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FIRES DAMAGE RESIDENCE, DESTROY
THEATER
The Kingsport
area had its second fire in less than 24 hours Monday when city firemen
answered a call at 7:15 a.m. at 713 Maple Street.
They reported only minor damage in the kitchen of
the residence owned and occupied by Clarence Feagins. The walls and
ceilings and some of the furnishings were burned, Fire Chief Kenner
said. Firemen remained at the scene until 7:55 a.m.
The blaze is believed to have started from paper
in a coal bucket near the kitchen stove, catching the curtains, then the
wall paper and then the ceiling before firemen could halt the spread of
the flames.
Part of the loss suffered in the fire which
destroyed the Garden Theater Sunday was learned Monday through James
Smith, who operated the theater for his father-in-law, L. M. Hern.
Smith, who was in the projection room Sunday
afternoon, and who said he was the first person in the theater to discover
the blaze, said that nearly $4,500 in technical equipment, $1,000 in
films and $700 in personal effects were lost in the fire.
This damage was only that suffered by Mr. Hern,
who had leased the building for the operation of the theater.
Property damage was still not know, since T. H. Speers, of Bluff City, who
owned the building could not be located. Both men were insured.
Smith said that as soon as he discovered the
blaze he had the house lights turned on and the doors opened so that the
approximately 65 patrons could be removed. In addition to the
customers, there were four members of the theater staff in the
building. All escaped without injury.
The operator, who has had theater experience in
Arizona, said he and Mr. Hern are convinced the fire started in the
furnace room, but he was unable to give any further explanation of the
cause of the blaze.
Members of the Kingsport Fire Department were
called to the scene to guard adjoining property against the outbreak of
fire when the heat from the burning building became intense.
Kenner was unable to give a detailed account or
estimate of damage caused by the blaze which broke out about 3:00 p.m.,
since the theater was located outside the city limits and not protected by
a Fire Department guarantee, thus preventing city firemen from action.
However, Kenner expressed the belief that the
blaze originated in the furnace room.
City Firemen answered an authorized call from T.
L. Vanderpool who lives near the theater and stood guard against
threatened danger to his home during the fire.
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