Weld Extinguisher Broken; Students Unable to Use Other

Two of the three extinguishers tried in Monday's Weld fire did not work, one because of a broken cylinder, and the other because the residents did not know how to use it, said Cecil Roberts, Superintendent of the Department of Buildings and Grounds, yesterday.

Roberts believes that the cylinder had been broken by a student who had tampered with it. Since all the old soda and acid type extinguishers had been replaced recently with new carbon dioxide ones, the students were unfamiliar with them, and were probably too excited to read the instructions printed on them, he added.

Vernon Patrick '52, Secretary of the Union, said that because at least six false alarms had awakened the Weld residents during the first semester, they probably considered this one false, also, and disregarded it.