fireman in Crisfield, as a member of the State association and as a
strong supporter of numerous fire-prevention and fire-protection pro-
grams over the years—to make this State safer from fires.

I have spoken much here of our achievements and I am truly proud
of the fact that Maryland stands high in its record of fire protection and
fire prevention. But as I have said before, I am not complacent about
this record, and I shall not rest satisfied until improvements are made.

One fact to remember is that fires are not like floods, earthquakes,
hurricanes and tornadoes. They are man-made and could and should
be man-controlled. This being the case, I cannot as Governor of this
State stand idly by while men, women and children perish and while so
many millions of dollars worth of property is consumed needlessly each
year by flames. That is why I called this conference.

This, as you know, is to be a working conference. We have people
here who have shown great interest and who have specialized in many
phases of the fire-loss situation. We have experts on laws and ordinances
pertaining to fires, on fire-prevention education, on industrial fire safety,
and so on. We have here the brains, the will and the enthusiasm that is
needed to relieve the people of this State of the suffering and distress
that are caused by fires.

As I said in the beginning, it is my purpose and my determination as
Governor to provide the citizens of this state with a great degree of
security against the many dangers they face in their daily lives. I want
to make Maryland the safest place in the country for people to live. I
know that I can expect your full cooperation in this endeavor, and I
have great faith that this conference will produce the kind of program
that is required for a fulfilment of my objective.

ADDRESS, GOVERNOR'S FIRE PREVENTION

CONFERENCE
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

COLLEGE PARK
August 9, 1960

It is my pleasure once again to open another conference on fire pre-
vention. The meeting we held last year was a highly successful one. We
all learned a great deal, in exchanging ideas one with another, about
means we can employ to reduce fire losses in the State.

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