Schools should have individual signal boxes connecting directly with the local fire department.

Fire drills should be to the fire escapes as well as to the exits. Fire drills should conclude with the continued march of the children out of and away from the school in different directions.

Fire drills should aim at a quick dismissal, without going for coats or hats.

Fire drills should be had frequently but at irregular and secret times. Repetition will familiarize children with their duties and, if fire does break out, they will not be taken unawares.

Have printed copies of these rules posted conspicuously in schools.

Occasionally have a fire-fighting instruction program. There should be short talks on fire prevention, evils of carelessness, need of cleanliness in homes and surroundings, and damage by fire to life and property. These lessons should be free from excitement. and addressed to the common sense of the pupils, rather than to their feelings and imagination. Their feelings should not be roused by stories of the horrors of fires or reference to any particular disaster. They should be interested in simple means of fire fighting and handling materials which come under their daily observation at home or at school; that most fires are of the same size at the start, the flame of a match carelessly handled or thrown away; a candle, a lamp, an oil or gasoline stove, spark from a locomotive, a burning cigarette or cigar carelessly thrown away, and that any one of these may cause great loss of life and property.

Keep call number of fire department in clear sight near telephone and call fire department instantly.

Reports should be made, from time to time, of the fire drills and their execution.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND EXECUTION OF EXIT DRILLS FOR FACTORIES.

THOMAS J. AHEARN, State Fire Marshal, Albany, N. Y.
PREFATORY NOTE.

The primary object of the exit drill is to determine if the building is properly designed so that in the emergency of a fire its occupants would be able to effect their escape readily without the probability of injury from stairway, fire escape, or other congestion which inevitably causes panic. This test should be occasionally repeated to insure the continuous maintenance of safe conditions.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.

Organization and Duties.-All factory exit drills should be subject to the direction of a supervisory organization constituted as follows: Chief engineer of exit drill, floor chiefs, room captains, stairway and fire escape guards, searchers and inspectors.

Chief Engineer of Exit Drill.- Should be some one whose position would command respect and insure compliance with all orders and instructions relating to the drills.

He will have

General Duties of Chief Engineer of Exit Drill. charge of all matters pertaining to exit drills, practice maneuvers and organization, and will designate all persons to fill the positions above mentioned. He will fix the time for making drills and rigidly enforce measures of discipline for failure on the part of any employee to fully observe all the rules and requirements; by personal inspection he should see that over-crowding in work rooms, or elsewhere, is prevented, and that sufficient space is given to aisles and passageways to permit quick access to all of the exits.

Floor Chiefs.- Care should be exercised in the selection of these men or women, as upon them largely depends the efficiency and success of the drills. Where department foremen (or women) or factory superintendents possess the requisite qualifications their selection is to be preferred. It is important, however, that they have the trust and confidence of their employees generally, with a

fair degree of self-possession and capability of speaking the language of the operatives.

Duties of Floor Chiefs. The floor chief shall have immediate charge of all employees or operatives employed on his floor in all matters pertaining to exit drills. He shall be held responsible for the enforcement of all rules and will report to the Chief Engineer any employees who wilfully neglect their proper observance.

He shall see that each movement corresponding to the alarm signal is promptly and properly executed and shall personally supervise the sounding of the general building alarm on his floor. He shall be further responsible for the condition of all aisles and passageways, and will see that chairs, benches and stock are promptly removed to insure unobstructed passageways.

When, by prearrangement in drill practice or as a result of actual fire, it may be necessary to depart from the regular instructions as regards selection and the use of exits, such change will be at the sole direction of the floor chief.

Room Captains.-— Whenever floors are subdivided into two or more rooms the floor chief will be assisted by the room captains. For floors of large area, the floor captains should designate a supervisor for every fifty employees, to assist in maintaining the necessary control and discipline. For these latter positions it may be frequently found desirable to make selections from the fore

women.

Room captains should be chosen from those highest in authority, preferably a foreman or work boss. The same general care in their selection should be exercised as indicated for the floor chiefs.

Duties of Room Captains. They should perform the same general duties in their respective rooms as are prescribed for the floor chief, subject to the latter's direction and supervision, excepting that they shall have no authority to change the assignment of exits, nor sound the general building alarm unless under the direction of the floor chief.

Stairway Guards. For these positions men are to be preferred; they should be strong and alert, capable of acting quickly in emergencies. Two men selected from each floor should be assigned to each exit, stairway or fire escape.

Duties of Guards.- Guards are to be subject to the orders of the floor chief or room captains, and shall see that the march from the rooms and in descending the stairway or fire escape is orderly and without crowding and at uniform speed, with careful observance of spacing between files. They shall be especially watchful of persons stumbling or falling to prevent trampling, and no conditions should be allowed which require a halt after the exit march has started.

Guards should be stationed as follows: One guard on the room side of the door leading from the room to the stairways or fire escapes who shall see that the door is opened promptly after the first signal and is kept open until all the occupants have left the room and then that it be closed, and one guard on landing midway on staircase descending to the next floor below. Where stair exits have sharp bends or are poorly lighted, additional guards should be provided as required. All the foregoing officers should have a first and second assistant to help in the general work and to take charge, by seniority, in the case of the absence of the officer.

Searchers. There should be at least one man and one woman searcher on each floor with alternates. They should be cool-headed and strong.

Duties of Searchers.- Searchers should immediately after the signal visit the toilet rooms and any room in which there may be occupants who cannot hear the signal. They must look out for any people who may become hysterical and faint.

Inspectors. An inspector selected from among the employees should be appointed to examine each morning the condition of all stairways, fire escapes and roof exits, if any, and to report immediately to the chief of exit drill any obstruction found thereon or any unusual condition. He should also see that all doors leading to stairways or fire escape exits open outwardly in such a way as not to obstruct the passageway, and will immediately report any found locked or obstructed to the floor chief or chief engineer.

During the winter season attention should be given to any existing fire escapes where exposed to accumulations of ice or snow, and whenever so found, immediate steps should be taken for its prompt removal.

In addition to the above, provision should be made for a daily inspection and test each morning of the alarm system and of all signaling devices; report thereof to be made to the chief engineer.

Drill Exercise.-- Exit drills should be held as often as necessary, depending upon the design of the building, the character of the industry, intelligence of employees, etc., and should include everyone in the building. The employees should always be dismissed at night by the regular test signal.

It is advisable that the alarms announcing the drills for each trial should originate on different floors in order to give different people an opportunity to learn how to act and have the signal sent when they discover a fire, and to afford practice in changing the order of precedence for possession of stairways or fire escapes, if the design of the building requires the latter to be used; excepting that the line of march may be so arranged as to take advantage of the additional time required in the descent of those from the upper floors, by dismissing such of the lower floors as would not delay the egress of the former.

A further exception to the rule should be made where buildings are divided by fire walls having protected openings, which would allow the transfer of all the occupants on a given floor in the fire section to an adjoining section on the same floor in the building, or by means of doors or a balcony to adjoining buildings or where provision is made for ascending to roof exits that may lead to a safe retreat, either on or in an adjoining building.

In assigning stations the first consideration is to man the aisles leading to each exit from the fire district and to prevent pushing and overcrowding. As far as possible, the aisle guards will endeavor to effect line formation, in order that the approach to the exit may be as orderly as possible. At all times special consideration should be given to women and children.

Employees who are not members of the section in which they may find themselves at the time of the test, upon the first signal, should be at attention and assemble for the line formation. Where the public is present and fire conditions permit, the line should be led off to other exits than those to which the public may be crowding.

Drill practice for tests should closely approximate military pre