The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-02-05
NEW FIRE HOUSE
IS CRACKED AND
MAY FALL DOWN
West Orange Town Council Re-
fuses to Shore Up the Dan.
gerOus Building.
INSISTS CONTRACTORS
SHOULD MAKE REPAIRS
Officials Disguised with Delay
and Will Not Lift Hand to
Help Out.

The West Orange Town Council Is
now confronted with a problem that
may grow more serious through the
present defective condition of the FIRE
house in course of erection in Valley
road, that town, where it is proposed
some day to store the new fire truck
The need of snoring up the structure
so that it will not sink further into the
ground by the time the frost leaves was
explained at last nights Council ses-
sion by Town Attorney Simeon II. Rol-
linson, n he recommended the pas
sage of a resolution providing for that
work, as Lawrence Dobbins, who has
the mason contract, has failed to COM
ply with an order that the long cracks
in the structure De repaired and some
propping be done.
The Council decided to refrain from
touching the structure, fearing a posi-
bility of it tumbling over, but passed
motions notifying Dobbins and Archi-
tect William C. Schmidt to attend the
next meeting and state which of the
two is responsible for the present de-
fective condition, and also to notify all
the contractors to complete their jobs
as soon as possible. All work on, the
house has ceased.
Should Do 1t for Contractors.
Mr.. Robinson explained the proba-
bility. of the building sinking further
and believed the Council should shore
it up and charge it up to Dobbins.
Councilman Freye believed, however,
it quite a ticklish job and predicted
that the cost would fall IN the. town in
the end. Joseph Fleming, who has the
carpenter work, said he would not let
anybody touch his work and possibly
destroy it in snoring the building. up
unless they paid for it.
Councilman Heickel thought the
town should not bother with the work.
Il can't see why the town should
short it up" he said. IF we did and
the building fell down we would have
10 pay for it. | say let it stand and
if it falls down we won't have to pay
for it, ->tsff 5as ~e;r7r' -#At%E&
would. BE Glad to see 1t Fh12.
"Yes, 1 would rather see it Tumble
down." declared Councilman Fentzlaff.
Let it fall down; let the contractor
assume the risk, and not the Couhcil.'
Councilman Gillick believed in up
holding Mr.. Rollinson's recommenaa-
ton, and said the building might fall
down and kill a few firemen when they
got housed there.
"There won't be any firemen killed.
replied Mr.. Fentzlaff, because athey
will not be in there, and they WON'T be
let in if the structure continues to look
as it does now" @e.t1
Councilman Stevens also took part in
the talk, and recalled the engaging of
q consulting architect in the affair." Mr..
Stevens believed the architects recon-
mendations should have been carried
out quickly, and thought the work. as
advised, should have been done right.
Avoids the Danger Spot. ~.
Mayor Condit, with Couneilmen
Kenny and Cannon, also ffered.recom
mendations, and toward the close Mr..
Freye said: F
I'm getting tired OF the >taHc, oe
people about the firehouse, and l al
Ways go three blocks out Of my way
so I won't see it. The tower is still
settling. I had hope it would stop, but
it hasn't ceased yet,
The motions were finally passed, and
Mr.. Robinson ventured the opinion that
the building would not topple over. He
explained that the. passage of the reso-
luton for the work of SNORING. the
structure up would show, should a suit
of some sort J . started, that the town
had not elayed meters.