Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-01-12
NATURAL GAS
THE CAUSE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF LIN
COLIN SCHOOL
At Two O'Clock This MOrning--The Stoves Found
Red Hot and the Woodwork in BLAZE.
The Big Snow Handicapped the FiFemen.

a 1eW minutes dlJeT IWO U ClOCh 1uio
morning people living in the vicinity OF
Lincoln public school, at the head OF
Tenth street, saw the red glare of flames
through the rear windows Of the second
story. The cry Of "frew attracted the
attention of the police, and Officers
Watson aud Scally ran TO the Building
as fast as the deep snow
would permit and succeeded in
getting into the building on the
first floor. They found the stoves, fed
by natural gas, to be red hot, and sue
ceeded in shutting off the gas down
stairs, but the same condition of affairs,
but more fully advanced, existed la the
second story, to which no entrance
could be made.
In the meantime an alarm of fire
was turned in, but the iremen found,
as soon as they got out of their
houses onto the streets, that they had q
tough journey before them, and that
their usual exec lent speed was
out OF the Que tStion. In fact,
numbers of the hor es were almost ex-
nausted before two-thlrdS Of the dis
tance to the burning building had been
covered, and the last end of the trip had
ID be made at a walk, and
slow walk at that when
the sharp up grades on Chap
line and Tenth streets were struck.
The Atlantic was stationed at Main and
Tenth streets, the Vgilant at Market
aud Tenth, and the Niagara at Market
,It pli
task of getting lines OF hose
10 the fire was begun. 1t was a
tremendous job, as neither horses or
men could work to any advantage, and
line OF hose laid down was at once
lost sight of in the snow. The Island
and Vigiant reels were gotten up the
steep angle of Tenth street, from
Alley to Chapline, in some manner
which the firemen could not even eX'
plain, and two other lines were laid up
Chapline 10 the corner Of Tenth, and
there the fremen, police and volunteers
carried the hose, by this time full OF
water, by main strength, up the
steep hillside to and above
the burning building, which,
by this time was seeth-
ing furnace of fire, in the
central and rear portions. o Hare and
Shaunnessy carried stream into the
lower floor, on the south east
corner of the building at the
risk of their lives from falling
timbers and walls, and held the fire
down in that quarter, and the other
streams were used to the best advan-
tage, but the difficulty OF getting wa
ter, from frozen plugs and other causes,
gave the fire such start in
the old building that 1t was
useless to attempt TO do
more than prevent the spread OF the
flames 80 adjoining property. At a quar-
ter after two the bell which has warned
scholars of school hours for fifty years
fell with crash, carrying with 1t the
charred timbers of the tower and the
central timbers of the roof, and at
half-past two nothing remained OF the
school house but the walls and few
scattered sections Of wood work. The
old building burned like tar-pot, and
illuminated the entire central por-
tion Of the city, afording su-
perb spectacle from the Island, Bridge
port aud down town.
The old school was built about lS42,
and was a handsome edifce in its day.
When the Seventh ward school
was built, about 1870, the late
C. H. Collier, who was then
principal of the Second ward school,
was removed to the Island, and the
school was soon afterwards made the
colored school, additions being made to
it from time 10 time until the building
was twice its original size.
The loss will probably be about $1,000
or SS. 600, on which the Board OF Edu-
cation has some insurance.