Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-10
Front Royal Institution Scene
of Thrilling Escapes and
s250,000 Loss.
PRINCIPAL OVERCOME
BY SMOKE AND HEAT
Only Gymnasium Remains of Huge
Structure Ravaged by Flames
Starting in Basement at 5 AM.
" a staff Correspondent of The Star.

BY a Staff Correspondent of The Star.
FRONT ROYAL, Va. January To-
Ten boys were injured, five of them
seriously, in a fire which destroyed
the main building of Randolph Macon
Academy early this morning, entailinS
a loss estimated by school authorities
to be $500
Those badly injured were taken in
automobiles to Winchester Memorial
Hospital 80 miles from here. They
were:
Frank Whalen, Lyon Village. Va;
broken leg.
Henry Weaver, son of Henry B.
Weaver, 1346 Ingraham street, Wash.
ington; twisted ankle and injured
back.
Jack Johnson, New York, leg and
Kenneth Giles of Hollins, N. Y,
badly burned.
Joachim Navia of Nicaragua, face
injured when he missed a blanket In
leap from his third d-Story dormitory.
other students are being attended
by volunteer nurses at a hotel. They
include:
Fred Shirtenleibe, New York.
James Valentine, New York.
Worthington Seese. Philadelphia.
Edward White, Pittsburgh.
Reginald Ettlinger, New York.
These boys, most of them about 10
years of age, are suffering from minor
burns and sprains.
Principal Under Treatment.
DR.. Charles l.. Melton, principal of
the school, is under treatment of a
physician suffering from the effects of
smoke and heat sustained when he
aided in rescuing students from the
burning building. The fire was dis
covered about o'clock this morning,
and the big building was destroyed
within two hours. Firemen could do
little except to place ladders against
the building, enabling many of the
boys to escape who were trapped in
the third story. About 20 students
dashed through the front door to
safety, while others were forced to
climb to the roof to escape the chok-
ing smoke and were taken down by
firemen. Several of the boys overcome
by smoke were dragged to safety by
their companions, other cadets made
their exit from the building by leap
ing from the windows and sliding
down links of bed clothes hastily
knotted together.
IrOl. hODerC l.. DdrQen aroused
many of the younger boys and took a
leading part in the rescue work. The
students. numbering 1856, most of them
clad in their night clothes. stood about
with bare feet on the snowy ground
as the school burned. A new gymna-
SUM. but few feet from the main
building, escaped damage.
Trustees to Meet.
F. S. Chalmers, secretary treasurer
of the school, announced that a meet
ing of the trustees will be held Thurs
day at Ashland, Va. 1t is planned to
start construction on new building
as soon as possible.
In the meantime, the boys are bill
leted in the town, citizens of which
are lending every assistance to the
school authorities, and it is planned to
hold classes temporarily in the Meth
odist Church. Private homes will
shelter the cadets until the new dormi-
tory is completed.
The fire aroused virtually the entire
population of this town, $500 persons
and volunteer committees of citizens
fastened about with automobiles TAX
ing the half-clad boys to their own
homes. officials of the school, as we'll
as the students, are warm in their
toward them by the townspeople.
Stories told by the boys indicate
many instances of individual heroism.
Roommates risked injury to save each
other, it was said, and several of the
boys injured could have escaped un-
marred had they not paused to aid
comrades cropping blindly in the smoke
filed building.
Mr.. Chalmers stated that the build
ing was valued at $250.000, and car
ried insurance amounting to $106, 900.
School authorities made definite
check on the student body early this
morning to make sure that none was
missing, and another assembly has
been ordered for 4:30 o'clock this
afternoon.
The academy, preparatory school
for boys, is one of five affiliated insti-
tutions in Virginia constituting the
RANDOLPH system of colleges
and academies. 1t was established
in 1892, being under control of a self
perpetuating board of trustees under
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South. 1t prepares it's stu
dents for the Randolph-Macon College
at Ashland, Va. The academy last
June had teaching staff of II. The
buildings and grounds were valued at
$3.50, 900; the scientific apparatus,
$4,000, and the endowment fund,
$12 200.