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| Don’t Blame the Cow |
| Take responsibility for fire prevention |
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| Back in 1871 fire swept through the city of Chicago. By the time the last embers of that great fire had gone out, more than 250 people were dead, 100,000 were left homeless, 17,000 structures had been destroyed, and more than 2,000 acres had been burned. |
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| The story goes that the fire was started when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in the O’Leary’s barn. Whether that’s true or not, nobody really knows. But even if it is, you can’t blame the cow for the fire. It’s the person who left the lamp lit where the cow could kick it over who is really responsible. |
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| Blaming the cow is like blaming a pile of trash for starting a fire. The trash might be the instrument, but its human error of some kind (not disposing of the trash, allowing it to get too close to an ignition source, dumping oil-soaked rags into the trash, etc.) that is the real cause of the fire. |
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| Take a little time during this week—and every day all year—to think about workplace and home fire safety and to keep an eye out for fire hazards. There are lots of potential hazards—ignition sources, electrical problems, flammable chemicals, combustible materials, and more. So keep alert and do your part to prevent workplace and home fires. |
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