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

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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

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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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Burning memories continued damaged areas included financial aids, admissions and the reg- istrar ' s and graduate offices. Owens held a meeting for University employees Wednesday morning following the fire. In an THE SWITCHERS LAY in ruin in the TV studios. Although the entire TV studio was a total loss, some equipment was salvaged from the adjacent radio stations, KDLX KXCV effort to lift morale and retain a normal routine, Owens assured everyone, It is not a tragedy, just a disaster; and everything is business as usual. Insurance eligibility seemed to be on the top of the list in dealing with the aftermath of the fire. Missouri has a policy where all state buildings are self- insured, said University Treas- urer Don Henry. A government official said there was adequate legislation for emergency situ- RICHT BEFORE HE toured the damaged Ad Building, Gov Joseph Teasdale held a press conference. During it he said h e would do all he could to get the University the money it needed to repair the structure ations and that he could cut down on some red tape if necessary. But Henry ' s optimistic state- ment backfired when Gov. Joseph Teasdale said he had never heard of such a thing and that actually there was no insurance on the structure of the building, only on some of its contents. Less than 48 hours after the fire, Teasdale toured the building with Owens, his staff and the local media. At this time the governor pledged to help obtain $20,000 in emergency state funds for the University to plan repairs. Teas- dale came through with his promise when the leaders of the legislature agreed to appropriate the $20,000 in late July. Teasdale said the rest of the funds would have to be appro- priated by the 1980 Missouri General Assembly, which opened its session in January. I want everything studied so we won ' t have a year or two delay in remedying this situation. We can cut through the red tape by getting me involved, Teasdale said. While Teasdale was looking for dollars, Behrendson and Strieker were looking for evidence. After a thorough investigation, the source of the fire was pinpointed in a 20- to 25-foot area above the speech department ' s audio testing lab- oratory. Both men thought the fire started on the fourth floor above a false ceiling. However, the exact continued PRESIDENT B.D OWENS shows Gov Joseph Teasdale the damage the fire caused, Teasdale promised to help get $20,000 in emergency state funds for the University. -Dave Cieseke •-i5£i i »