FIRE-RESISTANCE OF WOOD The fact that wood will burn if heated hot enough, has been the basis of a great hue and cry against wood by certain interests whose purposes would be better served were wood completely banished from all forms of construction. Just at present the agitation against the use of shingles in cities has gone so far that an individual whose main business is propaganda declares that a shingle roof is a covering but a crime." As a matter of fact, however, the records generally show that a larger proportion of fires in the United States are due to carelessness than to any one form or material of construction. Moreover, for many medium-sized factory buildings,. what is called "standard mill construction" is more desirable than so-called "fireproof" construction. With proper safeguards, there is little danger from fire in mill-constructed buildings; and structures of this type have been known in a number of instances to stand up better under fire than have buildings of similar character with steel framework.