Firemen from Marion, Herrin, Johnston City and Carterville with Civil Defense personnel from Williamson County and Benton battled a stubborn fire in the Baker Building at Van Buren and West Main in Marion for three hours Thursday morning before bringing it under control.
The cause of the fire which was believed to have started in the floor at the back of the building was not determined. Dr. A.N. Baker, owner of the two story brick building housing the offices of Dr. Baker, dentist, J.M. McAlpin, downstairs and the offices of the McLaren Coal Company and the Gray-Hunter-Stenn Accounting firm upstairs could give no estimate of the damage caused by the fire, water and smoke until an insurance adjuster had finished his investigation.
The fire, confined to the downstairs, burned out the floor in the two back rooms of Dr. Baker’s office on the east side of the building and the floor in the back room of Dr. McAlpin’s office on the west side. There was considerable smoke damage to the offices upstairs.
Marion Fire Chief Herman May was overcome by smoke about 9:30 am and rushed to the Marion Memorial Hospital where his condition was reported “fairly good” at 10:50 am. Marion Fireman Bill Whiting was taken to the hospital about 10:45 am for treatment when pressure from a fire hose knocked mortar from a brick wall into one of his eyes.
Miss Mildred Mofield, secretary of Gray-Hunter-Stenn, smelled smoke when she came to work at 7:15 am. Miss Mofield called John W. Jones, janitor for the building. After Jones investigated the furnace and found nothing wrong he went into Dr. McAlpin’s office where he smelled smoke. He had Miss Mofield call the fire department.
The smoke was dense in the building on McAlpin’s side making it necessary for the firemen to use masks. Marion Police Chief Charles Edwards using an oxygen tank and mask went into the building but could not find the fire. Hoses from the two Marion fire trucks went into action flooding the downstairs floor from the top and through the basement windows.
Once it seemed the fire was under control, but minutes later smoke billowed from the doors and windows. Flames were seen only when the floor fell in and they were quickly extinguished. A large crowd watched as the firemen fought the fire. Marion City Police and state troopers directed traffic on Main Street. The Johnston City Fire Department, a member of the Coal Belt Fire Protection Association, sent a truck to Marion to standby at the firehouse while both of Marion’s fire trucks were at the scene of the fire.
Other units at the fire were an emergency rescue truck from the Benton Civil Defense Department, Carterville Fire Department’s emergency unit, Williamson County Civil Defense emergency rescue unit, an emergency unit from the Herrin Fire Department and volunteer firemen from Johnston City.
Williamson County Civil Defense Director Hartley Grisham stated that the oxygen tanks included in Unit’s equipment made it possible for the firemen to enter the building in spite of the heavy smoke.
(Extracted from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us )