Daily Kennebec journal., 1922-05-23

High school with no additional eX
pense to the City over the school
budget voted at the annual school
meeting held on May s. was made at
the adjourned school meeting held
Monday evening at City hall. The
proposed fire we'll from the Assembly
hall to the basement of the school,
suggested in the recent school sur
vey, will not be built, but the plan
for exits presented by the special
committee appointed at the annual
school committee was adopted.
The special committee appointed
by Mayor Fogg and consisting of
Lewis A. Burleigh, chairman, Frank
| E. Tracy and Frank G. Harrington,
presented its report at the opening
| of the meeting, this report recon-
! mending the construction of n second
floor corridor. between the two
buildings, by carrying up the present
passage another story; that the pres
cnt fire escape, located on the south
wall of the new building, be i'm
mediately replaced by one of suitable
| constructions; an additional fire cs-
/ cape on the east wall of the new
, building; fire escape in a location
! at present undetermined to take care
| of the second floor of the new build
! ing; three glass entrance doors to
these escapes a. floor level to re-
| place the present window ntrances,
| including painting and mason work;
! changing location of two radiators;
equipment Of exit doors with nine
panel fixtures; red exit lights lights
| for the two escapes, serving the AS
! sembly hall, TO be controlled by the
! Assembly hall, so that the escapes
! are certain to be lighted whenever
the hall is used at night: automatic
lighting system for the escape for the
second floor also to be provided, and
. a centrally located fire box alarm.
The estimated cost of this con-
struction is $530l, which will be taken
| care of by certain changes which the
Board of Education has made in its
budget program to meet the emcr-
gency, supplemented by $1,000, from
| the uneXpendcd balance of s1192. 50
from the appropriation for improve
ment Of Capitol Park, so that no
extra appropriation will be necessary
to finance the plan.
The meeting held last evening was
| called to order by the moderator.
Mayor Sanford L. Fogg. with Frank
f. Southard acting as clerk. Mayor
Fosg stated that as this was an adj
! Journed school meeting the original
orsanization would stand unless
! doubted.
The attendance was not so large
as at the regular school meeting, but
| there were a good number present,
! manlfcstlng their interest in the mat
I ter of providing for the welfare Of
i Cony students in times of emcrgen-
cies such as fires.
Mayor Fogg stated that the meet
ing was called to take up the report
| of the committee appointed to look
| into the condition of the High school
and to report in reference to proposed
arrangements to put the building in
reasonably safe condition as to exits,
rs in case of fire when the students
must start out of the building in
haste. And be stated that the school
/ survey had recommended the build
ing Of brick fire well in the build
1 ing at an estimated cost of $4,000.
Mayor Fogg then called on the com
! mittcc for its report.
Report Of Special Committee
The report Of the committee read
by Lewis A. Burleigh, its chairman,
was as follows:
Report of Special Committee Ap-
pointed to Investigate the Fire Exits
at Cony High School:
Augusta, Me, May %, 1922.
Your Committee, acting in coniunc-
ton with a special Committee from
the Board of Education. the Superin-
tcndent of Schools, the Principal of
the High school, the Chief Engineer Of
the Fire Department, and the Inspcc-
tor of Buildings, have on two separate
occasions made a thorough examina-
ton of fire conditions at Cony High
school, and beg leave to report:
First-The existing exits and es-
capes are inadequate and unsafe. The
chief danger point is in the Assembly
hall, on the top floor of the new build
ing. The fire escapes serving this and
other rooms are entered from win
dows at a considerable height from
the floor, are of very sharp pitch, with
but about four and one-half inches
Of available tread, and with one land
ing for the two separate and converg-
ng top runs of stairs, with great pos
sibilit.- of danger to two lines Of chill
dren approaching the single landing
exist from opposite directions. In the
chief engineers opinion it is doubtful
whether, in case of serious fec and
panic, the present structure would af-
| ford safe exit from the ~ssemblv hall
to more than two hundred people. yet
as many as seven hundred have been
: congregatcd in this room.
/ Second-Your committee does not
desire in any way to minimize the
great value Of the comprehensive
school survey made by a survey staff
of eminent educators, headed by Dr..
! Inglis and DR.. Cummings of Harvard
/ University. Included in this survey,
however, is recommendation for a
! fire woll at Cony High school. and
without themselves investigating and
passing upon this important PROPOSE
! ton, the Board of Education very
properly reported it to the annual
school meeting for such investigation
and action as might be deemed wise
Your Committee, and all those we
have mentioned as associated with us,
are unanimously opposed to the con-
/ struction of a fire we'll rooted over and
running TO the basement. of the con-