{"id":3196,"date":"2016-01-03T23:11:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-03T23:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=3196"},"modified":"2016-01-06T20:47:53","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T20:47:53","slug":"wheeling-high-school-fire-january-3-1914","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wheeling-high-school-fire-january-3-1914","title":{"rendered":"“An Ideal Fire Trap”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Wheeling High School Burns: January 3, 1914<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Image<\/a>
Image from the 1944 Wheeling Fire Department Yearbook. -Wheeling Room, Ohio County Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Photo<\/a>
The stairways acted as flues, allowing the fire to ascend rapidly., Photo from the Wheeling High School Record, 1915. -OCPL Archives, Beverly Fluty Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBut on this cold and dreary morn,
\nIn Engine Company 4,
\nThere is a vacant bed upstairs,
\nFor One, who is no more\u2026\u201d
\n-To The Wheeling Fire Dept. by Anonymous<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One hundred two years ago today, just after 6 o\u2019clock PM on Saturday evening, January 3, 1914, a janitor discovered a fire in the basement of Wheeling High School beneath the stairway. The janitor attempted to douse it with buckets of water, to no avail. The stairways and air ducts acted as flues, allowing the fire to rapidly ascend, spreading across the upper floors and all the way to the roof.<\/p>\n

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\u201cUndermanned and Under Equipped\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n

The janitor ran a block to 21st Street to alert Hook and Ladder Company No. 6, and they were on the scene quickly. But heavy snows had damaged the wires of the city-wide alarm system, causing a delayed reaction from other firefighting companies. In fact, telephone calls had to be placed to sound the alarm. The entire building was soon aflame. The building, Fire Chief Rose later declared, \u201cwas constructed on the lines of an ideal fire trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never saw a building that had so many air courses in it,\u201d Rose told the Intelligencer<\/em>. \u201cOnce a flame got started, it would \u2018walk\u2019 around faster than a person. The roof was one continuous chain of braces and rafters which made the whole thing like kindling wood ready to be touched off\u2026The building was built in utter disregard of all fire protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hook
Hook and Ladder Co. No. 6 (located at 27 21st St.) in 1906. Souvenir History of Wheeling : Philadelphia: Pictorial Publishing, 1906. Ohio County Public Library Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the eye\u2013opening House and Herrman department store fire<\/a> that would inspire the technical \u201cmodernization\u201d of firefighting in Wheeling still three years in the future, the fire department of 1914 Wheeling was still very much committed to horse drawn fire wagons and steam powered pumps. But the Wheeling High School fire was eye\u2013opening in a different way \u2014 demonstrating that the Wheeling Fire Department was woefully \u201cundermanned and under equipped.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to A History of Fire Fighting in Wheeling<\/em> (1925): \u201cThere were but 50 firemen employed at that time. With two men required for each engine and at least three men for every hose line, the department was altogether unable to cope with a fire of such size\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

When the other city companies finally arrived, the men fought valiantly, throwing all they had at the inferno. Again according to A History of Fire Fighting in Wheeling<\/em> (1925), \u201cfive steam engines pumped two streams each into the building and plug attachments added more water but all had little effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, as the Intelligencer<\/em> reported: \u201cThe firemen worked valiantly, but were working with odds against them in the building so long that the equipment would not reach to the necessary places.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf two fires would break out in the city,\u201d Chief Rose told the Intelligencer<\/em>, \u201cwe would be powerless with conditions as they exist now, with crossed wires, etc\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Captain<\/a>
A tribute to deceased firefighters in A History of Fire Fighting in Wheeling (1925). Captain Ferguson is at top middle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a few hours, the roof collapsed and the north wall fell, crushing to death two volunteers, Charles Talbourt of Wheeling and J.E. Buchanan of Parkersburg, and injuring several firemen, including Engine Co. No. 4 (8th Ward) Captain Charles J. Ferguson, who later died from his injuries.<\/p>\n

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Aftermath<\/h2>\n
\n

By late in the evening, several thousand people, including many of the high school\u2019s students, had gathered to watch the building burn. \u201c[The latter] watched the demon fire gut the building,\u201d the Intelligencer<\/em> reported, \u201cnot with pleasure as the boy or girl of tender years, but with sorrow, expressed in every motion.\u201d<\/p>\n

An investigation spearheaded by the Board of Education later concluded that the fire had been caused by \u201cspontaneous combustion of rags and shavings in a closet in the basement.\u201d [Wheeling News-Register Dec, 12, 1958 report by Jay Niebur] Losses were estimated at approximately $100, 000 (23. 3 million in 2016 dollars), and were partially covered by insurance. The Board of Education paid to replace books and other items lost by the students in the fire, and classes were moved to Webster School while the Wheeling High School building was repaired and rebuilt.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo Wind that Blew Dismayed the Crew, Or Troubled the Captain\u2019s Mind\u00a0<\/strong>
\n Embarking from the port of Sophomoric Turmoil, the Ship of \u201915, Skipper Marsh at the helm, sailed smoothly across the sea of Juniority. The mid-voyage destruction of our high school home did not destroy our class spirit, for its oxy-acetylenic flame gleamed forth from even that patriarch of educational architecture, Webster School\u2026\u201d<\/strong>
\n\u2013Wheeling High School Record<\/em>, 1915<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The Building<\/h2>\n
\n

Designed by Wheeling Hall of Fame architect Frederick Faris<\/a>, the new Wheeling High School was dedicated in 1909 and opened its doors to the public May 29th, 1911.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Frederick Faris designed Wheeling High School. Image from The Ohio Architect, November 1915. -OCPL Archives, Beverly Fluty Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the school magazine, The Wheeling High School Record<\/em>, Commencement issue, 1911 :<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe new Wheeling High School is situated on Chapline street between Twentieth and Twenty-first streets. It is an imposing three-story structure of light brick. The building is patterned after the ancient classical architecture, the Grecian style predominating. The projecting top, but little adorned, resembles somewhat the old Athenian style and gives the structure a substantial and pleasing affect. The striking part of the edifice is its Grecian colonnade. This is set off by six massive Ionic pillars, with their beautiful scroll tops and plain, well-defined base. These rise to the full height of the building and give it a grand and impressive appearance. The flat surface of the front has but little adornment; save, some artistic arrangements of the bricks themselves, which serve as beautiful ornamentations and break the monotony of a plain, unrelieved wall. Seven large stone steps lead from the pavement to the floor of the colonnade, while the whole structure rests on a substantial stone foundation. The total number of windows in the front is fifty-six. These are grouped together in an artistic manner. Their frames are painted a rich, dark red, giving a beautiful touch of color and adding much to the general appearance of the building. The six large windows opening upon the colonnade from the first floor are the same width and have the same appearance as the front entrance. The entrance consists of two massive glass doors framed in a beautiful red wood; and comply with the law which compels all school doors to open outward.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn entering through these doors one\u2019s gaze may rest upon the beautiful wide escailier. Its steps are slate and are finished by a light oak railing. Fourteen steps lead to a landing about six feet by eight; here the stairs branch off and two semi-winding ones, of fourteen steps each, extend to the hall above.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a general survey of the outer appearance of our new Wheeling High, we agree that it is exquisitely proportioned, handsome and imposing. We, the pupils of Wheeling High School, are a might proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"The<\/a>
The new Wheeling High School opened its doors to the public May 29th, 1911. This photo, taken near the completion date of its construction by photographer C. C. Kline, shows a banner strung up in the far set of windows, that under magnification reads \u201cHiener Hardware,\u201d a local hardware company that was located on 1301-1303 Market St. -OCPL Archives, Joseph Hoffmann Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the January 1914 fire, the rebuilt Wheeling High School was reopened in September 1915, and continued to serve the city\u2019s public high school students until 1976, when the new Wheeling Park High School opened. The building was razed in 1984.<\/p>\n