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Victory Village Residents:
ive In A Fire Train
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Shortly before 12:30 p.m.
March 28, 1956, 40 young child
ren were playing games in the
Victory Village Day Care and
Community Center on Mason
Farm Road.
They whiled away the cold
winter afternoon while Daddy
was attending classes at the
University and Momma was
working at her job in town.
All seemed peaceful and
safe. Then, suddenly, someone
noticed a fire leaping up from
the building's heating unit.
Within 30 minutes, most of
the contents of the building,
were burned black and' unre
cognizable. The frame of the
wooden, clapboard structure
stood empty, like a hollow
skull.
Luckily, every one of the
forty children reached safety
with the help of the Center's
staff members, who had the
presence of mind to evacuate
the building immediately after
the fire was discovered.
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niTin HAPPEN TO YOU The old Victory Village Day
THIS COULD destroyed by fe 0n March
Care Ce nter is is were ,n the building when the fire
28, 1956. to y . . furnace. No one was hurt, but
started from a lauuy u
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Many Blazes
Been Lucky So Far
SPREAD QUICKLY
The blaze spread quickly
along the thin walls of the
structure and devoured part
of the roof. Firemen and stu
dent volunteers rushed to the
scene and battled the fire for
20 minutes before bringing it
under control.
The fire is known to have
stemmed from the automatic
oil-fired furnace which heated
the room where the children
played. Some oil had leaked
from lead-in pipes and had
been ignited by the head from
the stove.
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; ; It ,was the: second fire in the
building in two years. Offic
ials learned a "lesson from it
and, when the Center was re
built shortly after the fire, the
heating unit was housed in an
entirely separate building.
This is just one of many
close calls that have threaten
ed residents of the Village
over the years. Miraculously,
no reported injuries by fire
are on record.
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None Serious
Faulty wiring caused a fire
which burnt out one of the
apartments on Polk St. in 1964.
Mrs. Raymond J. Brown of
the Victory Village Rental
Office remembers that fire as
"the biggest we've had."
"We've been pretty lucky,
so far," she said.
Just two weeks ago a small
fire erupted from a kerosene
heating unit in an apartment
on Daniels Rd. Firemen ar
rived in time to keep it under
control.
Every, year, according . to
Capt. Everette Lloyd of the
Chapel.. Fire Department,-'-
a number of minor fires dis
turb the peace of Victory Vill
age. The blame for these fires
can usually be traced to negli
gence or carelessness, said
Capt. Everette.
James Wadsworth, Univer
sity Director of Housing, said
"I want to congratulate the
people who live in this section
of the campus. It is a real tri
bute to them that we have had
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the building and its contents
firemen and students brought
minutes. It was the largest
threatened the village over the
as few fires as we have," he
said.
GOOD RECORD
"I believe the people out
there to be concerned and
alert about the danger of fire.
Occassionally something can
go wrong with a piece of heat
ing equipment and a fire can
start," said Wadsworth. "but
our record is remarkable."
Wadsworth said that Village
residents should promote safe
ty among themselves. "There's
room for improvement," he
said, "despite our record."
John H. Hinson, Manager of
the .Victory .Vfflage Rental ,
Office, said that Village apart
ments "aren't dangerous if a
certain amount of care is
taken."
He stressed the need for
each family to have a escape
plan in case fire should threat
en a building. "The main thing
is to get everybody out of the
place and away from the fire,"
he said. "We would rather lose
a building than a life any day.'
were completely ravaged before
the blaze under control after 20
of several minor fires that have
years Photo by UNC Photo Lab.
"We're not worried too
much about those shacks out
there. It's the lives of the peo
ple we are trying to save,"
said Capt. Everette Lloyd of
the Chapel Hill Fire Depart
ment. The residents of the section
of the University's married
student housing known as "Vic
tory Village" may wince at
having their homes referred
to as "those shacks," but they
cannot help but echo Capt.
Lloyd's sentiments about the
danger of fire there.
Because of the prefabricated
construction of the houses and
barracks in the Village, the
terms "cardboard city" and
"matchbox village" have
stuck in the local vernacular
as descriptions of the area.
These labels are absurd, but
they do show signs of a situ
ation that should be of vital
concern to every resident of
the complex. That is this:
Because the buildings are old
and shabbily constructed,
there is a constant danger of
fire there.
Five hundred and fifty - two
families occupy the area, in
cluding a total of over 1000
small children.
It is of no use to suggest
that the University get rid of
the substandard housing in the
Village altogether. Officials
have had that in mind almost
before the guns were cool af
ter World War II.
TEMPORARY HOMES
The Village was constructed
hurriedly in 1946 as temporary
housing for the families of
GI's returning to school at gov
ernment expense after helping
to win the Allied victory. The
General Assembly intended to
replace the temporary struc
tures with permanent housing
as soon as it could afford it.
The legislature finally built
sound, fireproof apartments
in Odum Village a few blocks
east of Victory Village. By
that time, however, the num-
ber of 'married students; had
Plreadv made the new iacui-.
ties obsolete. So, Victory Vil
lage still stands.
As the buildings grow older,
the danger of fire grows grea
ter. "Those places will burn pret
ty quickly, especially the con
tents," said Capt. Lloyd. "The
kerosene space heaters that
are used to heat the apart
ments should be handled with
extreme caution. We answer
several calls over there each
year for people who have mis
used their stoves."
"Now that people are start
ing to turn their heating sys
tems back on," said Lloyd.
"I want to warn them to have
all their heating equipment
checked before they use it.
Most fires in the Village are
caused by those kerosene
stoves."
Lloyd encourages everyone
to develop and practice a fixed
plan of escape.
Mrs. Raymond J. Brown, of
the Victory Village rental of
fice reports that there are no
fire alarm boxes anywhere in
the area. "Annyone who has
a fire should call the Chapel
Hill Fire Department on the
telephone right away," . she
said.
"For small fires, each apart
ment is equipped with a hand
fire extinguisher," she said.
Mrs. Brown listed the main
causes of fire in the Village
as follows: (1) Misuse of heat
ing facilities, (2) Overloading
electrical circuits and misuse
of extension cords (3) Grease
fires from cooking and (4)
Misuse of decorative lights at
Christmas.
These causes are responsible
for a half - dozen or so minor
fires each year in Victory Vil
lage. "The biggest fire we've had
in an apartment was caused
by an overloaded electrical
outlet," said Mrs. Brown. She
said fires have resulted from
worn electrical cords placed
under rugs.
"We've never had a fire
start from a faulty heater,"
Mrs. Brown said. "And we've
never had one start from smo
king in bed."
But Mrs. Brown admits that
Village residents have been ex
tremely lucky.
Last year in the United State
fires took 12,000 lives and caus
ed propertv losses totaling
over $1.4 billion. More than
1,000 home fires blazed each
day. .More than half the total
fatalities 6,500 lives were
lost in home" 'fires and , more
than one - third ofrthase who
died were - children1"
Three5 out."of t four of these
fires were caused by careless
ness according to the Ameri
can Insurance Association.
They need not have happened.
4 .
DANGERhearid Lawson Bter, her
self a resident of Victory Village, demonstrates
the way to use the kerosene space heaters in
Village Apartments. The main thing to do,
she says is be careful! Heaters such as these
are the main threat to fire safety in the
Village according to the University Rental
H
ow Can
From Periling Your Ho:
Nearly every potential fire,
in Victory Village or any
where else, could be prevent
ed if people took the time and
effort to be safe.
A little forethought and com
mon sense now can spare
your family the heartache of
a fire later.
Now that the cold season is
approaching and heating units
are being put back to work,
the danger of fire is greater
than ever.
The following checklist of
fire hazards is approved by
Capt. Everette Lloyd of the
Chapel Hill Fire Department
and the American Insurance
Association. Inspect your a
partment now. Every NO an
swer below means potential
danger for you.
SMOKING HAZARDS
Do you keep matches a
way from sources of heat such
as stoves or heaters?
Do you make sure mat
ches and smoking materials
are out before disposing of
them?
Do you have plenty of
large, non - combustible ash
trays in every room?
Is "no smoking in bed" a
rule in your home?
ELECTRICAL HAZARDS
Do you allow only Univer
sity approved electricians to
install or work on your wiring?
Are there enough electri
cal outlets in every room to
avoid the need for multiple at
tachment plugs and long ex
tension cords?
Are all extension cords in
the open not run under rugs,
over hooks or through parti
tions or door openings?
HOUSEKEEPING HAZARDS
Do you keep closets clear
ed nf nlri rntrs TaDers' "mat-
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tresses, broken furmtaresnd
other combustible odds s rand f
ends? "; V'"
If you store paint,: varnish,
etc., do you keep the contain
ers tightly closed?
Has everyone in your fam
ily been warned never to use
it .
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You Prevent Fire
See Related
Editorial
On Page 2
::
gasoline, benzine or other
flammable fluids for cleaning
clothes, furnishings or floors?
HEATING AND
COOKING HAZARDS:
Before the heating season
begins, do you have your heat
ing system inspected and serv
iced? Are all flue pipes, vent con
nectors, gas vents and chim
neys inspected each fall, clean
ed and repaired as necessary
Is your stove, including
broiler, kept clean of grease?
Are curtains near stoves
and heating equipment arrang
ed so as not to blow over them?
Are all heaters set level
n Case Of Fire
Call
929-1131
ithoiit Delay!
CLIP OUT AND POST
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Office. They- .should be , handled . with care. ?
Servicemen are always available at the Vil
lage maintenance office to assist tenants in
using the stoves. Lawson is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. William Barber of 103 Daniels
Road.
DTH Photo by Mike McGowan
me?
and placed out of the way of
traffic?
SPECIAL FOR PARENTS
Do you keep matches out
of the reach of children?
Do you leave a responsi
ble person with your children -when
you go out, even for a
short while?
When you employ baby
sitters, do you instruct them .
carefully on what to do in case
of fire? :"
IN CASE OF FIRE
Do members of the family
know how to turn in a fire
alarm?
Do members of the fami- ,
ly know the telephone number J
of the fire department; how to '
report a fire properly? :
Have you worked out a
plan of escape from every
room in your home, especial-,
ly from the bedrooms?
Have you practiced that
escape plan by holding fire
drills?
T
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NEAR YOUR TELEPHONE
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