Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 229, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 September 1915 — FIRE AT CENTRAL OFFICE SUNDAY [ARTICLE]

FIRE AT CENTRAL OFFICE SUNDAY

Smoke Stifled Operators and Drove All But One From Room—Damv . 'age Was Small.

Fire threatened the Roth block Sunday morning when the girls in the telephone office in that building discovered the room in the rear filled with smoke and made ineffectual efforts to call the fire department, Fire Chief Montgomery and the light and water plant. So dense was the smoke that the girls were driven from their posts of duty all except Miss Alta Shuey, who remained until almost suffocated in her effort to get response to calls from the stations that are notified in case of fire. It became so dark that the drops in the office could not be seen and coming at the hour on Sunday morning when the lights are turned off added to the inconvenience. Some one entered the operators’ room and struck a match to give the light so that Miss Shuey could put a plug in No. 91, to-ring the water plant. No response was received from any of the numbers and finally Miss Shuey left the room and was supported as she went down the stairs. Word had been telephoned to W. L. Bott, the secretary and treasurer of the telephone company and to Floyd A. Graver, the head lineman, and both rushed from their homes to the telephone office. Mr. Myers, the president, was also there. Miss Shuey had not oeen seen by the other operators as she went down the stairs and when Messrs. Graver and Bott arrived they reported that she was still at the keyboard. Mr. Graver rushed up the steps and into the operators’ room, but was compelled to drop down on his hands and knees and crawl about in his search for Miss Shuey. He did not abandon the search until he felt that he could not longer withstand the torture of the smoke. After he reappeared it was found that Miss Shuey was safely out of the buikling. The damage will probably not exceed $35 or S4O, but it was a close call for very serious results. Geo. M. Myers, the president and manager of the company, had been using a small vulcanizing burner to repair some automobile tires and after mending two and setting the third into the machine had watched itr until the blaze jumed low and then went down to >ut the repaired tires in the machine. The vulcanizer was attached to a corner of a small work table that was covered with cardboard. A window nearby was open and a strong breeze was blowing. Evidently the flame J’rom the vulcanizer had ignited the cover of the table and it spread rapidly, setting fire to the paper in a wastebasket and a small box and a chair and the floor. The tire was entirely consumed and evidently the 1 turning rubber added to the density of the smoke. When the fire company arrived entrance was effected from the alley and over the roof in the rear of the Roth building. A small stream of water and one chemical hand tank . subdued the flames. The heat had damaged a number of telephones and 1 jarts of phones and the smoke had done some damage but the prompt discovery and prompt action after the alarm was received saved what otherwise would have been a very bad fire.