Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Burning memories continued burning for several hours before they arrived, firemen were al- ready fighting a seemingly losing battle. However, poor water pressure, rusted and mud-caked hydrants and freshly-laid sod further hindered their progress. The first truck to reach the scene got stuck in the sod, and administration, faculty and stu- dents worked together to push it out. But even with strong water pressure and hoses pointed toward the fourth floor, the fire raged on. It was horrible, said Jim MacNeil, a volunteer firefighter. All these people were standing around watching the roof collapse and there I was in my fire uniform watching it burn along with everyone else. Our hoses just wouldn ' t reach. Strieker estimated 150 people helped fight the fire. Units were called in from St. Joseph and other surrounding fire depart- ments. MacNeil said that when the firefighters were allowed to go into the building to battle the blaze, he could see some progress. He and the rest of the Carole Patter- volunteers stayed and fought the fire all night. The next morning we could see where we ' d been, he said. All night there had been so much smoke that we couldn ' t see in front of our faces. But in the light, 1 couldn ' t get over the steel girders on the stairway-they were twisted like pretzels. Nearly everyone on campus and hundreds from the town gathered at safe distances to watch in horror as more and more of the building crumbled. To most, it was an emotional experience. It was kind of like seeing your own house burn, said Kurt Hamilton. It ' s odd how you tend to take a building like that for granted, said Mike Sayers. It was a symbol of a part of my life, and it was going up in smoke. Crowd control caused some problems. However, according to Earl Brailey, former director of security, The spectators stayed out of the way pretty well. Owens was on the scene throughout the fire. We ' re lucky because we had a good backup system in case of fire in the Administration Building, he said. That way we were able to save the most important docu- ments and records because they were kept in bank vaults, and everything was removed system- atically when the fire began. Total damage estimates were $14 to $16 million. Key academic departments that sustained dam- age were broadcasting, agricul- ture, home economics, speech pathology and theater. Other continued THE ROOF ON THE Frank Deerwester Theater collapses during the later stages of the fire. Firemen had to be pulled from the building because officials feared an explosion. -Frank W Mercer i .■Mi I

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he University was devastated and uprooted after raging flames and smoke destroyed 60 percent of the Administration Building July 24. Roger Strieker, Maryville Pub- lic Safety director, said his department received a call for assistance at 8:14 p.m., 16 minutes after the fire was reported to campus security. The delay in action was the root of controversy surrounding the Uni- versity administration and state officials. We know there was a clock delay of 16 minutes, Tom Behrendson, state fire marshal, said at an emergency Board of Regents meeting. Now generally a 16-minute delay is a very crucial delay, and I want you to be aware of that. Later the delay proved to be of little consequence because, ac- PRESIDENT B D OWENS and Bob Henry get a report from a University employee during the first stages of the fire. The fire started on the fourth floor of the building. VOLUNTEER FIREMEN MOVE A firehose during the Administration Building fire. Firemen came from several surrounding communities to help fight the blaze. cording to Behrendson, the fire broke out at least two or three hours before smoke was first observed by University personnel. By the time the fire was reported to the Public Safety Department, the smoke had attracted a small crowd. In the dying daylight, students and University employees watched helplessly as smoke rolled off the roof and flames began to shoot out fourth floor windows. The crowd grew, and students were recruited to help remove documents and equipment from the burning building. According to President B.D. Owens, most of the materials, tapes and records were removed except for the most recently pre-registered students ' papers that had not yet been processed. Because the fire had been continued FIRE 25

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il- •Frank W Mercer APPROXIMATELY 150 PROFESSIONAL and volunteer firemen fought the blazing fire until 4 am. The west section of the building was destroyed quickly, leaving firemen to defend the east wing of the building THE DAY AFTER THE FIRE, University officials discuss the damage with State Fire Marshal Tom Behrendson Behrendson ' s investigation pinpointed the fire to electrical failure. FIRE 27