More Fires Strike DU

1916: Basement Fire Over Christmas Break

The Cornell Alumni News in January 1916 reported that “a fire in the basement of the Delta Upsilon lodge … practically ruined” the basement, but did little damage to the upper floors.  “The prompt work with a battery of fire extinguishers” by three undergraduates living in over the break kept the fire within bounds until the firemen arrived.  The cause was not ascertained.

1919: Third Blaze in Nine Years Does $30,000 Damage

In January 1919 the DU House was badly damaged by fire, which was discovered about 6:30 pm on a Sunday evening, when tiles from the roof fell through a skylight and tumbled on the stairway underneath. Fifteen brothers holding a meeting at the time in the drawing room on the first floor.

Investigation led to the discovery of flames in the attic and an alarm was telephoned. The Fire Department responded promptly, but when the companies arrived, it looked to the firemen as well as the spectators as if the building were doomed.

The firemen were able to check the flames in the attic. The roof was burned away and the attic was destroyed, but the lower portion of the house was uninjured.  The water damage to the lower floors and furnishings was considerable.  No one was seriously injured, but there were many minor injuries.

While the cause of the fire has not been definitely determined, Chief Reilly is of the opinion that it may have been caused by defective wiring, as the electric wires were not in conduits. Another theory is that the fire started in the chimney.

The fire of Sunday night was the third in the history of the local chapter of Delta Upsilon. The first occurred at 5.45 on the morning of December 24, 1909, when the house was completely destroyed. There was only about $1,800 insurance on the building at that time. At 11.30 the night of January 2, 1916, a fire broke out in the basement of the house, but it was checked by the Fire Department before it got past the first floor.

The rescued furniture has been removed to the Telluride House, recently vacated by the Officers’ Club, and here the fraternity will live temporarily.

Credit: Cornell Alumni News, Jan. 30, 1919