Our Past Is Present October 18, 2017

October 18, 2017

            You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            October is “Fire Prevention Month.”  This news item from the 1920’s is interesting to share.  “While electric irons are a boom to housewives, their improper use is the chief electrical fire hazard.” So stated a report compiled by the National Fire Protection Association in October of 1926. 

            “Manufacturers of the appliances had cooperated by safeguarding them in numerous ways.  One of those was to provide a thermostat control to prevent the temperature from rising above given point.  That point was usually between 400 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit.  Stands were also being provided on practically all models to keep the irons from coming into contact with combustible material when not in use.  In mercantile and manufacturing establishments and even in dwellings, an effective precaution was the installation of a red light to warn when the power was on. If the operator left the power to the iron, there was a light which would be lit.  Despite precautions being taken by the manufacturers of electric irons, there was no way to counteract human carelessness.”  The author of the article stated that “It seems housewives continue to fail to put hot irons on stands and continue to fail to turn off the power whenever they left the room, even if only for a few seconds.  Often, these seconds turned into minutes and during that period many disastrous fires started.” 

            Make an effort to send our local firefighters a note of appreciation or stop by one of the stations and personally express your thankfulness to them for all they do to serve us and our community.