Posted on 10/09/2019 9:22:37 AM PDT by MrEdd
There is a fire in historical downtown Denison. I have done contract work in a lot of the buildings there, and many of them are ancient lathe board structures that burn fast and hot if something like this happens.
http://www.kten.com/story/41160763/firefighters-battle-blaze-in-downtown-denison
Local media has pictures already.
When I was a kid, downtown DeFuniak Springs caught on fire. This would have been around 1959.
The volunteer fire dept. fought it for a couple of hours. They kept it from spreading very far but were clearly not going to win the fight.
Someone phoned Eglin AFB and asked for help. They put it out about 15 minutes after they arrived. They clearly had better equipment and were better trained.
DeFuniak’s Fire truck was a 1928 LaFrance. It actually worked fine but was no match for the modern Air Force ones.
Probably nothing flammable in a nail salon huh?
Blame the Power Company.
Or in the barbershop on that block. The leather treatment products at the shoe repair shop probably don’t burn either.
We have the fire department from Sherman down here as well now.
Those old latheboard structures were solid eighty years ago, but they need to gut them and sheetrock them if they survive the fire. Only the bottom floors have been remodeled with modern building materials.
It looks like one building. Are there more involved now?
No doubt the old lath is like kindling now.
Still have the Ruger 10-22 I bought there -- in an old-time hardware store -- for $67.
One of the nicest downtowns to walk in I've ever experienced! Hope they're able to save most of it! (Those tall, brick firewalls between buildings should help...)
TXnMA
The smoke is largely gone, I’ll have to wait until the shop owner gets back to find out how far it spread.
The lower floors where the retail shops are have been remodeled many times. Its the upper floor that are the biggest fire trap (with the exception of businesses like the ones mentioned in this thread which use flammable chemicals) so I will have to wait to hear from someone who knows.
One of the Sherman Fire Marshals goes to my church, so I will probably hear all the details Sunday.
Amazing great work by the local FD to prevent the spread to the adjoining buildings.
Reminds me of a conversation I had with the local FD after I got off active duty with the Navy. We got to talking about firefighting techniques and they made it clear that they have a very different approach. Their goal is #1 to prevent the spread to other buildings and only then to worry about saving the building. The Navy’s approach is more about self-preservation and trying to have someplace to stay afloat once it’s out.
We stayed at The Hotel DeFuniak several times when our youngest was doing scuba dives. Walked around the park and spring. It is still a pretty town. The Hotel had a nice bar and dining room. Great breakfast and really good dinners.
There used to be several hotels in DeFuniak back when the Chautauqua was operating. The Walton County Hotel was huge. Only two stories and made of lumber it covered a large area.
It was still operating not all that long ago with only a handful of people staying there. It must have been something in the early 1900s. They eventually tore it down. Probably saved all that old heart pine lumber but I don’t really know.
I see the building was remodeled to the point it was no longer possessing any outward historic importance, just that ugly mid-century modern metal façade they put on countless buildings in downtowns from coast-to-coast. Thankfully it wasn’t one of the buildings that was truly ornate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.