Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1918-07-12

standpoint of damage done, evel
experienced by this community
occurred on last Thursday morn
ing between five and six o'clock,
when flames originating in the
transformer room, almost com
pletely gutted the power plant Of
the Roanoke Rapids Power Com
pany.
As the power furnished by
this plant is necessary for the
operation of all the industries of
the community, except the plant
of the Rosemary Manufacturing
Company, the fire came very
being a disaster of the first mag
nitude. 1t has been ascertained
however, that the largest power
unit at the plant, situated at the
eastern end of the building, has
escaped serious..d damage and Mr..
J. 7. Chase manager of the
Power Company now thinks that
the Company will begin again to
furnish power necessary for the
industrial enterprises of the COM
munity by Monday morning.
1t is difficult at this stage to
estimate accurately the damage
done by the blaze, but it is GER
tainly not less than twenty thou
sand dollars and may well be
considerably in excess of this fig
ure. The roof of the plant has
fallen in, two generating units
seem to be completely Quilted,
the big switchboards are entirely
demolished, the transformers
burnt out and a good deal of the
equipment of the new steam
power plant now in process of
erection was destroyed.
The exact cause of the fire is
still somewhat of a mystery.
Robert Allsbrook, who was oper-
ating the plant at the time, and
a colored Iaborer who was in the
building, both agree that the
fire started at or near the trans
formers and in few seconds
the whole switchboard was a
blaze. The telephone, located in
the transformer room, could not
be reached because of the flames
and the alarm was given from
the telephone at the Roanoke
Fiber Board Company's plant.
Robert Allsbrook stated that he
had started the generating unit
as usual and was synchronizing
this unit with that which had
been in operation all night, pre-
paratory to throwing them to-
gether, when the transformer
room and switchboard suddenly
became enveloped in flames.
The colored laborer states that
he heard an explosion from the
transformers and he thinks the
flames originated about the
lightning arresters located be-
tween the transformers and the
switchboard.
AS prompt and effective assis-
tance as possible was rendered,
but some delay was experienced
in getting hose lines to the plant
and practically everything in
nammable was consumed. The
most fortunate circumstance for
the community was the preser.
yation intact of the largest gen.
Grating unit at the plant, for
had that been destroyed along
with the others, a shut down for
several months of fifty per cent
of the machinery now operating
in the community would have
been inevitable.
AS it is, work is actively under
way to clear out the debris, put
a temporary roof over the plant,
and get the big generating unit
started. 1t is expected that this
will be done by Monday. Mr.
John L. Patterson, manager o.
the Rosemary Manufacture,
Company, has offered to furni
to the several industries affected
from his steam power plant a
Rosemary all the current posi-
BILE to furnish through the avail
able transformer capacity. TIL
town lights are being supplies
with current from the Rosemar