m
before you have thawed them with snow and vigorous massage. When you
do go into the warm atmosphere continue to treat the bite with cloths
wrung out in ice water. Otherwise, this simple winter casualty may be
as serious and painful as a bad burn.

KEEPING HOME FIRES IN THEIR PLACE

[Illustration]

_CHAPTER XV_

KEEPING HOME FIRES IN THEIR PLACE

In the good old days before the United States had a record of one fire
every minute of the twenty-four hours, grandfather and his father
before him considered that a good citizen paid his poll tax, served on
juries, and patrolled his home for fire. Going to bed without banking
fires in stoves and fireplaces was unthinkable. The rest of the
household also had a proper respect for lighted candles and other
possible fire breeders. Of course, under this simpler mode of living,
light and heat were generated within view and what is seen cannot be
readily ignored.

Then came the development of modern household conveniences. Furnaces
and steam plants took heating below stairs; electricity replaced
candles, lamps, and gas fixtures; and the old cook stove gave way to
modern ranges of various sorts. The safer and easier the devices, the
more human vigilance relaxed. Today, of our half billion dollar fire
loss annually, one-fifth of it occurs in the country, and over sixty
per cent of residential fires start in the cellar.

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. Here is the list.

Don't let piles of rubbish and papers accumulate in cellar, attic,
closets, and like places.

Provide a metal container with hinged cover for storing inflammable
polishes, cleaning fluids, chemically treated dust cloths, mops, oily
cloths, and the like. Make sure they are put there when not in use,
instead of being tossed into some convenient "glory hole." Use metal
containers also for hot ashes and the daily accumulation of papers and
trash.

Be certain that electric wiring fuses are in good order. Pennies
behind burned-out fuses are a misuse of good money in more ways than
one.

Inspect the cords of all electrical appliances and portable lamps. If
they are frayed or broken, replace them. Speaking o