EARLY MORNING BLAZE DESTROYS FIELD HOUSE (50 YEARS AGO)

Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1948; Pate 1

Reprinted from The Southeast Missourian

Houck Field House, long a center of community activity, was destroyed by fire of undetermined origin at 7 a.m. today. Six men, State College students living in the building, fled to safety through a window after one of their number smashed the glass.

No official estimate of the loss was available, but in unofficial estimates, based on present day building costs, it was thought it would run as high as $75,000. In addition to this, more than $10,000 worth of athletic equipment, practically the entire college stock, was lost.

James Crawford, one of the six, was awakened by the smoke and aroused the others, Wm. Schnell, Gene Dawson, Joe Carey, Bill Abernathy and Charles Weber. The latter, partially overcome by the smoke, was found on the floor of the living quarters by Abernathy and aroused.

Crawford said he made his way to the east or main entrance of the building to telephone an alarm, but could not reach the phone because of the dense smoke. Others seeking to escape by the front door found it locked. Crawford then went to the nearby Wulfers home and found the alarm had already been turned in.

Abernathy sustained several cuts on his hands in smashing the window, but was not seriously hurt.

The men practically lost all their effects and Crawford saved only the shorts he was wearing. Abernathy said he tossed two suits out of the window.

The men said the fire appeared to be most severe in the area near where the furnace is located, but none appeared to be directly about the furnace.

The stoker to the furnace was shut off early in the evening, the students said, this being the customary procedure.

One theory advanced was that perhaps a lighted cigarette had been dropped in the bleachers during the evening and that the dry timber smoldered for hours before breaking into flames.

The fire broke out in the midst of the dense fog that reduced visibility at times to less than one half block.

Smoke from the burning building could be seen only a short distance and the flames were discernible less than a block. Many driving on streets only a few blocks away were unaware of the fire.

The field house was erected in 1927 at a cost of $29,496.96 and has served since as general community and recreation center not only for the college but for the whole town.

President W.W. Parker said that he would confer at once with members of the Board of Regents. There are many problems to be taken up, he explained, and one of the major points to be talked over is the matter of seeking an emergency appropriation for a new structure.

This would have to be presented to the Legislature for passage and if a new structure is to be available for next basketball season, construction would have to begin with a comparatively short time. Location and other matters would also have to be given consideration.

President Parker said there appears to be no way to determine the cause of the fire. He related that all wiring was in conduits and that there had been no difficulty with heating equipment. He was told, Dr. Parker continued, that the fire appeared to have started on the north side of the building. He said he had discussed possible causes with V.A. Chapman, superintendent of grounds and buildings, and they agreed that it would probably remain undetermined.

The structure when built cost $29,496.96, Dr. Parker said after referring to the files. He would not hazard a prediction on the replacement value, but observed that with present building costs it would cost many times that amount to erect a modern gymnasium building.

"If and when a new building is erected," Dr. Parker said, "it will have to be more adequate."

The loss was partially covered by insurance, the college carrying $20,350 on the building.

The fire came only a few hours after a crowd of 1,500 persons saw a charity basketball game between the Kiwanis Club and Optimist Club. The game was over about 10 o'clock.

Basketball Coach Joe McDonald said prior to his arrival at the scene, some eight or 10 men students of the college, including Robert Merrick and W.R. Nichols, both members of the basketball team, and Wm. R. Vogel, had made their way into the locker room of the burning building. There were able to get some 10 or 12 game basketball uniforms and shoes from lockers, but this was the only equipment saved.

In the store room and in the storage space overhead was football and track equipment. None was saved and the loss of these items alone will amount to several thousands of dollars.

One file cabinet was saved from the office of Coach McDonald and Football Coach Wayne Goddard. A number of records were lost in the fire, but duplicates may be at offices at the college, Coach McDonald said. Records and coaching material in desks in the field house office were lost.

Dawson, one of those who escaped from the blazing structure, said he was able to save a few items of clothing, but lost two suits, a set of contact lenses, an expensive camera, a wrist watch, and all of his underclothing.

Weber said he was able to salvage a suit and a pair of dungarees, but otherwise lost all of his personal effects. The other students were able to save only a few minor pieces of clothing.

Leo Wulfers, who turned in the fire alarm, said he first noticed the flames shooting out three windows at the rear of the southwest corner of the building at 6:55 o'clock. It appeared from his vantage point, he said, that the fire was somewhat concentrated at that point, but spread rapidly. He was just turning in the alarm when Crawford ran to his residence to call the fire department.

After the first two fire trucks had arrived at the scene, Chief Carl Lewis sent a call back to the station for a third, leaving one truck at headquarters.

At 7:15 o'clock, a call came to the station from 909 College Hill reporting that a house across the street was on fire. The fourth truck was dispatched immediately to this spot, leaving the fire station without equipment.

It was found on arrival that the person reporting the fire had seen the flames from the field house but because of the dense fog had assumed it was across the street. The truck immediately returned to the station, leaving one fireman at the nearby field house to assist other members of the department.

Mr. Chapman told a reporter the fire seemed to have started on the north side of the building about midway in the bleachers. He said that wiring was out as a possible cause because of the conduits, and additionally that the college power went off at 11 o'clock as it regularly does.

There was no possibility, either, he said that the furnace could have caused the fire. It is lined with 24-inch flue lining and there would be no chance of a blaze from this cause, Mr. Chapman said, he believed.

A section of one wall next to the garage at the rear of the field house was pulled down this morning and as the embers cool the other concrete block walls still standing will be pulled down to prevent any injury from a sudden collapse, Mr. Chapman said.

Dr. Parker reported this afternoon that Judge L.R. Kelso, a member of the Board of Regents, had called the six men in this morning and underwrote the cost of outfitting them with clothing so they may attend classes until complete wardrobes can be refurnished.

The flames also destroyed a bass horn valued at $400 belonging to the College Band, a drum worth about $60 and an upright piano on which no value could be placed. A bass horn belonging to the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band and left there following the game Monday night was also ruined. It was valued at around $500.

Until a few weeks ago, a large number of men students were housed in dormitory fashion with double deck bunks in the handball court at the rear of the building. They had been moved to other quarters, however, and this section was unoccupied.