wastefulness; they go hand in hand. Enormous waste is caused by
fire, and most fires are due to carelessness--carelessness in
handling matches, in the use of oil stoves, in accumulations of
rubbish, in disposing of hot ashes, in smoking where there are
inflammable materials.

Fire Protection in Cities

In cities and towns the safety of our own property from fire is
largely dependent upon the care of others. If our neighbor is
careless, our property as well as his may be destroyed. Under such
circumstances it is necessary to have rules to regulate conduct
for the common safety. The materials with which we may build, the
thickness of our walls, the construction of our flues, the storage
of explosive or inflammable materials, the disposal of rubbish and
ashes, and many other things, are regulated by law. This is
cooperation for fire prevention. Much money is also spent by
cities for fire protection, including water supply and organized
fire departments.

FIRE PROTECTION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Where people live widely separated from one another, as in rural
communities, such regulations are less necessary and organized
fire protection is less easy to afford. A farmer's property may be
destroyed by fire from a spark from a passing locomotive, or from
the camp of a careless hunter in the adjoining woods. There may be
state laws to control such cases. But in the main, if his property
burns it is due to the carelessness of some one who lives on the
premises, and he is dependent upon his own efforts to control the