Short Circuit Causes Blaze In Grays Hall

Fire caused by an electrical short circuit burned out one side of a living room and caused about $1,000 worth of of damages in Grays Hall Saturday night.

The fire started when a defective radio cord the back of a sofa in Grays 49-50, the rooms of John L. Lorenz '55 and Edward W. Bernat '55.

Lorenz discovered the fire at 9:15 p.m. when he returned from a dance. "When I opened the door the smoke started pouring out," he said, so I ran in and opened the bedroom windows and grabbed the fire extinguisher.

"I started spraying it around, but I couldn't see for the smoke," he added. "I started to pass out, so I dropped the extinguisher and ran down to tell the proctor."

Proctor Dominique H. Wyant '50 said that "when Lorenz told me. I ran upstairs but couldn't pass for the smoke. I came down and called the switch board, and in about three minutes the first department was here."

The firemen hauled two hoses up four flights the fire. They had to knock out the burning window frames and chop open the walls. The heat blistered the opposite walls, and water cascaded down the stairs Daniel Rogan, night fireman of the Buildings and Grounds Department, said that "I don't think the water damage will be too bad."