New Bern people have been through about as great a cataclysm of horror as it could have been possible for them to have passed through during the past week without having a news article condemning the local fire department and casting reflection upon the people as a whole broadcasted over the State, but that was just what occurred yesterday and there is little wonder that the New Bernians, officials and private citizens, felt deeply grieved over the mis-statement of facts which was contained in a story furnished to the Associated Press’ Raleigh bureau yesterday morning by the State Fire Insurance Department, and in which the New Bern Fire Department, and in which the New Bern Fire Department was criticized severely in connection with the devastation.
The news story was based on a report made to the department by Mr. W.A. Scott, deputy fire insurance commissioner, who spent a few days here making an investigation.
‘A strange incident of the fire,” reads the statement, “noted by Captain Scott, was the finding of many high explosives in one of their churches.”
“As to the origin of the fire,” he says, “it was unquestionably due to ignition of a shingle roof by a spark from a terra cotta flue in use for 20 years in the home of Henrietta Bryan, colored. A small boy discovered this fire, ran and told Henrietta and she, with a half-dozen others, saw the fire burning around the flue in the attic.
“By delay of the fire department reaching the scene,” the statement continued, ‘five homes were burning fiercely and the wind blowing a gale before help arrived. When the department arrived it found it had left a nozzle and, on coming with the nozzle, found that it had forgotten a wrench and had to go back for that.
“In addition to this,” Captain Scott reports, that the Rowland Lumber Company fire, which was outside the incorporated limits, had the entire fire department there when the other fire began, and at this fire precious time was lost by the company not having a standard size coupling, causing a great delay here, where the loss was $300,000, with a total value of $550,000 and a blanket insurance coverage of $430,000.
“He estimates the loss in the city at $2,250,000 with insurance of only $35,000. The lumber fire, re reports, was from friction in a hot-box. He suggests a law requiring private fire systems to have standard couplings.
“Captain Scott says that he found a forest of chimneys where 1,500 dwelling stood on an area of 40 blocks; that of the 3,500 rendered homeless, nearly all were negroes; that none was seriously injured or burned, the only casualty being that of an aged negro woman unable to walk, who was burned to death,” the statement continued.
Officials of the New Bern Fire Department, city officials and citizens who were familiar with the situation in regard to the fire, after reading Mr. Scott’s report, stated that it was far-fetched and contained many mis-statements of fact. It is true that there was some delay in getting water on the fire in the western part of the city on account of the fact that no nozzle could be secured right at that moment, but this delay was of but short duration. There was no delay on account of a reported loss of a wrench with which to turn the water on at the hydrant. That there was only $35,000 insurance on the burned property, it is pointed out, is so preposterous as to be ludicrous.
Desiring to right as much as possible, the wrong that has been done the fire department and the city, Mr. N.E. Cannady, another deputy fire commissioner, who has been in the city investigating the fire, last night gave the following statement to the New Bernian:
DEFENDS DEPARTMENT
“No one can tell yet what the loss is going to be as the adjusters and the various insurance men have been unable to determine what the loss will be due to the fact that in one or two instances the fire has burned the entire block and left standing one or two buildings in the heart of the burned area.
“After talking with several of the insurance men and adjusters I found they were unwilling to make any definite estimate but the majority of them seemed of the opinion that it will be around $500,000. This is a mere estimate as to the actual insurance loss, the amount covered by insurance.
MUCH PROPERTY NOT INSURED
“A great deal of this property was not insured at all and none of it was allowed to carry over three-quarters of its value. So far the adjusters have not begun to adjust the loss, merely having made a survey of the whole situation with a view to getting down to the real business so making estimates and adjusting the losses.
“It will probably be the middle of the coming week before any definite loss will be determined, owing to the fact that so many companies are involved.
“As to the alleged negligence of the firemen in answering the alarm turned in from the western part of the city while they were at the Rowland mill fire, I find that reports concerning this and which were to the effect that there was great negligence on the part of the firemen, have been greatly exaggerated. The firemen did answer the alarm calling them to the Roper mills which mills are located on the opposite side of the street outside of the city limits and the fire department in answering the alarm calling to that point was doing no more than any other fire department in the state would have done under similar conditions.
TOOK ALL PRECAUTIONS
‘It is true that both pieces of apparatus were called to this alarm but after arriving at the fire Chief Bryan foresaw the possibilities of another fire occurring in the city and sent one company back to its headquarters with instructions to answer all alarms, it being a practice for certain companies to answer one alarm and the other company to respond only in case of a second alarm or to cover a fire that might break out in any other district but both companies to stand ready at all times to go to the assistance of the other company, if needed.
“When the second alarm was turned in to the company that had been sent back by Chief Bryan was ready and had loaded up with hose and equipment and did answer the alarm promptly. “The cause of the great loss was not due to the fire department not answering the fire alarm, as in this instance only one company would have answered the first alarm anyway, but was due to the wind and the headway that the fire had gained before the alarm was turned in.
‘From the information that I can gather there is no fire department in this part of the country that could have gotten any better results at this fire than the New Bern Fire Department.”
Fire Chief James Bryan was also interviewed by The New Bernian and asked to make an official statement in regard to the allegations made in Mr. Scott’s report. In part he said:
“In answering alarm No. 47 on the morning of Friday, December 1st, one of my wagons was on the scene. It was true that there was no nozzle on the wagon, but the wrench was there, because I turned on the water and connected the hose myself. As soon as I saw that the situation at it was, I sent for one of myh trucks to come to the hydrant in front of Castet’s store, and not to stop for anybody. While she was on the way I went to the Pine Lumber Company mil and got two lines of hose to have on the scene in case of necessity. When I saw that the fire was jumping form Kilmarnock to Primrose street I sent for the other truck and told the men to leave the Roper situation alone and proceed to the fire without a stop.
“It is true that the connections at the Roper Lumber Company’s plant are not standard, but we always carry couplings on our trucks to make the proper connection and there was no time lost in making connections, for I helped to connect the truck to the Roper hydrant myself. In regards to being outside the city limits, if we had not gone to the Roper Lumber Company and cut the fire off from the lumber sheds and the planning mill, we would have not had a single mill in that section today.
“As to the explosives being found at various points in the fire zone during the time that the fire was raging, it is true that one house seemed to be full of the same and one negro church, but so far as I know these were the only places that gave evidence of having explosives stored in them, with the exception of one store where shells were sold.”
The New Bernian made an effort to get in touch with Mr. Scott or some official of the State Insurance Department last night in order that something more definite on Mr. Scott’s report could be secured, but Mr. Scott had gone to Winston-Salem and no one in the department’s office could be reached via telephone. It was believed, however, that in making his report Mr. Scott had intended to say that about $350,000 in insurance was carried in insurance on the burned property. This would have been nearer correct.
The city officials and the officials of the fire department do not intend to let the matter drop as it now stands. They want complete vindication in order that the people of the state will know that such negligence as Mr. Scott intimates in his report was not in evidence here.
From the front page of The New Bernian, Dec. 8, 1922
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