s2 HT3 F3L2 4F 1T4NR2H-

then reverse

CODE: ‘Group the letters in each word into pairs and
s into vowels

the order of the letters in each pair. Next, change the figure . "
(l-A, 2-E, 3-1, 4-0, 5-U). Thus LC4HT3GN becomes the word “clothing.

3. Solving problems in arithmetic which involve fire losses

5 caused by pre-

a. How much was the annual property 105 veral

ventable fires throughout the Nation for the last Se
years? How much would the property 1055 for one day be
for this same period? If fires could be prevented Wha
could be purchased for the fire loss for one day?
b. From the list of Kentucky fires and their causes for the
months of April, May, June and July, What would 3:0:
suggest as the most valuable slogan for Fire Prevent“)
for the year.
“Helen Thompson, Logan Center School, Cedar County, Nabl‘aSka'

‘ ~ ka.
4 Darme Brandow, Loyan Center School, Cedar County, Nebias ork.
5 The National Board Bf Fire Underwriters, 85 John Street, New Y

666

 

 

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4. Dramatizing the “Safety First Ladder” in the primary grades.
A. Greater interest in fire prevention.
Fewer accidents with fire.
0. [Interest in telling about fires and causes of fires as reported in
newspapers.
D. Ability to give safety rules for bonfires.

51‘

TOLD BY A TONGUE 0F FLAME
(A Fire Prevention Fantasy)

Sitting alone last night before the hearth, I had a dream; and a very
extraordinary dream it was! I dreamed—yesl—I dreamed that the Fire,
crackling there on its two enormous andirons, talked to me!

It was late and, tired of reading, I had laid down my book, tossed on a
fresh log and curled up in my chair, prepared to surrender myself to those
stray thoughts that sometimes come in the lengthening hours. How long
I sat dreaming I don’t know, but presently, as though from a very great
distance, I heard a voice. It was saying something that sounded like “Thank
you,” but so faint was it, so whisper-like, that I thought I must have
imagined it.

Then it came again; this time a trifle louder. Still believing that I
fancied rather than heard a voice, since no one else was in the room, I
said nothing. A third time the words came and now they were distinct,
unmistakable. They seemed to issue from the depths of the fireplace, but
that, I knew, was absurd; no one could possibly be hidden in there, big as
it was, for the heat would have been unbearable. However, I could see no
harm in replying, so I inquired: “Thank you? Thank you for what?”

“For that juicy log you just gave me. It kept me alive.” It was the
same voice and I knew then that it must be the Fire speaking!

“You’re quite welcome,” I replied in as matter—0ftact a tone as I could
command; “I’m sure I didn’t want you to die.”

H “Didn’t you?” There was a pause. Afterwards the Fire continued:
But sometimes, you know, men do want me to die.”

“But that’s only when you’re doing harm and now you’re doing good—-
much good.”

Wantmtl: bFire sighed audibly; then in an outburst of passion: “But I do

0111 e good always. For numberless centurles, now, I’ve wished to do
y good to men, but, but. . .” The words trailed off and I couldn’t

catch the rest.

donffxiqan’ interval I asked: “If you Want so much to do only good, why

to live in."Im sure the world would be a much safer and happier place

ask Th3 Fire’s next remark startled me again. “Have you ever heard,” it
ed, 0f a man named Stevenson—Robert Louis Stevenson?”

“The author?” I said.
caller???” it said, “the author. Well, this man Stevenson, wrote a story
the sam 1‘- Jekyll and Mr. I-Iyde,’—remember? It seems they were both
helm“ : man, only he had two sides or personalities, one very good, very

“ 0 mankmd, the other very bad, doing nothing but evil.”

Yes,” I declared, “everybody knows the story3’

667

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Alas!” cried the Fire, “I’m like the man in that story, and yet it is
really not my fault! You”—the fire spluttered and flared up ominously—
“you and all your fellow-men, for countless thousands of years, have made
me so.”

Of course I was taken aback. I couldn’t, just then, find words; besides,
I reasoned quickly, it was, after all, nothing more than the plain truth that
the Fire had hurled at me.

“Please don’t be angry,” pleaded the Fire, subsiding; “I didn’t mean
to be rude, only . . . only I feel it so deeply, and I want you and all men
to know it. It’s hard sometimes for me to bear the blame for all the crimes
that you have committed in my name!”

This was a little too much for me, and I protested my innocence;
whereupon the Fire went on:

“No, you’re not to blame, perhaps; not you personally. I’m speaking
of many of your fellows, those alive today and those that lived long genera-
tions ago, when the world, though younger, was neither better nor worse
. . . Suppose you give me that stout log in the basket over there to keep
me going and I’ll tell you a little story.”

“All right,” said I and rose to do as it had hidden. Then I resumed my
chair and waited.

“Of course,” began the Fire, “I was old long ages before men snoll
as you had come to dwell on the earth. In fact, I played a large 132111111
bringing this very world into being. In the beginning I was nearly all
there was.

“Ages dragged by, and I began to die out, slowly, slowly, but certainly,
and then the hard rock and earth cooled, and oceans formed out of the
dropping steam, and there was air. Life could be supported, finally, and
life came—plants and tiny primitive moving things. .

“Inside the earth, however, I continued to burn fiercely—and do to thlS
very day—and bursting through a crust of earth, occasionally, I “’0111‘1
ignite this plant life, presently grown into vast forests. Sometimes, too.
the great incandescent sun would set me going in the dry thickets.

“Yet more ages passed, and one (lay—I shall never forget it——as I was
burning my way through some dense undergrowth, I came full uDOl1 a
creature who looked not unlike you. He was as much astonished as L and
in fact he took to his heels at once, uttering terrified cries. However, lie
was inquisitive, and every now and then, as he ran, he glanced over 111S
shoulder to look, wide~eyed at me.

“Soon I saw him slow up, turn, and retrace his steps to an old tree
stump that l was licking. For a long time he stood gazing down at me,
studying me intently. Suddenly he seized his flint hatchet, chopped out
a piece of the trunk and putting it—and me—into a large seashell winch
he found at his feet, carried me to a kind of hut 01' reeds and deposlted
me on the dirt floor where I continued to smoulder (lully.

”There were other occupants. One was a woman—as l have come to
know—and there were also some little people, children, running HDOUL

All were afraid of me at first, and backed away into a far corner. But
the man motioned to them to return and, their curiosity overconung filellt
6

fear, they began to edge up closer. It was cold outside and when they ut
my warmth, they grunted with satisfaction. Presently the man went 0

668

 

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and came back with two or three chunks of wood, which he gave me, at the
same time fanning me into flame.

“From that day forth I lived with them constantly, kept them Warm
and cooked their food. They grew used to 111e—and then the trouble
started. When they first took me to their home, they kept me in the
center of the floor, away from the walls of their dwelling, but one day, not
realizing what they did, they allowed me to burn over too far, and in a
fraction of a second I had started to climb up the sides of the hut. Fortu-
nately, the man and his family rushed outside and saved themselves. Of
their home, though, nothing was left; it was dry, and I just couldn’t help
devouring it to the last reed.

“Naturally, they were alarmed and very much saddened over the loss
of their comfortable dwelling; and when they built again, you may be sure,
dug a little pit for me in the earthasince, having grown used to me, they
couldn’t do without me~and there they kept me as long as they lived, while
[served them faithfully and gave them no more trouble.”

The Fire’s voice grew a bit unsteady. So interested was I in its nar-
rative that I had neglected to feed it; so now I heaped on more wood. In a
short time the voice regained its strength, and the Fire took up its tale
once more:

“Last night,” the Fire resumed, “was, if I remember rightly, the
millionth anniversary of that happening I have just related; and last night
lwas burning cheerily on the hearth of a friend of yours, a Mr. O. Howe
Careless, and the . . .”

“What!” I broke in, “has Careless been burned out?”

“Yes,” replied the Fire wearily, “their beautiful home was burned to
the ground. But let me finish. I was, as I said, burning on his hearth, as
Iain now burning 011 yours. Mr. and Mrs. Careless, with their two children,
sat before me; they were listening, I think, to the radio. Soon the maid
called them to dinner, and they left me all alone and quite unguarded.

“Instead of dying out, as I thought I should, a wind came down the
Chimney behind me, setting me going briskly, and my burning embers
began to pop out into the room. At length one, carrying a bit of me, dropped
on a soft, fuzzy rug, and I began to burn there, very quietly. Unnoticed,
lcontinued to smoulder until another gust from the chimney fanned me
lllto flame. Hearing me crackle, the family rushed in and tried to kill me,
but I was too strong for them and so they called the fire department. By
that time, though, I had grown so big that about all the firemen could do—
the famin having escaped my clutches—was to save some odd pieces of
turniture. I consumed, I’m sorry to say, the whole house, except for the
I‘Oundation and the chimney, which I couldn’t get my teeth into, though I
llcked them black with my tongue.”

n011, 110w unfortunate for poor Careless,” I exclaimed.

”Unfortunate? \Vhat do you mean ‘unfortunate?’ Wherever I, Fire, am
00110el'ned, there is no such thing as fortune, good or bad, no such thing
:felsck. I do what I must do, what I can’t help doing—when men afford
no 111:2?1tu-mty' A million years ago, by their neglect of me, they gave me

= 1nat1ve but to turn 011 them. Last night, in that modern house, it

w .
as the same . . . I can’t help myself; they leave so many ways of escape
09911 to me.

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“Oh! If men would only learn to guard me and to keep me in the
place where I belong! A million years of living have taught them much,
but still they haven’t learned this one simple thing—to handle me with
care.”

The Fire, I saw, was burning lower and lower on my hearth and
seemed on the verge of dying out. It was almost morning and so I decided
to let it perish.

“Will it?” I ventured, “will it be so always? Will men never learn to
employ you, Fire, as you should be employed, as you were meant to be
employed?” .

“Ah,” sighed the Fire, as it gave one last flicker, “that is a question
which only you and your fellows can answer.”

 

 

 

  

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October

FOREST FIRES

I. Specific Aims to Be Developed Through This Unit.
A. Simple Habits to Be Acquired
1. Refusing to build an open fire for any purpose near the woods
or a field when the woods and the field are dry.
2. Refusing to leave any fire before it is entirely out. Extinguish
it with water, sand or soil.
3. Refusing to pass even the smallest fire unnoticed.

B. Essential Knowledge
1. Forest fires cause loss of property, life and the benefits of
nature.
2. Each year forest fires in Kentucky burn an average of 500,000
acres of forest land, and do a damage of nearly $1,000,000.
3. Nearly 100% of all forest fires in Kentucky are man-caused
and therefore preventable.

C. Attitudes to Be Developed
1. An appreciation of the danger of forest fires to life and
property.
2. Forest fire is the enemy of man and nature, and therefore
must be prevented

ll. Teaching Procedures and Content

A. Content—Why Forest Fires Must Be Stopped-

When Daniel Boone came to Kentucky, virgin forests covered more
than 9/10 of all the land in the State. Here grew the finest hardw’ood

timber in the world, and roamed large herds of buffalo, deer, elk and
other wild game,

Today 2/5 of the State’s area, or 10,500,000 acres, is suited only for
growmg trees; in eastern Kentucky more than 3/4 of the land area is suited
onlyfor trees. Yet this timberland has been so damaged by fire, over-
Etaimg and wasteful logging methods that it produces only a small part

he wood products which it would yield under proper protection and
management. Kentucky’s past has been greatly influenced by her forests,
and much of her present and future progress depends upon them. This is
especially so of eastern Kentucky.
acres: lf‘eal enemy of our forests is FIRE. In 1939 it burned over 500,000

orests in Kentucky, and did more than $1,000,000 damage.
is m1)? :Ze‘lwake of fire. stalks death and damage. Sometimes the damage
lack f s1y seen, but it is there just the same. It is quite possible that

0 knOWIBdge of the very real injury which follows fire in the woods

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may partly account for so much carelessness with fire. People are usually
careful when they realize that a thoughtless act may burn up their property.
No person in his right mind will light his pipe in the barn and flip the
burning match in the fodder bin 01' haymow. Why? His hand is stayed by
the thought of fire and the damage it will cause. Yet, that same person
may without thinking flip another match into dry grass or leaves and start
a forest fire that will do damage greater than the value of a thousand
barns. What is true of the unthinking smoker is true of the man with the
camp fire, the burner of brush, or anyone else who uses fire in or near
the forest.

So that you may stop and think and then be careful with fire in the
woods, the following summary of the evidence against fire is given to you.

SOIL

Nearly all forest fires burn on the ground. Each fire burns up more
or less of the decaying vegetable matter, called “humus”, vital to the tree,
shrub, and herb life which the soil supports. It destroys a large part Of
the plant food and there is left only an unbalanced ration. Plant life
starves and sickens.

At the same time fire removes the organic matter, which work
upper layers of the soil and Changes it into a sponge-like cover to prevent
soil and water from washing away or drying up. Soil texture is ruined-

Loss of soil fertility is the heaviest toll the forest fire takes. Other
losses may be replaced in time at reasonable cost, but the plant food in the
soil can be built back only by nature, and her work is very slow.

When the protective forest cover is destroyed