Chapter 6 - SOME LARGE FIRES

CHAPTER 6

SOME LARGE FIRES

CENTRAL CAFETERIA - Three months after beginning employment with the department I had the privilege to respond, as a firefighter assigned to No. 3 Company, to what the Oak Ridger newspaper referred to as the second largest fire in the history of the City of Oak Ridge. On Friday, July 10, 1964, in the late afternoon an alarm was sounded for a three company response to the large commercial building that had housed the Central Cafeteria on Central Ave. near Jackson Square. It had been divided into several retail concession after it was purchased from the government. A printing business located in the rear basement area which opened to Tyrone Rd. had recently moved to another location. The fire started in a huge stack of printed materials that had been piled onto the floor. No. 3 located here since there had been a delay in locating the fire. The first arriving companies were searching the upper level. We laid a line and soon had the fire under control. It appeared the fire had been confined to this small location.

The companies were reloading hose. Some people had reentered the building. Co. No. 4 still had the chemical hose in the building. Co. No. 3 was disconnecting the feeder line when a loud noise was heard. Everyone looked toward the building. A huge cloud of dense black was observed coming from the attic around the entire building. A heavy wind was moving from the west. The smoke engulfed Central Ave. and the dormitory located across the street. The entire attic area was in flames. It was later assumed that unburned fire gases had traveled from the basement through a dumb waiter opening from the old cafeteria days to the attic and had accumulated there. It was a summer afternoon and the temperature was extremely high in this large attic. It apparently ignited when the electric power was restored. We set up the deluge set and other hand lines. All on duty personnel was called to the scene. Off duty men were called in to man the empty firehouses and some responded to the fire scene. We spent the night on this one.

Chief Richardson had responded and was standing in front of the building when the smoke appeared. He was overcome by the smoke and fell to the ground losing his helmet. He was treated for smoke inhalation after been taken to MMC.

Later a controversy arose. Several tenants sued the owners. The owner was a corporation in which at least two members of the ORPD were stockholders.

THE COLD STORAGE PLANT - Another interesting fire was the old cold storage building located on Fairbanks Rd. where Tindell's Building Supply now stands. This fire occurred on Sunday afternoon, July 20,1969. This date is easy to remember because of the event that was to take place that hot summer afternoon. I was the company officer working out of Sta. No.2 at Jackson Square. Charlie Coche was the operator and Harry Lovelace was on the tailboard. Everyone was closely watching the TV. The American astronauts were about to land on the surface of the moon for the first time. The streets were quiet. No one was stirring.

The tone sounded and everyone moved toward the truck. I took the alarm as I stepped into my boots. The dispatcher gave the location and I left the office and started across the engine room floor. I looked across the Turnpike toward the east and I saw the darkest highest column of black smoke I had ever seen. I knew then we would not see the first moon landing.

We arrived just before No. 4 Company from East Village. I told Charlie to swing the truck around and we would lay a reverse line and hook direct to the hydrant just west of the building. He turned the Engine and Harry and I removed the end of the 2 " line and nozzle and some other equipment. I was squatting with my knee on the hose as it flaked off the rear of the engine. The fire had already vented to the outside and flames were cascading high into the atmosphere. Suddenly I heard this noise overhead and as I looked up I saw these three huge transmission lines pulling away from the building. There was no time to react. As I crouched the lines fell to the ground just across my shoulder missing me not more than two or three feet. When they hit the street surface a large fireball erupted as big pieces of asphalt were blown from the pavement. It sounded like a big bull bellowing. I'll bet I was as white as the paper this story in printed on. I don't know if I peed on myself because there was no time to examine. Again all on duty personnel were called out.

This building was divided into many small meat storage compartments that were lined with cork insulation. The cork was contributing to the intensity of the fire. Chief Dail had men dragging 2 " discharge lines from one opening to another until everyone was so exhausted they were falling out. Two were treated at the hospital, one for heat exhaustion and the other for burns on the hands he received when he reached to climb an aluminum ladder. Chief Lee finally arrived and ordered Dail to stop punishing the men. We remained on the scene until almost midnight. We returned to Station 2 and reloaded the hose. The rest of the night was spent typing the incident report. This was one of two times that I came very close to answering my last alarm.

GOODYEAR TIRE STORE - The other incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 26, 1969. Working out of Station No. 2 we responded to the Goodyear Tire Store located on Wilson St. in the downtown shopping center. No. 3 had arrived and reported a working signal 2. The fire had started in the rear of the stockroom where the paper filters were stored. It had gone undetected for a period of time and was advancing into the tire section when discovered. The alarm was delayed as the employees attempted to extinguish the fire. By this time, the telephone transmission lines were involved and an employee had to run across the street to the Ark Bowling Lanes to call in the alarm.

Charlie Coche hooked direct to a hydrant located west of the building and we advanced a line through the front entrance. We thought we had reached the seat of the fire but we were having little success in extinguishment. The fire was growing in intensity. By now the large stock of tires were totally involved. We were forced to back out. Later we discovered a large piece of transparent plastic was shielding the paper filters stock and much of the water stream was ineffective because it did not reach the fire.

Engine NO. 3 had advanced a line to the rear service area off E. Main St. I had on the SCBA so I was elected to be the nozzle man. Two men were on the roof cutting an opening to drop in a cellar nozzle. Captain Laws was backing me up. We had to travel across the service bay area to reach the stock room. I had just opened the nozzle when through the thick black smoke an amazing phenomenon occurred. It appeared we were standing near the north pole looking toward the northern lights. The next thing I remember was sitting on my backside straddling the hose line. Captain Laws had already retreated to the doorway. I instinctively crawled backwards following the hoseline toward the opening. As I neared the opening I felt hands grabbing under my arms and lifting me to the outside. We had entered through an overhead metal rolling door and immediately after I was pulled to the outside the door fell. The hose line was still inside the building. A cutting torch was used to breach the door. Had the door fallen before Captain Laws and I had gotten to the outside we would had to have traveled through the seat of the fire to have escaped. We learned later that a backdraft had occurred when the opening was made through the roof. The two men on the roof stated the roof seemed to have lifted four or five inches and then dropped back. The cellar nozzle was charged as the men descended from the roof. After the fire was extinguished it was discovered the hoseline with the cellar nozzle had burned into, dropping the nozzle to the floor.

PINE VALLEY SHOPPING CENTER - On the evening of April 16, 1968 one of the early neighborhood shopping centers located on New York Ave. was destroyed by fire. An alarm was sounded around 9 P.M. Captain Fritts and No.2 Company located at Jackson Sq. was first on the scene. Here again was a classic example of the old wood frame buildings with a common attic. As soon as the fire reached the attic it immediately spread throughout the entire structure. If you younger members of the department ever wondered where Chief Hill received the nickname "Squirrel", here is the story. Tom had been sent to the roof to assist Captain Russell Moneymaker in chopping a hole in the roof to ventilate. By now the entire attic was involved. They had taken a pick-head ax to accomplish the task. They moved to a location remote from the fire origin where they hoped they would be safe. They found their position and went to work. Captain Moneymaker raised the ax and struck the roof. The ax sunk to the handle. A huge gust of smoke engulfed them. Tom was cut off from the ladder by the smoke and he knew the roof was going to collapse any second. There was a power pole located about six to eight feet from the building. Not being able to get the attention of anyone on the ground, Tom made a quick decision. He backed away and with a running start made a flying leap to the pole and slid down to safety. This is how Tom became known as "Squirrel Hill".

THE JEFFERSON SHOPPING CENTER was a wood frame structure with a common attic. The complex was well involved when the first company arrived. It was moving across each concession and dropping from the ceiling. This was a classic E-D fire. Lay large lines, break the glass, and use volumes of water. Ironically the portion of the building that was salvaged was the area that once housed the old No. 5 firehouse. It was protected by a firewall that did the job it was intended to do. Streams had been directed from the roof onto the burning portion of the building. This strategy was successful.

THE OLD GLENWOOD SCHOOL was an interesting fire. The new building, which was erected just a few yards from the old, had just recently been completed. Demolition was well underway on the older building. The roof had been removed. Much of the debris of the old roof remained inside the standing exterior walls. A large portion of the building was constructed of an exterior wallboard siding referred to as Cemesto. This material contained some asbestos probably used for its insulating quality. The process of removal and disposal of this siding is an expensive endeavor.

This fire occurred shortly after the midnight hour. A watchman was supposedly on duty at the time of the fire. Cos. No. 2 and No. 3 responded and was on the scene within minutes of the alarm. When we arrived the old structure was fully involved from one end to the other. We decided early on that protecting the exposure would be the primary goal. The ladder truck was spotted to wet down the particles and heat rising from the seat of the fire. No. 2 & 3 laid large diameter lines and directed streams between and onto the new building. This strategy was effective. The new structure received practically no damage. Disposal of the remaining debris and walls of the older structure had basically been carried out by the combustion process. A very convenient and timely fire. We were fortunate that we were able to contain the fire and hold it to the old structure.

The largest and most destructive fire in a single residence was the SEWARD NORRIS FAMILY RESIDENCE located on Amanda Place. It was situated on a long hill extending about a quarter mile from Amanda Drive. One of the problems faced by members of the ORFD at this fire was a delayed alarm. The delay was a result of numerous factors. No one was home when the fire occurred, a private alarm system failed to function, a heavy fog existed which would result in neighbors not seeing the smoke, and the remote location of the house. Another difficulty faced was the long narrow driveway extending about one quarter mile up a steep elevation. Reverse lines were laid and the pumpers had to operate in unison because of the rise in elevation. When the first company arrived the second story level had collapsed onto the lower floor. The total damage to the structure and contents was estimated to be well in excess of one million dollars as reported by the owner, Mr. Norris. The fire was classified as suspicious by fire investigators.

Probably the hottest fire I ever advanced a line into was the LA GAZEBO RESTAURANT which was located on West Main St. in the downtown shopping center. The eatery had been closed a few hours when the shortening in a deep fat fryer unit had ignited because the thermostat failed. There was no sprinkler system in any of the shops located on the west side of the center. The fire was contained in the structure because of the masonry construction. Gary Terry and I advanced a line into the front entrance to a point where we could direct a stream onto the seat of the fire in the kitchen. We were crouched and crawling and it was so hot it was unbearable. We were successful in blacking out and cooling the interior of the business. When we got our butts out we knew how a steamed lobster must feel.

The threat of arson sends chills up the spine of firefighters. There are some locations in every city that are potential arson hazards. In Oak Ridge the old AIT bus garage is certainly listed in that category. The structure is old and deteriorated. The roof has leaked badly for years. A few years ago we responded to this location. The hour was about 10:00 p.m. We entered the building to investigate. We found a small fire in a pile of wooden pallets in the rear of the building. We also discovered cardboard trailers throughout the entire open area at the rear of the building. A print shop had once occupied this area. The arsonist had used some on the materials the print shop had left when they moved from the building to create the trailers. They had soaked the paper with an accelerant and directed them to the large pile of wooden pallets. These guys were real amateurs because they had failed to turn off the sprinkler system. The system worked. Otherwise the city would have been rid of a real eyesore. The building was demolished in the spring of 1997.

The last fire in the old dormitory type building owned by the CLU was a classic arson case. There was a number of explosions before and during the time the firefighters had made entry to attempt extinguishment. After the fire was controlled an investigation revealed a number of plastic containers filled with flammable liquid and sticks of dynamite had been placed throughout the building. Some of the charges exploded after the firefighters had made entry. The south wall was partially blown to the ground. A pumper and operator barely missed serious damage and injury when the wall collapsed.

An earlier alarm at this location had brought Captain Roberts and members of Co. No. 5 from the Jefferson Ave. house when a disgruntled patron had returned one night after being ejected from the bar. He had traveled to the Direct gas station and purchased a can of gasoline and spread it onto the exterior porch of one wing at the east end of the building. No. 5 made a rapid response. Knowing Co. No. 3 was responding Capt. Roberts made a decision to make a quick knockdown with the booster line. They were successful and little fire remained when No. 3 arrived. The quick hit had prevented the fire from entering the interior of the building. This plan of attack, although successful, upset Chief McMahan and he stated as long as he remained Chief no new pumper would ever have a booster reel. He kept his promise.

Two other dormitory buildings that burned was the MOOSE CLUB and the MICHELLE BUILDING. An occupant on the Michelle Building was a victim of that fire. I recall three other incidents where lives were lost. We have been fortunate that in the fifty-three year history of the ORFD that more lives have not been lost. I remember three other former dormitory buildings that burned. We were able to save one wing of one of them. Many others were confined and extinguished. Chief Hill once commented that by the time we had developed an effective plan of attack for the dormitories most of them had already burned. An interesting fact is that almost all of the large fires occurred on B Shift while Chief Dail was the shift commander.

The unique aspect of the WELDON NURSERY fire was the many hazardous chemicals that were involved. We had no idea of the consequences involved when many of these chemicals burned or mixed as they were absorbed into the water runoff.

Shortly after I began working in the department we had a very unusual alarm. Ott Beeler and I were standing outside No.3 Firehouse when we saw an old model pick-up truck pass on Illinois Av. going north. It was loaded with loose hay and the hay was smoking. We went inside and reported it to Captain McMahan. Mac called the dispatcher on the spider phone and reported the alarm. We were dispatched and responded. We headed up Illinois as fast as we could trying to overtake the truck. We traveled to West Outer Drive and just as we went through the intersection we saw the smoke just over the hill toward Oliver Springs. As we arrived we saw three men running back and forth from the back of the truck over the embankment. We extinguished the fire with the booster line and were overhauling using a pike pole. I stuck the pike pole into the hay to get a hold when all at once I heard a loud pop and the flames shot into the air. About this time the driver of the truck came to me and asked that I please not tell the patrolman on the scene. I didn't understand what he meant until we pulled more hay from the truck and behold the truck bed was covered with glass containers of moonshine.

Bob Banks had a close encounter with the grim reaper at the scene of the old JEFFERSON THEATER. The ladder truck had been utilized to wet down the remainder of the structure after the fire was controlled. This being accomplished, the truck was left unattended while overhaul activities were taking place. The pressure on the hydraulic system had bled down and the ladder had dropped enough to come in contact with the electric entrance cables. A blue flame was traveling from the metal outriggers to the ground through the pavement. Bob was given an order by a chief officer to raise the ladder off the lines. Fortunately another officer heard the order and told Bob to wait until the electric department employees de-energized the lines.

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