The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-05-17
Slow Blaze In
SaWrnill Cause
0fS25,O0OLoss
Hard Work by Firemen and
Citizens Saves J. Neils
Lumber Company Plant.
SHUT DOWN
ABOUT 10 DAYS

49, ~ In w IN
ABOUT 10 DAYS
Fire that caused a damage of ap
proximately $25,000.0O broke out Sat
urday evening about 8 o'clock in tn
planning mill and box factory of tn,
]. Neils Lumber company and required
hard battling by the Libby fire depart
ment, mill workers and townsnen fo
about IL hours before it was definitel,
conquered.
Walter Neils, general manager of tht
company, gave the estimated loss at tht
above figure and stated repairs will
require shutdown of about 10 days
before the plant will be operating as il
was before the fire. In the planning
mill, one machine out of the seven will
be in operation by today, he said, and
two more by Saturday. The box factory
will probably not be running before
the end of the estimated 10 days re-
quired for repairs All worknen in
these two departments, however, are
being employed in repair work
Discovered by Watchman.
Smoke bursting out from beneath the
floor of the planning mill and box fac
tory was discovered by a watch
man at about o'clock. The day shift
in the planning mill had stopped work
at 5 o'clock and the night shift in the
box factory was at work at the time,
but the men noticed no sign Of fire
until the sudden burst of smoke. The
floors of the planning mill and box fac
tory are on piling four to five feet
above the ground and are boarded in
on all sides. The two departments, with
loading docks and sheds, and dry sheds,
are all combined in one large building.
In an instant both these departments
were enguhcd in a seething, rolling
mass of black, heavy smoke that made
near approach to the fire impossible.
The flames, being beneath the floors,
were very difficult to fight although the
location kept the fire from spreading
into the upper works and was a strong
factor in saving the plant.
Fifteen Lines of Hose.
In short time the Libby firemen
and willing workers of mill and towns
people had Is lines of water playing
onto the burning area while sprink-
ling system in the plant kept the upper
floors saturated with a flood of water.
Later in the evening two forest service
hrc,,rt.t .rf1
connected with nearby Libby creek and
were highly instrumental in overcom-
ing the fire.
Fighters Overcome.
The hidden location of the flames
made effective fighting difficult and
long drawn out. Two or three of the
men were overcome by the dense
smoke and gases and others were made
desperately sick. AS the fight pro-
crossed the firemen crawled beneath
the floors in water, mud and smoke,
to reach the flames. About Ill o'clock,
in spite of the incessant fighting, the
flames ate their way through the heavy
plank flooring of the box factory,
caught upright Wy lumber in the dry
sheds and it began to look as though
the plant was doomed But quick work
by the tired firemen and workers fin
ally conquered this threat
Sometime between and o'clock in
the morning, after an entire night of
constant fighting and with the fighters
practically exhausted, victory was fin
ally definitely won and the fire extin-
guished, with practically all damage
confined to the floors and underpining
of the two departments.
Firemen Highly Praised.
This serious threat to Libby's largest
industry is another strong evidence of
the efficiency and high morale Of the
Libby fire department, assisted in this
instance by many willing workers from
other ranks. The common conviction of
all was expressed by George Neils, who,
after the fight was over, was heard to
remark, i've always known Libby had
a highly efficient fire department and
have had deep admiration for this
fine organization but if they had not
been twice as good as ! ever thought
they were we would not have any saw
mill this morning. And their fine work
was aided by scores of men outside the
department who worked without ceas-
ing throughout the night"
After it was all over it was found
that the fire had practically destroyed
the floor of the box factory and had
done much damage to the floor of the
planning mill. The construction in such
plants is heavy, yet the fire ate through
much of this heavy timbering to such
an extent that it was necessary to tear
it out and replace it, The floor to the
box factory was Immediately entirely
torn out, the space beneath it is being
filled with earth and gravel and con-
crete floor will be laid New timbering
and floors will have to be built for
fully half of the planning mill. All dam
age is of course fully covered by in
surance,
Cause of Fire Unknown.
What caused the fire is a complete
mystery. 1t was thought for a time
that the blame might be laid to an
electric motor beneath the floor but