The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1918-06-21
THE ORPHEUM SCORCHED

west corner OF FIRST avenue anu van
couver street, owner by Geo. w. Bar.
Tell. and occupied by Clyde Hicks as
moving picture house. suffered a Sc
we're scorching about IL o'clock Satur-
day evening. and for time il looked
as though the structure was doomed
TO destruction.
The fire was caused by defective
electric wire that extends from the
transformer to the lamp house in the
building connecting with the picture
machine. Very fortunately the fire
occurred just at the close of the first
performance, and most of the audi
ence had left the building. The lights
had been turned on in the hall after
the last reel had been run out of the
machine Douglas Emery, quite a
young operator in charge of the ma
chine, was in the small room that
contains the machine, adjusting the
carbons. when a spark from defect
i've wire caught the end of string OF
film that hung down from a nearby
shelf. The film flashed into a blaze
and young Emery attempted to tear
off the burning film, but the fire burn
ing his hand he dropped the reel in
a box where were several other reels
These celluloid films burn like paw
der and in almost an instant the in
terror of the machine room was a
! mass of flames. The fire broke
/ through the windows at the front of
! the building, shooting above the root
many feet, and swept through the
( large auditorium. following and
burning off the cloth and paper on
the walls, feeding fat on the scenery
on the stage at the west end of the
building and out of the rear door. AS
all the doors were open a draft was
formed that swept the flames through
the room from one end to the other
. Fortunately, very fortunately, there
were only a very few people in the
room, and they all escaped through
the front entrance without injury. An
alarm was turned in as soon as the
fire broke out The department re-
sponded promptly, two streams were
soon playing on the flames and with
In very few minutes the fire was
under control.
A small portion of teh front Of the
building on the outside Is blackened,
the picture machine, ruined, a num-
ber of chairs scorched and the piano
somewhat blistered from the, heat.
The tetai ioss will not besgreat. -Mr.
Bartell carried insurance on the
building to the amount of $4,000 and
$500 on the fixtures and furniture.
Some nine reels of films were de-
stroyed. the loss of which will fall
upon the house issuing them.
Notes.
Herbert Gregg and w. E. Grant had
Just stepped to the front door when
the fire broke out. Mr.. Gregg says
at first he did not realize the building
was on fire. Some one called out fire,
but there was no evidence of panic,
and 1t was not until the fire broke
through the small windows at the front
and Mr.. Grant displayed considerable
agility getting his car out of the dan
ger zone that he was fully aroused
to the fact that the building was on
hre. Then Mr.. Gregg sought the mid
die of the street and lifted up his
voice in prOnunciamento with suf-
ncient vigor to arouse the residents
or Tonasket. He says the few peo-
pie then in the building were not
standing on the order of their going
but were swarming out en- masse
the stronger ones showing little in
clination to linger and ascertain if
others needed assistance.
The fire was a very fortunte one in
the fact that it occurred at a time
when the lights were on, and most
of the audience had left the building
Strange to say none of those in the
room seemed to remember the side
doors. standing wide open, but at the
first alarm crowded to the front door
in the face of the fire. Had there been
large audience number would
have been injured if not killed out,
right.
Mrs. Ashby, the pianist, in an eff.
fort to save the instrument, pushed
the piano from it's station in front so
and on the south side of the stage tc
the rear door, while the fire swep
through the stage. The heat was suf
ficient to blister the varnish on thu
piano, but it was not otherwise in
jured thanks to Mrs. Ashby's presence
of mind
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Martin were
standing Immediately under the bal
cony, at the front of the building
upon which is located the small room
in which the moving picture machine
is operated. Mr.. Martin states tina
the fire burned with a rapidity tha
surpasses all understanding, ant
quicker than it took to tell it th
flames seemed to shoot throughout tn
length of the room. He called t
young Emery to jump from the bal
cony, which the lad did without in
jury.
The room in which the machin
was located was lined with shee
iron on three sides as a protection
against fire. The side toward tn
east end of the building was not linet
and here was where the flames brok
out through the front windows. run
ming up the side of the house. TIL
fre did not burn through the weathe
boarding before a stream of waite
extinguished the blaze.
For wonder not a breath of al
was blowing. Had there been one G
the heavy winds we have been havin
OF late the fire would have been muc
more difficult to handle.
Mr. Bartell will not state at tn
present time what his intentions ar
III. 4