inrr
500 Quarterly.
the chilkoot post,.
_Chilk oot § ar ra ck s , Haines, Alaska*
Publ i r»h edwithout exp epee t~ U. S. 0 o vernment.
----- January 9th,, 1925. - - - <
$2.00 Yea
NEWS OF THE 'VEEK.
The Post Light Plant 7/as destroyed Tuesday mrrning January 6th., 1925, by a
fire caused by a backfire from one of the engines.
The engine in operation for the part six months was due for an overhauling
sA an alternate unit had been started up. The latter engine had been running for
about ten minutes and Privates Norton and * orgey, the plant operators, were adjus:
ing tiie "‘•iling system when the engine backfired thru the carburet ~r s.t ab'ut 11.0
A.M. Flames from the intake manifold ignited the gas in the carburet'r. Tha
resulting exnlAsi“n blew the lid off the carbureter and threw out half a gallon
flaming gasolene over the fl^^r# The men immediately used all seven pyrene fire
extinguishers without avail. A^ter ewajlsiying two these Private rorgey ran t“
Mr. Johnson’s h^uce about 100 feet away to telephone in the alarm. Private Isham,
the telephone operat-r, rushed the w*-d at 11.10 A."., to C^s. F end r T,here fire c■
was sounded and in four minutes after the alarm was received the apparatus consist -
ing of a chemical Tr?ag*n and hose reels v,ere at the scene ^ tr.e fire but by
this time the flames had spread so rapidly that the building was d-omed. The
Fornance assisted in giving the alarm with her whistle. The h*se wec run fr~m t .
nearest fire Plug 750 **cet away and fr^m 11.13 until 2:30 when the last bit of fire
rras extinguished, the fire hose was kept in *peration.
The two gasolene feed tank 3 containing 350 gallons each escaped damage. One
was sunk about a fo-.t beneath the floor of the fe~n ro ra and the other about the
same depth in the ground just outside the N.W. ^corner of the building. The Fire
Marshal and the Post Quartermaster believe that had the we.ter not checked the fire .
in the n^rth end of the building the buried gas.tanks would have been exposed thru
their intake pipes to the fire and would probably have exploded, in which case the
full gas drums containing 14,500 gallons ef gasolene piled fifty feet to the north
and seventy five feet to the east of the building might also have exploded and cans
the fire to spread to the N.C.O.S quarters.
Adjoining the light plant and separated therefrom by a wr-den partition was
the Quartermaster garage in vhieh were stored two ''ne and one half t~n G.li.C, Truck
(shipped fr^m Valdez last fall for w-'rk the reservoir), cne Dodge Police Patr*
one Dodge touring car, two Indian motorcycles with side cars, all government prop
erty and a F~rd coupe run ^nly five hundred miles and ~wned by /arrant Officer l
Sartin, who had no insurance on it. The fire, fanned by a n-rth wind, quickly
swept fr^m the light plant thru the parage partition and destroyed all the content .
the latter place. In the midst' of "the c.onf lagrati-n the gas tank on one of
the G.F.C .trucks blew up and driven by the force of the explosion Jjuartetcdl thru tr i
entire length ~f the building.
Ihe plant was equipped HLth three SS-K.iT. General Electric G?s Engine Ur.i
tvp of which he.d been shinned here fr^m Fts, Gibbon and Li scum when these P'* cts v
abandoned, Each unit was complete in itsel# '"ith engine and generator mounted *n
the same frame. One of these engines had backfired tv,ice in the past year causing
small fires each time that ^re nroraptly put out with fire extinguishers by Privet
Merten. In spite *f considerable w-oter being brought to play on these engines
they were practically ruined. A gasolene operated ".rater nump and a Dele' Light
Unit , the latter the property of the Port Hospital ’"ere als~ destroyed by the firf
One hundred and twenty five men responded fr*m' C->s.E and v the prev^iusly dec>ig~
r.pted "fire lighting Companies". The cold weethe- died difficulties t“ tr
situa.tion by causing ,rater t‘ instantly 'reeze on the fire apparatus and on the
men’s clothing. The preliminary fire report t* fhe ^artemaster General gives
the building and contents a complete Iobs. The Post Quartermrster estimates the
mo ney loss as approximately $30,000. The customary fire investigating board has
been appointed by the Commanding Officer. It consists of Capt ,H.C. Martin, Lt.Clyd
Grady a.nd Lt.L.H^yt R^cka^ell