A fire occurred on 18 January 1927 at the newly renovated Gratz High School building on North Center Street in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. According to the Lykens Standard, the building contained the “best public library in Upper Dauphin County.”
As reported by the Standard:
GRATZ, 18 January [1927] — One section of the High School building was destroyed and all of the interior damaged in a fire discovered shortly after 8 o’clock Monday evening. All of the recently purchased valuable science equipment and part of an expensive collection of books together with some school furniture and other school requirements were destroyed making a total loss of almost eighteen thousand dollars.
The fire is believed to have started at least a half an hour before it was discovered and had made considerable headway before the Gratz Fire Company arrived. Several firemen were detained by locked doors leading into the auditorium of the High School. Finally after a forced opening they attempted to enter, but because of dense smoke, they were repulsed several times. While playing a stream of water into the auditorium part of the ceiling broke down but no one was injured.
While this had been going on, other firemen had taken a hose to the top of the adjoining building and were playing a stream of water to the roof of the building which was in flames. They struggled with the flames for almost a half hour until the fire companies from pillow, Wiconisco, and Elizabethville came to their aid.
The flames raged for over an hour and kept eating their way to other parts of the building. But finally, after a half a dozen nozzles had been connected up, the fire appeared to be under control, and before two and a half hours had elapsed the fire was extinguished.
After the fire companies from the neighboring towns had left, flames suddenly burst forth from one corner of the building but was put out by the Gratz firemen in a few minutes.
During the fighting a fireman from Pillow was injured. Jacob Hepner, while removing hose from the pillow fire truck lost his balance and fell to the ground, and injured his head. He was taken to one of the nearby houses and given treatment by Dr. Lebo.
The building, being of brick construction was thoroughly remodeled a little more than a year ago and equipped with new furniture and was protected by heavy insurance.
Plans have been made by the insurance company for an immediate repairing and replacement of the damaged material.
For the present, however, all the schools will have half day sessions in the other school building, which had been occupied by the grades.
The books which were destroyed belonged to the Community Library Association begun several years ago. Anna A. McDonald, Pennsylvania State Librarian, recently said that the Gratz Community Library was the best collection of books in all Upper Dauphin County. There were over a thousand volumes.
See also:
__________________________________
News clipping from Newspapers.com.