Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-01-28

Nearly hundred students of Colby
College were turned out Of South col
,.se when a fire swept through the
nurdlng Friday noon. The fire alarm
,as rung in at 11.35 A. NJ. and before
,be department arrived the two top
doors Of the north section were in
DANES. The students were nearly all
IN classes at the time and no one
discovered the blaze until it had
vained considerable Roadway. The
North section has been used by the
,Ipha Tau Omega fraternity as a
fraternity house for several years.
Tie fire spready rapidly and broke
through into the South section, where
the Zcta Psi fraternity is located.
Tie fire appeared to have started
around defective chimney in the
=. o side in the room occupied by
I..te II. Cook 30 of Mystic, Conn,
.;os,ph W. McGary "a of Brookline,
Mas. Albert II. Scott "a Of Wilton
and Albert Moulton Pottle 20 of OK
to.G No one was in the room at
,he tmr and the four men lost every
tLng that they owned that was i'm
tLe room. Two boys were across the
i.r Edward Prude 90 said that he
.mo,lcd smoke and that he looked in
ro,n's room and found 1t in flames,
,lst before the alarm was rung in.
Ns soon az tho students realized
what was happening classes broke
up Ike fash and the professors
were tort standing at their desks in
l,tIderment. Scores OF students
usuod INTO the building and tried to
rescue anything and everything. but
Zee tire chief quickly turned the boys
OF or the building and ordered the
bows who lived there to try to save
t.,.r own stuff.
Tfo water was turned on but did
p seem To have any effect in check
Ito. thc flames. A cloud OF steam
D. .cd from the shattered windows,
.rd Tho water that ran down through
t., stair wall was scalding. The fire
,.u,hlv followed the walls to the roof
auI at the same time it worked
downward through the first and sec
md floors. Ladders were raised to
me roof and hose was carried to
r.e top and water run through to the
top floor The college belfry is on
wis building and when the fire
burned up through this 1t made such
@ draft that the flames again in
creased. The sleeping quarters are
IN the fourth floor Of the A. T. o. Sec
ton and the mattresse of the 80 beds
hut IF Tho
nr,mcn finally succeeded in getting
N and pitching many of the blazing
mattresses through the windows.
The fraternity hall OF the A. 7. 0.
'raternity>is on the Fourth floor and
many OF the valuable records were
Lost as well as the furnishings Of the
ronm. The boys on the second and
,hird floors succeeded in getting most
AZ their belongings out without much
damage and piles OF clothing. hooks
and furniture began TO appear on the
snow between Hedman hall and the
burning building. No attention was
pald 10 keeping the stuff separate
and when the final sorting is made
fhcrc will be n good deal of argument.
The usual maniacs were there ana
rom the windows came books, pic
lures. light fixtures, and anything
1lat happened to come into the
hands or the frenzied fighters.
Many Of the professors went into
ho burning building and helped as
rnanfnlly MS any of the firemen. Prof.
Josef Nelson held one OF the nozzles
but the water did not come until art
o. some of the firemen had come to
b.a resCuc. Walter Simms was the
only man who came near being over
come. lie STAYED on the top floor
until he had to be carried down by
Cook. Simms all the while insisting
that no must stay until it was under
control.
For two hours the firemCn fought
~ control the blaze and IT was not
until twenty-five minutes of two that
tho all out whistle blew and it was
rrarlv four o'clock before the last
rre team had returned to the station.
The building is of brick structure ana
tho fire seemed 10 cling to the walls,
and +, was long time before the
water took effect in between the
walls
, brick wall runs from the roof
20 tho cellar separating the TWO ira
icruty houses go that the fire did not
cork through into the Zeta Psi part
ugtI IL reached the roof. Much OF
me damage In the Zeta Psi section
vas from water that poured down
through the stair wells and through
mo ceilings. II was only last spring
fraf Tho Zcta Psi fraternity with the
help ~ the college completely remod-
old their rooms so that 1t was me
most modern fraternity house on the
cimpsg. They had been raising
'.nt for several years and II is quite
> blow to tho fraternity. Most OF IN"
damage however. is from water and
'.'s viii be kept going until the
house - dried out sufficiently Tor
them 90 move back In. At present
40 THO boys from both houses are be-
ng taken care Of IN the various other
dnrnltorics and fraternity houses.
Tho Z,ia Psi fraternity IL the second
Oldest IN Colby college and fnany of
Nh" older alumni will help the boys
e. hack on their feet. They had in
s-Jurcc ~ about $1,000 on the furnish
Hss bat this will hardly cover their
.oss
I'm ;rc \. r. - side conditions are
mn'O worse and the inside will have
io hc completely rebuilt. They had
am Insurance OF $1,000 on their fur
rshJFs but IL will not come any
where near the loss sustained.
Tho how Of tie A r. .. house nod