The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-05-24
DEPARTMENT
KEPT QUITE BUSY
TWO FIRES FURNISH EXCITING
TIMES FOR OUR BOYS
FINE WORK DONE
URBOYS MAKE TWO DESPERATE FIGHTS
High School Building and Kendall
Block Scenes Of Fine Work by
Firemen.

In keeping with the local tradition
that seems to be invariably true,-that
fires in Bookings come in cycles of
three,-the fire of last Tuesday week,
was followed up by two others. On
Friday evening the high school build
ing was almost a goner. and Monday
morning the Kendall block had a mar
row escape from total loss.
At 11:27 Friday evening, Hilman AL.
rick rushed into the power house and
shouted to the engineer on duty that
the high school building was on fire.
The alarm was sounded and in less
than five minutes the new truck was
stringing hose from the hydrant oppo-
site the city plant. AS soon as the fire.
men could get into the building they
found a column OF flames was circling
up and around the winding stairway
that leads from the basement to the
second floor in the center Of the build.
ing. Before discovery 1t had eaten its
way up into the attic and from the
first 1t was a fight to save anything, II
not all OF the big building. Earlier in
the evening the wind had been high
and quite a little storm had ragged, but
at time of the fire the wind had gone
down and a gentle drizzle had settled
In. This of course was an aid to the
fire fighters. and as the pressure on
the mains was very low, it aided in
keeping the roof from fast burning. As
the hose stream would not reach to
the flames which were feeding on the
apex Of the roof, the lower roof was
drenched and finally the fire was driv-
en- back from the inside, where it I'm.
ally died in the roof. The fire evil
IDENTIFY started under the floor of the
cloak Oom off Of the laboratory and
this is determined from an examina-
ton made by the local authorities In
conjunction with state fire marshal, G..
H. Henry, who Is in the city. Any one
desiring to satisfy themselves as to
this is invited by Chief Carlisle to
come and see the evidence.
The damage is mostly around the
stairway. in the laboratory, latin room,
and a few other rooms where the plas.
ter was loosened by the water. Ex-
aminations are being held in the build.
ing, only four rooms being out of use.
The work Of the fire boys was beyond
compare. Several times the crowd out
side said the building was gone but
the final outcome was it's saving, with
a loss that will not exceed s. 5000 to
put the building into good repair. The
insurance on this building is $31, 900.
The Baptist church lost all their
pews, which had been stored in the
attic Of the building, since the church
was sold for school purposes. No in.
surance on them.
Then came the fire Monday morning,
About GAS men going to work saw a
small ribbob of smoke waited out
from the top of the window on viii.
liams street in the Clarin photograph
studio, and at once the cry was taken
to the plant and the whistle blown.
Again in less than five minutes the
truck was at the Kendall corner string
ing hose, and then run to the end Of
the building and the chemical hose
taken up stairs. Getting into the stu
dio it was impossible for some time to
find the fire on account of the smoke
and when it was finally located in a
dark closet, 1t was necessary to take
the hose on the roof and down a light
we'll in the other side of the building
to get into a window that was near
the closet. This fire was caused by de-
fective wiring under the floor OF the
closet and above the metal ceiling in
the Rude furniture store. This has been
decided from Marshal Hepry's investi.
CATION. Before the fire was put out,
the Clarin studio had been ruined. the
Rude furniture stock most badly dam
aged by water, some water damage to
the Kendall stock, some to Beatty's and
some to Cheever & Cheever's law lib
rary. The other occupants Of the sec.
ond floor suffered only in rowing out
and moving back again. Charms loss
is almost total. with $1,500.00 insur-
ance. Rude's loss impossible to say.
estimated by him at $4,000 100. $1,000
insurance. The other losses are nom-
inal and all insured. but Of course these