Fire Starts in Crimson Photo Room

Ashes from a pipe, which ignited a pile of unfilled but inflammable cuts, started a fire in the CRIMSON's photo office yesterday afternoon.

No one was seriously injured, although one photographer. Stephen S. Shohet '56 suffered a burned cheek and singed hair. Another, George A. Hermann '54, had his hair singed as he rescued his Rolleiflex camera.

But the smoke from the burning plastic was enough to drive twenty gasping editors out into Plympton Street.

The inside of the room was burned and will have to be repaired, and almost two thirds of the staff's cut flies were destroyed.

The fire broke out about 6:20 p.m., while the board was holding its weekly meeting. Igniting just like gasoline, the plastic quickly became a huge flames, and the photographers poured out of their room into the newsroom. One editor called the fire department, while another turned on the fire extinguisher.

Firemen arrived quickly, smashed the outside of the windows, and then extinguished the blaze by extending hoses through the newsroom into the photo office.

Shortly afterwards, Crimeds took out their mops and cleaned up soaked comment and telephone books. Except for some posed pictures for Boston papers and a rather unpleasant aroma, things were normal by 7 p.m.

Shohet may have lost his camera, while another photographer, Edward M. Borges '54, had his ROTC hat, gloves, and Cora destroyed.

An assistant Cambridge five chief, Timothy White, told reporters that there might be water damages in the downstairs pressroom. The linotype machine there, however, worked perfectly last night.