Fire starting, it is believed in the motor of the pipe organ, left the Christian church a mass of ruins on Monday night. The building estimated at $75,000 is a total loss although the walls are still standing and are believed by contractors to be of sufficient strength to be re-used without danger.
Mrs. William Abney, who lives in the apartment over the Bryan Store, adjoining the church heard a roaring sound and saw the fire in the church about 10 pm. Having no phone she called to Mrs. J.J. Grady who lived across the hall and Mrs. Grady’s mother, who was spending the night with her, called the fire dept. Mrs. Carter, in her excitement reported the fire to be in the Methodist Church.
The fire department went to the Methodist church on W. Main St and finding no fire there went to the Methodist Church south on S. Market and then had to return to the Christian Church on N. Market.
According to Fire Chief Swain the stairway between the basement and the church auditorium was entirely burned away when they arrived and the fire was spreading with great rapidity at that time. The building was a mass of dense smoke. The fire was discovered about 10 pm and although late in arriving on the scene, the Marion fire department attempted to hold the blaze inside the building.
About 11:30 the blaze broke through the roof and just about midnight the Benton fire department arrived on the scene with siren blowing and bell ringing. The Marion department had its engine attached to the fire plug at the Otis Williams Furniture store corner and the Benton dept attached to the plug in the middle of the block south of there. Marion had its hose inside the building and a stream of working from the roof of the adjoining building when Benton arrived and soon there were two streams of water being thrown into the fire from the roof of the adjoining building.
An extension ladder was hoisted by means of a rope to the top of the Bryan building and then spanned across to the roof of the church. Two fire fighters crawled across to the church building with a lead of hose but the roof became so hot that they were forced to abandon the effort and returned over the narrow ladder. The movement of the heavy hoses across the cornice of the Bryan store building loosened a great many bricks which tumbled to the sidewalk but without injury to anyone.
For nearly two hours the fire burned fiercely on the south side of the building and finally the occupants of the apartments on that side moved out into the street. About 12:30 the fire seemingly took a fresh start on the north side and then men on the inside of the building were called out and efforts made to throw water through the art windows on that side. Men and boys with bricks attempted to break the windows and finally broke them sufficiently to give the water a chance to reach the blaze.
The fire was fought in darkness a goodly portion of the evening the street lights being off and movement of the hose and ladders was made possible with pocket flashlights and the powerful search lights of the Marion and Benton fire trucks. When Otis Williams arrived however, he turned on his large electric sign on the front of the building and that aided very materially in combating the blaze.
The Herrin fire dept was called but owing to a big fire there could not respond and the Benton dept made the courtesy visit, made possible by the co-operation of the fire departments of Egypt. Harry Crisp of the Marion Produce and Hatchery Co. was in his automobile at Benton ready to start home when the Benton dept. passed him and he heard them say they were going to Marion so he followed them home. The 19 mile trip on the state highway was made in 27 minutes and a few minutes later the Benton dept. was throwing water on the fire. Rev. H.O. Wilson, pastor of the First Christian Church, when he arrived at the fire, tried to enter his study but found the smoke so heavy that that was impossible.
Mr. Gent, the church janitor, was in the basement of the church and inspected the furnace after the fire started and said that the fire did not start there which gives credence to the opinion that a short circuit in the organ motor must have been the cause of the blaze.
The Camp Fire Girls cottage, in the rear of the church was emptied of its contents for fear the building might catch on fire from falling sparks. The damage to their building was a broken window which according to Mrs. William Burkhart was broken by Mr. Burkhart in the excitement of the fire. Burkhart had the key in his pocket, his wife says, but the broken window was the quicker entry.
It appeared when the fire was burning the strongest at midnight on the south side, that the entire church study was a blaze but an inspection of the ruins on Tuesday morning revealed the fact that the study was not burned at all. The study was seriously damaged by water and smoke as was the large library of Rev. Wilson accumulated during his years in the ministry but none of the property in that room was lost.
Members of the West Frankfort fire dept accompanied the Benton fire engine and assisted in fighting the fire. Scarred and seared by the ravages of the fire demon, N. Market Street was but a pitiful wreck of its former self Tuesday morning as it exhibited the added wreckage of the beautiful Christian Church gaping and gutted by fire and ruined by the water that dripped from the sagging remains.
With the ruins of the Barnett flats only partly concealed by a circus poster across the street to the north and the Davis garage building leveled almost to the ground two blocks away, that street presented every evidence that the fire demon had maimed the beauty of the street.
The Hayton garage building recently rebuilt and the Family theatre recently repaired represented two more of the five fires that have got in their work on this principal street recently.
(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us/ )