6         REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INSURAN'CE.
The reports of all the fire, marshals and of all who have investi.-
gated the subjects agree that the greater part of' the fires are the
result of carelessness and' are caused by conditions which are eas-
ily recognize(i and reme(d ied. As nearly every fire, however small,
may easily become a large fire, it follows that the work of pre-
vention must deal with the great mass of simall fires, as. well as
the large ones'. The law merely requires a simple report from
the owner of the occurrence of the fire,. This requirement, is en-
forced by prohibiting the making of a. proof of loss before the
report' is made, and a blank for this purpose is attached to every
ImII' policy now b;,no issued in the sitate.  i is alsJ) intended that
like reports shall be'ma.de by the owner in every ease, without
regard to whether there is any insurance upon the property  or
whether any claim is made for insurance. Losses by lightning
should also be reported.
REPORT OF ADJUSTMENTS.
To secure full information with regard to fires where a claim
is made for insurance, it is required that a. report of the adjust-
ment: he made by the adjuster and the insured to the state fire
marshal through the fire chief, or direct where there is no fire de-
partment. A form for such report has been prepared by the
insurance departmn.ent to be furnished to the adjuster and the in-
surailce ,companies.  Throug h, this report of adjustment the state.
fire marshal will have the assistance of adjusters whoo constantly
deal with the problem and whose reports; will ordinarily be as
nearly accurate as it is possible to secure; It is sought to learn
the exact causes of fires, and the conditions under which they oc-
cur, and in this connection to, determine the effect of the various
clauses in the fire policy and o'f the proportion of insuraneu to
value upon the fire, loss to different classes of property.
INFORMATION ACQUIRED BY INSPECTORS.
In addition the reports of the inspectors will provide a. great
mass of valuable data and the information acquired by the in-
spectors by personal contact with conditions and with. the insured
will be of the greatest value. This combined experience and the
result of" statistical. investigationsi cannot fail to provide the fairly
exact knowledge with regard to causes and conditions which is
necessary to active fire prevention work.