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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1984)
fg Wednesday, October 10, 1984/The Battalion/Pa^.e 5 lot pre. plan to 1 with a equired degree En- omatics Biolog. w ? geSta- ganiza. are en- • 1-Job mihaat BS •shman ' of the aarge. >d im fea- Project logical, i, well- n ns ar- is, and tion of >r$ msumers! ey L ;r, conside shed, *d ’ to be on customcn consume iftheptot :h as “jut e” have i ookforilt lecific itts lolicies als re pure! should bl the ordel le comparj jlicy, Gml ukl besffj promise ti cans nol efund |i eply “absi n of $1 ami on get." zith a mi o resoP ovslty si •ite a c®j “Ctor if i ved in tl* ilv thefc Fire safety Ironic start to fire prevention week By LOREN STEFFY Reporter A mobile home fire in Bryan that resulted in one death Mon day morning “might have been different” if an early warning de vice, such as a smoke detector, had been installed, Raymond Janac, Bryan fire marshall, said Monday. The fire was an ironic start to the National Fire Preven tion Week which started on Mon day. Both departments are giving presentations on fire safety and conducting tours of fire stations as part of National Fire Preven tion Week this week. The Bryan Fire Department is showing films at their display at Manor East Mall from noon to 5 p.m. daily. The College Station Fire Depart ment is giving presentations in lo cal schools all week. “Everyone needs to have one or more smoke detectors (in their home),” Janac said. The new regulations requiring smoke detectors in apartments have helped save lives, Harry Da vis, College Station fire marshall, said. In addition to stressing early warning devices, the departments are emphasizing common sense. “If people just used common sense I believe we could prevent a lot more (fires),” Davis said. Davis and Janac said cooking- related incidents are the primary cause of fires in the Bryan-Col- lege Station area. “We’re dealing with a lot of young people who have never cooked before,” Davis said. Many kitchen fires are a result of grease build-up on wires. “The secret (to preventing cooking fires) is good housekeeping,” Janac said. People need to be careful when using fireplaces for the first time in the upcoming months. Fire places should be cleaned every one or two years, and old dry wood should be burned when possible, Davis said. Heating units and wiring around the house also need to be checked. Space heaters should be placed away from combustables and only heavy duty extension cords should be used, Janac said. Davis said the College Station Fire Department receives eight to ten calls a day requesting infor mation on fire prevention. “It shows people are thinking about safety',” he s-aJH Use of kerosene heaters controversial By KARLA K. MARTIN Staff Writer The quest for less expensive ival c ~ fuel has spurred a revival of the kerosene heater, but despite its advances, the heater’s safety still remains questionable. In 1982, the Consumer Prod uct Safety Commission conducted an investigation on the hazards of the kerosene heater. As a result of this research, the commission found the heaters neither out standingly good or bad. “We thought they could have been improved,” said James Hoe- bel, manager of the Fire Hazards Program of the Safety Commis sion, “but we didn’t find them ex cessively dangerous, either. They’re relatively safe if used cor rectly.” Hoebel said that during 1982, there were 1,700 fires caused by kerosene heaters in the United States, with 50 deaths. The rea sons, he said, are not known. “We don’t know if it resulted from using the wrong fuel, sim ple negligence or if it is a problem with the heaters themselves,” Hoebel said. “We just have to keep making safety suggestions to the UL on what we think is the safest product.” UL (Underwriter’s Laboratory) is a national testing organization which safety-tests products for the manufacturers. Carole Feil, associate manager of public information at UL, said most authorities accept their safety standards. For example, there is a tip-over switch that shuts the heater off if knocked over, and there are also touch guards that can prevent skin burns. Feil said most of the problems she knows of have not been caused by fire, but by smoke and burns. “If you put the wrong fuel in it or a lower grade of kerosene in it, it smokes,” Feil said. “You’ve got to remember that any appliance is dangerous when you’re putting a fire to a combustible fuel.” The 1983 January and July is sues of the Consumer Report Magazine also questioned the safety of kerosene heaters by list ing the amount of carbon monox ide and nitrogen dioxide levels put out by the heaters. But despite these apparent dangers, the fire marshals of Col lege Station and Bryan see no reason to avoid kerosene heaters. College Station Fire Marshal Harry Davis said the new safety features are some of the reasons why this area has never had a ker osene heater fire. “Until we get enough evidence saying why we shouldn’t use ker osene heaters, we will continue to allow their use,” Davis said. The state of California, how ever, disagrees. Herman Schierenberg, fire prevention engineer for the state of California, said California pro hibits selling and using kerosene heaters within living spaces. “We believe they’re safer than the old ones,” Schierenberg said, “but they still have a carbon mon oxide problem.” Schierenberg said it’s mainly the human factor that caused the California kerosene heater fires, but despite the modern safety de vices, there is no attempt to change California’s law. Davis agreed that all the ker osene heater problems haven’t been discovered yet but said some potential problems can be pre vented. “People have to use the same safety precautions as with any heat unit,” he said. “You’ve got to keep kids away from them, don’t burn them at night without venti lation and use top grade kerosene and common sense.” Some kerosene heater man ufacturers that are tested and ap proved by the UL include Aladin, Toyostove, Kero-son, Robeson, Sharp, Sanyo, Western Auto Sup ply and Sears Roebuck & Co. Marjorie Crouch, owner of Bryan Marine, said her store sells the Toyostove heaters. Crouch said the price of the heaters ranges from $99 to $199, but the price of kerosene is only $1.49 a gallon. She said the $99 heater burns from 28 to 31 hours on one tank (one gallon) of ker osene and the $199 heater burns for 13 to 18 hours on two gallons of kerosene. Domino’s Pizza Delivers... Tonight! and every other night of the week But on every Wednesday night we re bringing you a special otter Domino's Pizza is the number one pizza delivery company in the world. For over 20 years we've been bringing fast, free 30 minute pizza delivery to your door Why not order a hot. delicious pizza from Domino's Pizza tonight Fast, Free Delivery 4407 Texas Ave.-Bryan 260-9020 1504 Holleman-C.S. 693-2335 Townshire Shopping Ctr. 822-7373 We use only 100% real dairy cheese 1 Limited delivery area Drivers carry under $20 c 1982 Domino s Pizza.Inc EVERY WEDNESDAY 12” Pepperoni Pizza with 2 Pepsi’s for only $5.95 16” Pepperoni Pizza with 2 Pepsi’s for only $7.95 no coupon needed not valid with any other offer HOURS 11 a.m. -1 a.m. Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. Fri.-Sat. Hi. Warped by Scott McCullar IPAV 36: OH-A L^-AklTcAFrYPU 5RiA/g u/ gACK 1 -so/vAL. cHEaC~cKIiFTHG? ..I'LL REPEAT THAT, A LARGE ^ CROWb HAS GATriE.REP HERE. OUTSIDE OF THE ACADEMIC BUILD/VS JUST TO WATCH A N\A M QUIETLV READ1VG HIG BIBLE ... SHOE I'm reaov &v&sep. rve~ ! ?Hand m gotto sn/py - ' SOT TO FINISH WRITING THIS i OR FOR THAT INTERVIEW | PIEC£K(ZT0NlORpOW... i’VE&TTOtO... —1 SCOP. by Jeff MacNelly Admiral: U.S. losing in technology race By JERRY OSLIN Reporter The world today is one of “eco nomic confrontation” and the United States is losing the battle in the area of high technology, Admi ral Bobby R. Inman said Tuesday night in a speech at Rudder Theater. Inman, former director of the Na tional Security Agency, said Japan has moved ahead of the United States in high technology, and that the U.S. must create new technology to remain competitive. Inman is president and chief ex ecutive officer of the Microelectron ics and Computer Technology Cor poration (MCC) in Austin. MCC is a consortium of 19 electronic and computer oriented companies put together to offset the Japanese ad vantage in this high-technology area. The aim of MCC is to eliminate the waste of repetitive research and to create new technology more effec tively. Inman said MCC chose Austin as its home because of favorable busi ness climate in Texas and because of the research facilities at A&M and the University of Texas at Austin. “(The University of) Texas has a good computer science program but it was a little weak in its microelectro nics program. Texas A&M is strong in the microelectronics area. This makes a perfect marriage,” he said. While the relationship between MCC and the universities is “infor mal”, Inman said his company is al ways searching for new talent from the universities. “As long we have top talent and a clear research direction, the compa nies in MCC are not going to walk away from the high-stakes, high- technology poker table,” Inman said. The impacts of MCC will be long- range, but Inman said his company has already had some positive effect in Texas. Inman said MCC would not cause any impact on Texas business for at least six years. But the Bryan-Col- lege Station area will feel impact from MCC even sooner. Colonel talks on defense, nuclear war I Retired Air Force Col. Don Clark will speak at Freeze Forum ’84 today at 7:30 p.m. in 601 Rud der, His speech, “NucleAr De fense or Debacle?,” will focus on the advisability of the nuclear freeze and on current and pro posed defense systems. Aggie Peace Action will spon sor the speech in cooperation with Brazos Valley Peace Action and Peace Links. The student or ganization is committed to peace and social justice through non-vi olent action and education, Ken Gilman, president of Aggie Peace Action said. Clark is director of interna tional education and lecturer in international affairs at Montana State University and an interna tional relations columnist. He is a former advisor to the joint chiefs of staff on SALT 1 and 2 and a former assistant air attache at the U.S. embassy in Russia. cinema/ ll|||llllllj||llllll|||llllll|||l!llll|||llllll|||llllll|||ll! Friday & Saturday October 12 & 13 7:30 pm & 9:45 pm Rudder Theatre co-sponsored with Cepheid Variable Friday & Saturday October 12 & 13 Midnight Rudder Theatre Dress like a Girl r Scout & get in for $1.00 Things like this only happen in the movies. "fiery:' —Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews CARMEN m,.** A Htn 8Y CAM.03 3AO«A nOtuon* CARMEN Sunday October 14 7:30 pm Rudder Theatre $3.00 ■POOR LITTLE WEeNlE Boy TVIS ft 3-AN‘S refn&erat© r, am INHOcemt- ■Place-.. TAM, READY to SOTO BCD, CDMES For a LAST-OLASS OP WATER. BtJTWAlTl all the ice coses are gone! and the trays A Re ALL EMPTVf THE WICKEb ICE CUBE FAfRY STRIKES A£AJN! J9;S. Tickets are $1.50 with TAMU ID unless otherwise stated.