Just before Christmas, on December 22, 1935, flames began in a garage beneath a rented garage-apartment that left a family of four homeless in the snowy, near zero winter at West Union. The two-story apartment-garage and two other structures were lost. It was estimated to have been a loss of about $5,000 (1935 cost estimate).
Today, West Union is blessed with a fine fire department, as were they on that day in December 1935. The newly organized West Union Fire Department came to the fiery scene assisted by the Salem Fire Department and was able to save two nearby buildings which had also caught fire as the flames leaped out of control.
The structure known at the time as the Ramsey-James Foley garage-apartment building on Wood Street was completely destroyed. Fortunately, the owner had purchased an insurance policy of approximately $3,500.
Rolfe Raymond Dotson (1890-1951), son of Draper Camden and Mary Frances Davis Dotson, and Dale Wright (1908-1972), son of John and Laura Wright, and their families were living in the two apartments above the garage. Both families (Dotson and Wright) noticed the smoke in the bathroom, but they thought it was coming from a heater. By the time either Dotson or Wright noticed the real situation, the flames had begun to come through the floor, and it was simply too late to save the building.
At that time there were no trained fire marshals to comb over the ruins of the structure after the fire. It was impossible to determine the cause of the fire, but it was believed by the fire chief and the firemen that the flames started from a car in the garage below. Four automobiles were destroyed. The chief and firemen believed there may have been a short circuit in one of the cars, or that the fire may have resulted from spontaneous combustion from oily rags but could not determine for certain.
The trauma generated by the violent fire caused 42-year-old Jettie Vonda Waller Dotson (1894-1968), wife of Raymond Dotson, to suffer a heart attack. Her husband, Raymond, and Miss Eileen Dotson, who was living with them carried her out of the enflamed building. It is important to note that the couple had already survived the death of their one-year-old son, Dale Drexell, in 1913. Fear for the possible death of her only living child, Gary, might have been just too much to bear.
While Raymond Dotson and his family (wife, Jettie and son, Gary Ronald Dotson 1932-2007) were hurrying to get to somewhere safe, Dale Wright managed to carry his four-month old son, James aka Buddy, to a neighbor’s house and returned with a bucket of water in an attempt to fight the flames. The flames were out of control and it was impossible to re-enter the apartment. To Dale Wright’s horror, he discovered that his 24-year-old wife, Mabel Gain Wright and her sister, Miss Velma Gain, were trapped inside the fire-engulfed apartment. The women had stopped to get some of their clothing, not realizing that the flames were burning so fiercely underneath them. When they turned to leave the building, they found the flames had burned to the point that it now barred their means of escape. They fled to the front porch. Miss Gains held to the porch railing by her hands and dropped twelve feet to the pavement, suffering a slightly wrenched back. Mrs. Mabel Wright leaped from the porch. An attempt to catch her was unsuccessful. She suffered a badly sprained right ankle.
A large crowd had gathered by the time the West Union Fire Dept. was on the scene. With the bursting of gasoline tanks inside the garage section, firemen seeing it was useless to attempt to save the garage-apartment, turned their attention to nearby structures in an attempt to save them.
The two-story frame building owned by Frank Ramsey and James Foley about twelve feet from the garage caught fire but was extinguished with a loss of $200.
The flames also attacked Grant Summers’ house and garage about fifteen feet from the burning building on the opposite side and did an estimated $50 in damage. Both of those houses were made uninhabitable for a time because of the water damage.
Meigs Hart lived on the Ramsey-Foley property and a man surnamed Tingler lived in the other residence. They suffered no furniture loss.
The Ramsey-Foley loss was estimated at about $3,700. Grant Summers’ loss was less. The four vehicles were estimated at $2,000, which made the total around $5,750. Only one of the vehicles was covered with insurance. At least there was insurance on one of the properties, but which one was not known.
Dale and Mabel Wright moved to the Bluestone area after the fire, where Dale became a dairy farmer. He had grown up doing farm work which made him quite experienced in the business. Dale died on August 3, 1972 in Newark, Licking, OH at Licking Memorial Hospital. He was 64 years old. Mabel followed his death on January 10, 2003 at Newark, Licking County, OH. They were buried at Newark Memorial Gardens, Newark, OH.
Raymond Dotson remained in Doddridge County and was killed on September 6, 1951, when his automobile was struck by a train in Clarksburg, WV. His wife, Jettie, died in Newport News, VA on November 30, 1968. They were buried in the Masonic Cemetery near West Union.
Those same firemen immediately following the fire, with the aid of others in the community, were instrumental in soliciting furniture and clothing for the unfortunate families. The good people of West Union were so willing to aid in donating for both families that there was a surplus of donations. The remainder of the furniture and other items was distributed to three other families. Groceries were even bought and taken to these families by order of Chief Burdette. The chief and his men worked late on the night before Christmas distributing the surplus of goodies to needy families in the area.
Everyone noticed the honorable work of the West Union Fire Department that day. They realized then, as we do today, how profound the need is for a well-fortified and highly trained fire department was and still is.
Interestingly, this was the first fire in West Union in about two years. It was the first one that the West Union Fire Department had been called upon to fight since it was newly organized. According to the local businessmen, Fire Chief Burdette and his firemen performed most professionally. Great praise was offered for their work in combating the potentially deadly fire. They managed to extinguish it before it had the opportunity to expand throughout the town. They were true heroes.
God love our firemen and first responders. They selflessly go to hazard ous scenes and endanger their own lives to save ours. “Thank you” just doesn’t seem sufficient for their contributions to our communities in this county. Does it?
God Bless and Stay Well
Patricia Richards Harris