Fireproof Fire

It takes five seconds to light a cigaret, ten seconds for a cigar or pipe, on the average. A match burns one-half inch from its tip in ten seconds. If the stub were fireproof many a careless fire would be prevented.

Two out of three men and women throw their cigarets away when the butts are between one and one and a half inches long. If the stub could be fireproofed, other careless fires could be prevented.

Last week the Bureau of Standards, which made the observations by sending employes to snipe stubs and butts on sidewalks and in office buildings, recommended fireproofing methods. The procedure is to soak matches in non-inflammable waterglass to within the useful half-inch of the head. Cigarets should have a cork tip one inch long and lined with waterglass. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts inspired the investigation.