The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-06-26
over A MINE.
The Front Of the City Hall is
Undermined.
Fire Department Horses Up
held by Crust Of Cement.
CAUSED BY A SEWER.
Leakage Washed Away the Sup
porting Earth.
The Entire Floor Will Have to
Be Taken Up.
CAUSED BY A SEWER.

Leakage from q sewer has almost
undermined the north end of the city
hall. where the fire department head
quarters are located The concrete
floor. covered with cedar blocks and
cement, forms a shell about a foot in
thickness. under which IL a cavern
varying from one TO two feet in depth
The lateral extent of the cavern has
not yet been determined. Workmen
commenced this morning 70 remove the
floor and break through the concrete
shell. The probability is that almost
all Of the floor will have to be taken
up, dirt filed in where the cavern has
been. and the concrete and pavement
floor relaid.
1t is wonderful that the concrete shell
of the floor was strong enough to sus-
tain the tremendous weight of the ire
engines and horses, all Of which appear
to have been standing directly over the
subterranean cavern. Today when the
work of cracking the SHELF was IN
progress it was necessary to roll the
fire engines toward the front of the
building to keep them from breaking
down the floor.
Fire Marshal HVilmarth says: while
it is possible that there was no great
danger in the situation, it certainly
was only question of time when the
concrete shell would have given way
and the apparatus been dropped into
the opening"
The work of removing the floor has
the floor of the room. just back of the
stalls where the fire horses are tied At
this point a sewer crosses the room from
east to west. A lateral extends from
this sewer to the front of the building
The sewage is taken into the sewer by
means of number of traps in the
floor This arrangement was made so
as to drain the horse stalls, as we'll as
to enable the smooth pavement floor
OF the building to be flooded and
scrubbed, as is frequently done
The sewer from the building also
conducts the water from a sink at the
east side Of the room, and after going
outside the building. under the east
wall. connects with the sewer which
takes the water from the wash rooms
on the second and third floors of the
city building.
The sewer from the fire department
was made of tile, instead of iron, and
was only six inches in diameter. City
Engineer McCabe says that the dam
age to the floor would have been avoid
ed If the sewer had been of iron and
been eight inches in diameter
AS it was, the refuse from the horse
stalls cloEged the sewer and the waste
water, instead of flowing out of the
building and pouring into the main
sewer. seeped through the joints in the
tiles and found exit into the basement
rooms at the central portion of the
building. Last Saturday it was dis
covered that there We're three inches Of
water on the floor of the hose room,
which is in the basement Of the build
ing. Considerable water was also work
ing into the engine room, which adj
joins the hose room on the south Sew
eral times in the past water has leaked
into these rooms, but the cause of the
trouble had not been located up to this
time.
The leakage of the water from the
sewer was what caused the ground
under the coAcrete floor of the fire de-
partment to sink. leaving the cavern
under the floor. The cavern seems to
be deepest in the immediate proximity
Of the sewers, gradually shelving back
some distance.
Chief Wilmarth says that for some
time it had been noticed that there was
a hollow ring to the floor when it was
struck or stamped on. 1t was thought
that this might be due to a cavity un-
der the floor. but everyone was sur
prised to find that the cavern was OF
such great extent and depth.
City Engineer McCabe will take up
all the floor necessary and replace the
tile sewer with an iron one. 1t is also
planned to run the sewage directly
from the fire department to the Sew
enth street sewer, instead of joining it
with the sewer which takes the water
from the rest of the building to the
sewer on Monroe street