The silver messenger., 1908-10-20
Last Friday evening. Oct. 16.


at about 6 o'clock, the Challis
school house was discovered to
be on fire, and an immense vol
ume of smoke could be seen is
suing from the roof, and had
there been any draught in the
building nothing could have saw
ed the structure, which is two
story four-room lumber building.
AS it was the fire smouldered for
want of draught to fan it into a
flame. Prof. Maelzer and H. G.
McKendrick were probably the
first two men ON the scene, and
they gained entrance to the
building by breaking one of the
large glass windows on the
ground floor. Soon however,
some fifty or more persons had
gathered, and with rapid work
packing water for a block the
fire was extinguished after an
hours hard work. School was
held that day, and everything
appeared all right when school
was dismissed at $3.50 p. m. The
fire caught from the terra Gotta
fiue on the second story in the
old part of the building. The
fiue is closely boxed in and the
wood boxing caught fire from the
fiue which was very hot, prob
ably caused by the SCOT in the
flue burning out. The flue starts
on the lower, or gymnasium
room and extends to the cone of
the roof and is boxed on both
sides except in the belfry, and at
present only one stovepipe feeds
into this flue. The fire must
have smouldered for some time,
for the floor in the room where
the fire occurred is filled with
sawdust to deaden the sound in
the lower room, and FIVE feet
away from the fiue boards that
were taken up were found to be
badly charred underneath, and
everyone knows that fire travels
} very slowly in sawdnst, and es-
pecially between two floors where
there is no draught. Forum
ately the building was saved,
= and the damage from fire and
: water will not exceed a $125. 1t
: is insured for 50, 800. This build
. ing has two terra Gotta fues, and
: this kind of fue is not safe. For
D a few years ago this same build
7 ing caught on fire from the same
4 fue, and we know of two other
buildings in town that caught on
fire from the same kind of flues.
The school board should take no
more chances but tear out both
|, of these fues at once and put in
, good brick fues, then you car
feel safe. Now supposing the
school had been in session anC
the building had burned-i
would burn mighty fast as it i:
all dry lumber-how many child
red could have escaped Jus
think of school house of foul
: rooms and only one stairway
and that one the inside of the
! building-and only one small
! outside door for four rooms anC
no fire escapes. 1t is surely ;
death trap in case of a fire. 1t is
true the school house may neve1
S burn. We hope it never will, fol
# if it does God pity the children
n therein should the building burn
5 with no way to escape. No one
7 ever thought that the big bricl
It school house in Cleveland, Ohio
S would burn, but it did And tn,
r whole nation was shocked at the
t loss of life among the children
= 1t is best to be on the safe side
Il Fire protection is as essential al
J, the school itself, for there is nj
It telling when a wood building
n will go up in smoke. OF cours'
1t we.can realize part payment ol
d the building by insurance, bu
e money cannot pay for loss o
e the lives of helpless children
D Each room in this school hous
4 ought TO have an outside door