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

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THE STATUE OF Abraham Lincoln stands unharmed at the entrance to the Frank Deerwester Theater. Although the statue was not damaged, the Theater was a total loss in the fire AFTER THE FIRE, Bob Henry, Tom Meyers and Dwight Lane move equipment out of the damaged building All the offices in the Ad Building were relocated throughout campus. FIRE 29

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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 »

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Burning memories continued origin of the fire was impossible to determine because the fire com pletely destroyed the area of the suspected source, Behrendson and Strieker reported. The initial blame, according to reports, lay with electrical failure. Two electrical circuit breakers were found tripped, which sug- gested an electrical circuit failure near the sewing room of the theater department on fourth floor. There was also a tripped circuit breaker in the fire alarm panel, which supported the theory that the fire broke out in the audio testing area. Behrendson also said the first firemen on the scene smelled an odor directly con- nected with the burning of wire. Later, after the fire had died and investigations were well underway, a witness reported to the Public Safety Department that he had spotted smoke as early as 6 p.m. Fire may also have spread more rapidly because the preburning and a hole in the fire wall between the fourth floor west wing and the area above the ceilings of the auditorium spread the fire into the upper reaches of the auditorium before the firefighters responded. Natural drafting through the attic area of the building carried smoke and fire, which resulted in fire dropping into the radio and television studios. Acoustical in- sulation used in the broadcasting areas trapped the heat and helped create the heavy damage in those areas. Following the disaster, the University strived to carry on normal classroom and office routines. A $13.8 million plan was submitted to the Missouri General Assembly which would begin the long reconstruction process. Rebuilding had not been finalized, but there was some 30 FIRE question as to whether rebuilding the entire building inside and out would be wise. I would like to see the building restored architecturally, Owens said. I think it is an historical structure for this area and should definitely be rebuilt at least in the architectural sense. The extensive damage inside, however, may prevent the rebuilding of some of the functional aspects. However, Owens said it may be quite some time before the entire Administration Building will be used. Just from past experience, 1 would venture a guess at close to two or three years before it would be completely functional, Owens said. This rebuilding process was not gradual for the University. It actually began while flames were still engulfing the building. From the moment the fire started we were working and making plans, Owens said. We threw records and documents out of the windows and were able to save the majority of them. We were up all night making decisions that could not wait. Though the loss was tremen- dous, the University was anything but crippled by the disaster. Classes began on schedule and just as the fire came and went, so did the fall and spring semesters. -Cindy Sedler Bob Power Carol Crum USING A CRANE, workmen remove steel griders from the west wing. A protective roof was placed on this section before winter set in. WEEKS AFTER THE FIRE, Diamond Damsels clean up debris This organization also helped clean up the east wing ' s third floor so home economics classes could be held in the fall. J