Fire Safety Alert

This document provided by Ram Mutual Insurance provides information on best practices to prevent hay fires as well as warnings of hay fire dangers. It is written to farmers or anyone who stores hay. This is written and presented as a credible message appealing to Ethos and Pathos. This "Safety Alert" includes numbers and data about storage and degrees of concern, but there is no mention of the low probability of having a hay fire even if wet hay is stored incorrectly. Instead, fear is used to motivate the reader to buy into this danger as a significant threat invoking a response to acquire insurance for such a threat and take preventative measures. There is also an implication that if a farmer checks hay moisture and temperature and stores hay correctly they will not fall victim to a spontaneous combustion hay fire. 

Ram Mutual presents this information with company letterhead on a document formatted consistent with the Ram Mutual brand. The font and colors used match Ram Mutual's website. The message is divided into three different sections. Large bolded words catch attention and connect a high degree of value to this information as they read, "Safety Alert" and "Important". At a quick glance, this could appear to be from a fire department or community service organization. There are two photographs, one that features hay burning, and the other is a barn bursting with hay.

Ram Mutual will benefit from a farmer who has their coverage and follows their advice to increase the safety of the property. Or the farmer who is worried by this information and chooses to increase property coverage in the chance there is a fire. While this information is important for farmers to have, the argument is unfair leanings because hay fires are so rare. 

Ram Mutual Insurance. (2020). Fire Safety Alert - Hay Bale Storage. Www.Rammutual.Com. https://www.rammutual.com/KnowledgeCenter/View/53/?type=Publication

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