Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-09-26
House of A. w. Walker Burned.
SOME OF FIRST FLOOR LEFT, BUT UPPER
PART IS RUIN.

In the early hours of Saturday morn
ing, the house of Albert W. Walker OF
Pleasant Street was extensively damage,
oy fire. On the ground floor there wa
comparatively little damage by fire, but
Everything was drenched with water
The roof was most of 1t burned off, ant
all above the chamber floors Is practi
cally ruined. Considerable in the line o
furniture and clothing was also destroyed
or spoiled. The fire did not get into th,
stable, which is connected with tn
house.
1t was few minutes after 2 O'Clock
when Mr.. and Mrs. Walker were awak
ened by sort Of roaring sound. Mr.
Walker went into the kitchen, and dis
covered light by the base board neal
the range. He began throwing on water
but the roaring continued, and he con
cluded that the fire must be running uI
through the partition. He therefore
went up into the attic, and found thai
the fire was then coming up through
there.
Coupling on his garden hose, he at
tempted to 60 into the attic with it, bu,
the hose was not long enough for that,
and by that time the fire was breaking
through the roof. He therefore played
on the roof with his hose until the ar.
rival of the firemen.
In the meantime he had called up the
telephone exchange, and the operator
had called the fire department. AS soon
as it could be done-and with the sort of
fire alarm system that we have that was
quite while-the alarm was given by
the whistle at the Mason Manufacturing
Co., and later by one of the church bells
and the whistle of the Paris Manufacture
ing Co. So unfamiliar are we with the
signal system that the alarm blown was
for District No. 8, which is the central
part of the village, but the people quick
ly found out where the fire was.
By the time the firemen had arrived
and got few streams on, the fire had a
big start and the roof was we'll ablaze.
Good service was done by the streams,
and the burning part was rapidly
drenched. In few minutes the fire was
checked, and in about an hour the water
was shut off.
A considerable part of the furniture on
the lower floor was carried out, but as a
rain began to fall, got wet and was car
ried into the stable when it was seen that
that would not be damaged. Some fur
niture was also taken from the second
floor, but much of what was there and in
the attic was either burned or badly
damaged.
There was no wind, and no other
buildings were endangered. The cleo
trio lights on the first floor of the house
were on all the time, and aided in the
work of the firemen.
The cause of the fire can not be stated.
The place where it evidently started Is
near bunch of wiring and a chimney.
The chimney is new one, with fiue lin
ing, built two years ago, when the house
was quite extensively repaired and i'm
proved.
There was insurance on buildings and
furnishings.
Our need of fire alarm system gets
fresh attention as the result of this fire.
While the damage could not have been
prevented by any system, it might have
been less if the fremen could have been
summoned earlier. As it was, there
must have been at least fifteen or
twenty minutes between the time when
an alarm could have been pulled in on
an automatic system, and the time when
the whistle actually sounded.