Huron High Fire Damage $2,000

Fire and smoke damage from an arson Wednesday in the auditorium at Huron High School has been revised upward and the loss is now expected to exceed $2,000. Fire Chief Arthur Stauch said doors which shut ofi the rear of the auditorium to i'orm classrooms must be replaced, carpeting beneath the doors was burned and smoke damage throughout the hall was heavy. He said the smoke blackened walls of the auditorium will probably have to be washed down. Stauch said an investigation by Fire Inspector Benjamin Zahn Jr. has definitely established the fact that the fire was arson. The blaze was the second within a 15minute period Wednesday in Huron High School, the chief said. The first was in a rubbish container in a hall above the auditorium but it was extinguished with no property loss. Zahn said the auditorium fire apparently was started by piling combustibles, possibly paper, at the base of the partition doors vvhich fold out across the hall to form the classrooms. Once the fire was set it leaped upward, burning ''■'ÍTT&JP'Tthe fiber-coveredaccordion doors and scorching the ceiling, Zahn reported. A 15-foot stretch of carpeting beneath the doors was also burned. j Zahn said all entry doors to the auditorium except those leading on to the stage were locked at the time the fire was discovered and the arsonist apparently came through one of the stage entrances. Student musicians, practicing on the stage at the time, fled the area when they detected smoke. Stauch said a defective fire alarm system in the building, which failed to function when one of the students attempted to sound it. is being checked. Students were evaeuated by means of loudspeaker announcements and another bell system. Zahn said teachers and custodians rushed to the fire area and one teacher, using a fire extinguisher, had the blaze almost out' when he was forced to I flee heavy clouds of smoke. i ers said no one was injured in the blaze. j "We are looking for both motive and suspect at this point," Inspector Zahn said. The Pólice Department also is taking part in the investigation. (Another photo on Page 33) ■