The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-31
Chief Wilmarth Calls Attention
to State House.
Basement Is Filled With Com
bustibIe Material.
HARD TO FIGHTBLAZE
Would Be Almost Impossible to
Check One.
Storage OfAmmunitiOn Is an Ex-
ira Hazard.

That the Kansas state house in To-
peka is liable to hundreds of thousands
of dollars damage by fire any moment
and the state officials though Informed
and warned have paid no attention to
the advice, and that the endorsements
of the building are stored with trash,
litter. and combustible material is the
result of an investigation by @. o. Will
marth. chief of the fire department of
Topeka.
Beginning March. 1e09 Chief Will
marth wrote his first letter to the
secretary of the state warning him of
house basement. In April, 1909, the
chief followed his first letter with an
other. February % this year the chief
concluded his efforts with a later
warming Today the executive council
made the first clean up order
Today two letters have been written
letters that will reach Governor
Stubs and Secretary of State. Sessions
tomorrow. They contain final admoni-
tions concerning the hazardous condi-
tion of the state house cellars. They
may lead to further action by the
state.
Not only is the subbasement of the
state house stored with carloads Of
trash of all kinds but not a fire ex-
tinguisher or apparatus of any kind
can be found in the building. In case
of fire in the building in it's incipient
stage nothing could be done until fire
companies arrived
with a fire once under headway,"
said Chief Wilmarth this afternoon,
the heat and smoke damage to the
interior of the building above the SUBJ
basement would be very great and the
fire would be very liable to extend to
other parts of the building. The state
capitol is owned by the taxpayers of
Kansas and it should be protected
Ammunition Stored in Boxes.
It has been found by Chief Wilmarth
and his building inspectors that in the
sub basement of the north and west
wings is a large accumulation of loose
combustible material rubbish and lit
load, wooden pine boxes and other dry
refuse compose the dangerous ma
terials. Also in the sub b-aasement un-
der the north wing is found so or
more wooden cases of fixed ammuni-
ton, quantities of canvas tents, uni
forms, etc, of the state national guard.
1.-THE storage within the building of
this ammunition constitutes an extra
hazard says the chief. 1T would be
better if a suitable building could be
where. All of the above mentioned
combustible material should be re-
moved from the building Immediately
for the general safety of the state
house.
Then there is the danger of fighting
a fire in the state house sub basement.
The fact that the sub basement is di-
vided by walls and passageways run
ming at right angles in different direc-
tions and that the sub-cellar heavily
charged with smoke would be difficult
for any human being to exist accounts
for the dangers to firemen.
There is but one stairway leading
into the basement. There are iron
gratings over the areaways. The floor
construction of the main basement is of
material that cannot be torn up readily
to get a line of hose into the fire.
Il do not mean to say that we are
afraid to fight a fire here said the
chief this afternoon. 1--WE will go any
place where there is fire But we would
have to send our men in attached to
ropes and as fast as they fell we would
have to pull them out. You can see
what heat and smoke confined to this
basement with only one stairway
would do to a fireman. 1t would be
like sending rats into trap. There is
no tfmidity behind this move-it is tha
danger that can be averted with little
trouble.
THE fire departments of all cities
have found from long experience, that
fires in subce1lars are exceedingly diff
cult to handle, and such subcellars
should be kept at all times free from