j THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
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VOLUME TWENTY-SIX_ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C. THURSDAY, APR. 3, 1941 NUMBER 38
SCENES AS ARMORY BURNED
H_
Official figures for the dam
ages resulting from the fire at
the armory here Tuesday morn
ing have not been arrived at,
reliable sources said this after
noon. A definite estimate may
be determined some time before
the week-end.
It is known definitely that
the three steel girders support
ing the front half of the roof
over the drill floor will have to
be replaced. The walls of the
foyer and the rooms immediate
ly above and the four columns
will have to be tom wholly or
partially down. Both the brick
and the cement “stone” are bad
ly damaged.
Workmen were ordered today
to build supports under the two
sagging gilders to prevent their
falling and pulling the entire
roof down.
/
Some unofficial estimates have
been as low as $15,000 while
others have said that the losses
will run to $60,000. The majority
of men who have viewed the
building have estimated dam
ages at around $35,000.
Reconstruction work will not
begin until the sponsors, the
County Commissioners, and the
insurance company have agreed
upon a figure for the damages.
Whether the reconstruction
work will be let to a contractor,
or whether it will be done by
the WPA is not known.
A county official said today
that reconstruction work will
delay completion of the struc
ture at least 60 days. If ma
terials are as hard to secure as
they have been at times in re
cent months, he said, the delay
might even go beyond 60 days.
Aoove Action Photograph snapped by Shearod Grumpier I
Steel Girders Lose Temper, Sag
The two steel girders nearest the front of the armory lost their
temper from the heat of the fire and sagged Tuesday morning, causing
the brick walls on either side to crack and lean inward. The third
girder was damaged until officials have seen fit to count it among the
losses. Today props were constructed to prevent their falling «m«i
pulling the roof down. (NewsKut by Brigman)
Walls Smoked Badly From "Tar" Fire
Smoke from the burning asphalt and the heart-pine sleepers poured
out through the windows* results of which are seen in the above picture.
A great deal of injury occurred to the walls by smoke alon*.
I
_ .... —2 4 _ <2-4' l _
ESTIMATE
DAMAGE
*35,000.00
Roaring flames, causing losses
of tens of thousands of dollars
swept through the front of Roa
noke Rapids’ almost completed
$70,000 armory Tuesday morning.
With incredible velocity, the fire
shot up through the subflooring
and into the recently laid roof
ing be.'ore firemen could bring
hoses to bear on the inferno.
The fire began in the foyer
of the building where workmen
were heating asphalt in an as
phalt kettle in preparation to
“tarring” the floor of one of the
rooms. The hot and highly in
flammable asDhalt cane'h h on fire
when the liquid boiled over the
sides of the kettle into the fire
beneath.
Various estimates of damages
by citizens who saw the fire and
its results have been anywhere
between $15,000 and $45,000. No
official estimation was available
Tuesday.
The building was amply covered
by insurance. The insurance was
carried entirely by the County,
to insure WPA projects being a
gainst the policy of the Federal
Government.
OFFICIAL SAW FIRE START
Earl Parker, AVPA Supervisor
of this district, said Tuesday that
he saw the fire start. As he
stepped into the foyer, he said,
he noticed that the asphalt in the
kettle was about to boil over, in
spite of the fact that workmen
were working frantically to bail
enough of the liquid out to keep
it from boiling over.
Mr. Parker said that he immed
iately instructed someone to call
the Fire Department and turned
back to assist with the boiling
kettle. As he did so, the asphalt
boiled over, the whole kettle be
coming enveloped in flames in
an instant.
The flames from the hot liq
uid—about 40 gallons, the official
said—shot up into the subflooring
ftf flip OOA/tnrl efomr utUU
ible speed, the whole space above
the foyer becoming1 an inferno
within a few seconds.
Water in the asphalt was given
as a probable reason for its
boiling over. It is believed that
the container from which the as
phalt was poured into the kettle *
had caught rain water during the
night, the water and asphalt
poured into the kettle shortly af
ter the men started to work
Tuesday morning. Approximately
a half barrel of the “tar” had
been poured before the fire oc
cured.
Mr. Parker said it was known
that water and asphalt “will not
mix”. He said that when mixed,
the asphalt takes on a great foam
ing quality, a little added water
causing the kettle to boil over.
The asphalt is used in the ar
mory construction as a base for
the floors. Gravel is poured down
on the ground; then the asphalt
(Continued On Page 12. Sec. A>