布莱恩银行大楼燃烧

布莱恩银行大楼燃烧

Fire broke out in the second floor of the First National Bank Building at Bryan, Tex., December 15, badly damaging the two-story, 50 x 100 foot, brick building, which houses on the ground, the bank and stores and on the upper floor, lodge rooms, offices and pool room. It is though a lighted cigarette in the pool room started the blaze. The building had partitions but no sprinkler equipment. Alarm of fire was phoned at 1.30 a. m., when the fire was found burning between the ceiling and roof and in two upper rooms. A motor triple combination chemical and hose truck and a hose wagon were in service. It was necessary to lay 1,550 feet of hose to secure four hydrant streams. Two double hydrants, 330 feet apart, were fed by a 10-inch street main supplying 80 pounds pressure by direct pumping system. Sixteen firemen, under command of Chief C. E. Jenkins, did excellent work for three hours, in confining the fire to the bank building proper and saving the adjoining building. But little fire got into the banking department. Loss of stocks on first floor was due to water damage. The losses reported are $40,000 on the contents and $13,000 on the building.

The fire loss in Erie, Pa., for the year 1917 was $711,464, or nearly $600,000 in excess of that of the preceding year. The number of alarms responded to in 1917 was 422, of which 19 were false, making approximately the same number of fires as in the preceding year. The Anchor Line elevator fire of April 9, causing a loss of nearly half a million dollars, swelled the year’s total, without which an increase of approximately $100,000 would have been recorded.