Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-03-25
Fire Under Factory Floor.
SMALL DAMAGE BY MYSTERIOUS BLAZE
AT MASON MANUFACTURING CO.

AT MASON MANUFACTURING CO.
FIRE OF unknown origin, under the fac
tory OF the Mason Manufacturing Co. q
South Paris, early Monday morning
charred the the floor timbers and th
under side Of the floor, filed the ma
chine room with smoke, and brok
through the floor In two places, but wa
extinguished before extensive damag
was done.
The fire was discovered by the watch
man, Horace Murch, when on his regu
lar rounds shortly after 2 O'Clock. Th,
blaze was then breaking through tn,
floor in two places, near the north end o
the factory.
b. Il. Day, an acquaintance of Murch
who is at present employed by the 30
lectmen on highway work, was sleepine
at the factory that night. Murch rousee
him, and sent him after Chief Engineer
@. W. Bowker. At that time, there wal
not enough steam on the boilers to blow
the whistle. Meanwhile Murch took
chemical extinguishers and held the fire
from coming through the floor into the
machine room.
Day ran to Market Square and called
up Mr.. Bowker, who told him to 60 to
the Methodist church and ring the bell
while he was dressing. Day went to the
church, but not knowing where to find
the key, which hangs in glass box on a
pole in front of the church, he had to
come back to Bowker for instructions,
and it was some few minutes before he
got at the bell.
Shortly after Day began pounding
the Methodist bell, the whistle got into
commission, and though not at its full
force, it completed the rousing of the
village, and the fremen and others
began to gather. 1t was not long job
to dispose of the fire, as most of it was
on the timber surfaces underneath the
factory, and small stream of water,
which could be directed on it, was effect
i've. Some of the floor had to be torn up
TO get at the last of the fire, but the
smoke in the mill, though it caused dis
comfort, was not 80 thick as to prevent
men working there. The fire was all out
about 3 O'Clock.
The factory stands on concrete piers,
with space under the floor which at
this part of the mill is four or five feet
high, with earth floor. Nothing is kept
in this UNDERTOOK space, though there
are number of water and steam pipes
which run below the floor. A board
wall fills in between the piers on which
the building stands. At the north end
of this building there is door in this
wall which opens into the UNDERTOOK
space. Where the fire was burning was
directly in front of this door, on the first
cross-sill of the building. Its strongest
outbreak was in the middle of the width
Of the building, and the other on the
west side, where the gluing wheel stands
in pit q little below the level of the
floor.
Under the floor there is no material to
feed a fire, except the fine dust which
will gather, even in an enclosed space
like this, in a woodworking factory.
While the origin of the fire is un-
known, the conditions point quite
strongly to its being set by some one,
p ossibly by accident, possibly by design.
Another occurrence at the factory
which could not be explained on the
theory of accident was the cutting of
two belts Friday night. These belts
were cut nearly in two, but enough was
left so that they started Saturday morn
ing, and then broke after the machinery
started. This occurrence made consider
able stir, which was increased by the
fire of Monday morning.
The report which was current at the
I'm n Hva dio
tinct blazes is not justified by the ap-
pearsnce of the floor, as, though the
blaze broke through in two places, there
is nothing to indicate that it did not all
come from one starting point under the
building.
Neither is there any sensation in the
current report that the "water was shut
off," The water was shut of from one
section of the automatic sprinklers, at
that end of the factory, but it was done
after the firemen were at work, by one
of the workmen, to avoid flooding the
factory by accidental breaking of the
sprinklers. UP to that time, the spriuk-
Ter system bad been in working condi-
ton.
The sentiment in favor of fire alarm
system which should be kept in working
order was increased by this fire. 1t was
some minutes after discovery before
the firemen were aroused, and those
who were giving the alarm not being
familiar with the signals, the use of the
telephone was then necessary to direct
some of them. Indeed, as District Nos,
in which the factory is situated, extends
on the north as far as Gothic Street, it
may be seen that the signal, even il &C
curately rung and blown, would not
have located the blaze closely.