Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-12-04

One year ago this morning, De-
cember 4, 1922, Colby college, the
city of Waterville and the surround
ing country were plunged into such
a depth of growing as has seldom
been known by the terrible fire
which broke out in the quarters of
the Colby chapter of the Lambde
Chi Alpha fraternity and took toll
of four lives before its fury had been
spent and brought under control.
The fire was the worst shat has
ever struck an American college and
the blow will long be remembered.
AS a direct result of exposure at the
time of the fire, another student lost
his fight for life two months later
and added q fifth name to the roll Of
the demon fire.
The weather conditions at the time
of the fire were extreme and caused
much suffering amongst those who
escaped from the frey furnace. The
afternoon before the tragedy, Sun
day, saw the first fall OF snow that
amounted to anything and towards
evening the blanket of white had
covered the earth with about six
inches of snow. The thermometer
dropped rapidly after dark as the
snow storm ceased but a bitterly
cold north wind came up. Fortu-
nately the wind was not high or sew
| eral other college buildings would
have been destroyed.
The first intimation that the thirty
odd students sleeping on the fifth
floor of the structure had of the fire
| which was raging beneath them was
when Ralph S. Robinson, ~. of
! Nashua, n. H., smelled smoke and
dashed around the sleeping quarters
arousing the men. 1t seems that at
about the same time, G. Barnard
| Chapman, 30, of Springfield, Mass,
who was returning to college after
spending a Thanksgiving recess at
| his home, crossed College avenue
from the 3.15 o'clock train and saw
| flames in several of the windows.
Chapmon dashed to one of the near
/ by fraternity houses and after tele-
phoning to the fire department. he
sounded an alarm on the college bell.
Students who saw the first of the fire
declared that at the time the fire
| whistle was sounding, the men were
| coming down the tiny fire ladders
! provided for escapes.
| The WatervilIe Fire. Department
made a quick run to the crossing of
the Maine Central tracks and College
avenue but were held up here for
several valuable minutes by the long
! passenger train. On arriving at the
scene of the fire, they saw that they
had a stupendous job on their hands
and a general alarm was sent in,
calling all the available men to fight
the fire. In the freezing atmosphere
they fought. and while the men who
were stationed in the southern Sec
ton of the structure which was sep
arated from the burning half by a
fire wall prevented the spread of the
fast spreading flames. but could not
prevent the complete cutting of the
northern section.
Firemen made their way at great
peril into the burning structure and
located three blackened bodies. one
of them at the foot of the stairs
within a few steps of the front door.
The other two bodies, Andrews
and Treworgy, were found on the
upper floors and carried out. At
first it was thought that the body
which was blackened beyond recogni-
ton was that of Warren L. Frye, 20.
of Revere, Mass, but later on, after
the parents of Norman M. Wardwell
! of Newport has spent q greater part
of the morning searching for their
] son, this body proved to be his. The
body of Frye was found late in the
afternoon buried under tons of de-
bris in the cellar of the building.
The entire student body assembled