PLAAWEIETIE DAMiEII

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIII, Issue 14353, 19 November 1910, Page 1 (Supplement)

PLAAWEIETIE DAMiEII

EXPERIMENTS,

An important report was issued lutety by tno r.tome Uihco oi a. ueparmcni.ui (Jommittee on the danger

li'oiu cue usa u£ nana-aitite lor Ui L.C»wo Ui. ClvtUiU^.

in its jjuLuie, vrting to tlie process i.no surmcc ui me cottuu is

1 ULicUj Lli.c IvpUl'ti X-iiC L'lUbiX \VAX*CJJ. ia couvcrLcU. inCu liuuiieieit-e inust be lax iaui'B iia.Die i-j eaucxi nee tLiun ixiu tiutiJ, vviUcli is iuoru -euiiiy triiaii uuiiiiet. lo a cercuiii uitcutr t-uis iu.s Ueeii reciucecl uy ia]proveiauut.s .u me nut uuiaeture.

"Jut?re js reason tu says tlie ifpurt 3 "inuL «lit* boLcer me i l\* :u,u mo price <ii r txjo ru ciclv'j tJi<: less its iu cuU:ii iirt.'/

-Aiming l.lic fxjX'riiiiu'iis made by the C-ommiLiee 1 r<■ s;iint; applied Lu gariilvills placed oil Iril'lle.N 111 the salllo pysiUon LJh'v uouhl :iysilllle when ivun. uy a human being. It was shown chat a dressing-gown of ordinary flannelette very rapiuiv takes lire <m the ;iji(>l icaturn or the taper; the flume travels rapidly upwards and extends .o the right and left, with th*- result t!int it. reaches the top of the garment in about thirty seconds, and consumes the wnole 01- greater part of it 111 a minute. The conclusion to which this evidence indubitably points is that a woman or child wnose skirt or dressinggown of flannelette comes into conart with fire must, unless promxit and effective measures are taken, inevitably suffer serious injury and is not unlikely to be burned to death. In regard to the statistical evidence OI fatalities, it is observed that, -while it is proved beyond doubt that accidents by fire are of common occurrence among persons who wear flannelette, the part whicli flannelette takes in such accidents is by no means clear. "The true cause of accidents is, in the great majority of cases, carelessness in regard to things whicli are positively dangerous, sucli as matches, candles, and open fires, the absence of fireguards, and the dangerous practice of leaving children without any competent person, to look after them. The wearmg of flannelett© is generally not so much a cause as a concomitant of the accident. Nevertheless, the committee thinks that the common opinion attributing to it u larger share of the blame is not £ar wrong. It is clear tLrfVfc the .diances oi recovery ircm burns axe materially affected by the use ox iiannelette. An amendment of tho Merchandise Marks Act, IS-S7, by the addition oi a provision making ib penal to describe as unintiammabie material wKcii not stand certain prescribed tests, is recommended. Beyond' this the committee does net pointing out that no Act of Parliament can the carelessness in regard to pi'si Lively dangerous things which is \h& Uuo cause 01 most; ac-itlenls. Tiis committee refer to the emleavonrs which have been mad-e to devise sprc.al treatment for flannelette which snail render it less susceptible to lire. There is- 110 difiiculty in this temporarily at a. very small cost. All that is needed is a little alum or borax to be used in washing articles mo<le of tho mruo--ial. Such expedients aro iv.it askiy. liowevoi% for the couunitfco were 1-old that it was improbable that 111.? pixr woman whom the mat-or m-csi i-or.cem. cd would go to the ojsnonsf fin u trouble of using them as ol : tcu r : s any article bad to be Visocl. A process -which wrmld vendor the stuff comparatively nninfia;nntrbh% repent and which at <--nne time did rot enhance the price prohibitively. is required. It is tho opinion of the committee that matters mr.v hi course of time be expected tn right them c olvPs. Great inmrovement has alroadv be?n made in +he manufacture of flannelette, mid further improvements nifly be rmnVTher« is also the pnssihiVtv new and cheaper methods of diminishm<r the of the material mnv be discovered.