i
r
I Unoccupied Wing of Sanatorium Burnt
Medford
Philadelphia, May 12 (U.R)
Fire today damaged the now un
occupied wing of the Belle Vista
sanatorium where 10 patients
died in a blaze set by an inmate
Today's fire also was the work
of an arsonist, authorities said.
"The place reeked with gaso
line," Dtstrici Fire Marshal Ed
ward H. Chew said. "It must
have been splashed on the walls."
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Second Section
MEDFORD, OREGON, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1950
Pajs 1-6
. -1 wVisJ
TYPE OF TRUCK SOUGHT FOR MEDFORD Pictured above
is the type of aerial ladder truck which is proposed for purchase
by the Medford fire department under the plan for department
improval. A bond issue and continuing tax levy will be' voted
upon by Medford residents at a special election in conjunction
with the May 19 primary election. In addition to the new truck,
other new fire protection furnished under the plan includes two
new fire sub-stations, an automatic alarm system, and new hose,
as well as additional personnel. City officials have pointed out
that a new fire insurance rating will be made in Medford this
year, and unless improvements are made in the department, it is
probable that insurance rates will cost homeowners more than
the total amount asked for the department.
Handling of Cargo Declines in Portland
Portland, Ore.. May 12 (U.R)
A continued decline in shipping
in the Pacific area affected cargo
handling last month. The Port
land Merchants' Exchange said
today 590,744 short tons of cargo
was handled in April as com
pared to 729,563 tons during
April 1949.
Cargo imports increased from
2,843 tons last year to 10,713
tons last month but foreign im
ports declined from 154,753 tons
last year to 69,669 tons last
month.
The corps of engineers said
river traffic trough the Willa
mette Falls locks and through
the Bonneville dam lock picked
up during April.
Vital Need
City Cited
Medford is one of very few
cities in the United States of
more than 10,000 population
which does not have an aerial
ladder fire truck, according to
Fire Consultant Leo Weidner,
acting chief here.
But the department's reasons
for feeling the need of such a
truck are not Just a matter of
"Keeping up with the Jones
family," Weidner said. The po
tentialities of this type of equip
ment for preventing property
loss, entirely aside from its ef
fectiveness in saving lives from
taller buildings, make its pur
chase most desirable, he said.
Gives Facts, Figures
Weidner has been making a
series of talks on fire prevention
problems to a number of Med
ford civic groups in recent
weeks. Pointing out that it
makes no difference to him, per
sonally, one way or the other,
whether Medford passes or re
jects the proposed bond issue
and tax levy for the department,
Weidner has been giving facts
and figures regarding the de
partment. The two proposals are so close
ly related that it would hardly
be worth while to vote for one
and not the other, he said. The
$125,000 bond issue is for pur
chase of a new ladder truck, for
two new sub-stations, f o r an
alarm system, and for new hose.
The tax levy is to provide con
tinuing funds for the new
equipment and for additional
personnel needed to operate it.
Value Here Triples
The city has practically the
same types and numbers of fire
fighting apparatus as it had
when it was half its present size
and before property had tripled
in value, Weidner said. There
has been some increase in pump
er capacity and modernization of
equipment, but no increase or
modernization in the equipment
to save human lives in serious
fires. In days gone by this could
be excused because there was no
better equipment available, but
for Aerial Ladder Truck By
By Medford Fire Consultant
this conditions is no longer true,
he points out.
With present equipment, out
side rescue of people trapped by
fire above the third floor would
have to be done by improvised
means, if at all, since manually
operated ladders will not reach
further. To raise a ladder of the
present maximum length would
require the service of four to
six men, for two to four minutes,
during the time when their ser
vices are most urgently needed
for other duties. The aerial lad
der can be raised to full height
of 85 feet by one man in 30
seconds.
Can't Reach Floors
In Medford there are buildings
whose upper floors can not be
reached with present equipment,
and permits have been requested
for buildings of even greater
height.
Weidner said that the aerial
ladder equipment also would
permit ladder pipes to be placed
Tourist Promotion
Methods Here Liked
The efforts of the Jackson
County Chamber of Commerce
to entice money-spending tour
ists to this area and to keep them
here longer may be used as
models for tourist promotion
programs in other areas, as the
results of a meeting held here
this week.
Jack Sugg and Howard Mc
Allister of the Oregon Adverti
sing club and Carl Jordan of the
travel information department of
the state highway commission
met at the Medford hotel with
members of the tourist and con
vention committee of the cham
ber and other officials.
After the up-state promotion
men had outlined their plans for
attracting more tourist dollars
to the state, the local committee
explained what they are doing
in that line and showed that
Medford's plans are well formu
lated and well in advance of
what has been done elsewhere.
The Ad club representatives
and the representative of the
highway commission expressed
keen interest in the striking fol
ders and information sheets that
are being prepared for distribu
tion by the chamber, and were
also impressed with plans to
educate local residents to be
better tourist hosts. The program
here will get into full swing
during Tourist Host week, pro
claimed by the governor for the
week of May 22.
Statistics Given
The motive behind all the
activity to draw more tourists
was revealed in statistics given
by Jordan and Sugg. They said
out-of-state visitors brought in
5110 million to Oregon last year,
making the tourist industry the
third ranking business in the
state in point of income. Two
and a quarter million tourists
entered the state in 770.000 cars.
That is exclusive of the thou
sands who come by rail, bus and
car. About 80 per cent of the
vacationists travel by car.
This year should be still bet
ter, according to current indica
tions and the rate of inquiries
being received by chambers of
commerce and the travel infor
mation department.
The whole idea is to get those
visitors to stay here just a little
longer. It is estimated that the
average tourist spends about 6.8
days in the state. If they could
be induced, by increased hospi
tality and better information
about existing attractions, to
stay an additional hall-day, it
would mean another S8 million
in income to Oregonians.
on the fly ladder, thus enabling
water to be directed from the
full extension height. Lack of
such equipment prevented the
effective fighting of a fire in one
of the packing plants recently.
Equipment of this type is a very
necessary part of fire fighting,
Weidner stated, and -from a hu
manitarian point of view as well
as from the practical view point
it is a necessity.
18 Miners Killed
In Belgian Explosion
Mons, Belgium, May 12 (U.R)
At least 18 miners were killed
and 18 were trapped yesterday
by a coal gas explosion 1,650 feet
down in a mine. Four were injured.
Rescue workers wearing gas
masks dug through caved-in
sand and rock to the main shaft
of the mine, which is south of
Brussels near the French bor
der. They took out 18 bodies and
four badly injured miners.
F.iehteen others were missing.
Rescue workers heard faint tap
ping through a wall which
blocked a passage. There was no
sign of how many of the missing
were alive.
A mine spokesman said the
death toll probably would go
considerably higher.
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