The Fort Dodge Messenger: Aug. 14, 1903

Move House Against Live Wires

The Result Being That The House Catches Fire.

When Cause of Trouble is Discovered Superintendent Gives Movers 20 Minutes to Move.

Webster City, August 14 – “Shut Down! shut down! You’ll set my house afire,” frantically yelled a man as he rushed in the door of the power house. He spied Superintendent Cummings and waving his arms above to attract attention.

“Stop the plant, somebody’ll be killed.” The superintendent did not need any further entreating for just then the fuses all went out showing that there was something wrong somewhere.

“What have you been doing?” asked Cummings. “Somebody has short circuited us and caused a lot of trouble.”

“There’s a wire down,” said the man.

“I guess there’s one down anyway,” remarked the superintendent as the telephone signalled angry patrons who wanted to know what the matter was with the day current. “How did the wires get down?”

“Why, we ran into them,” replied the excited man.

Investigation showed that men, in moving a house north on Prospect had carelessly run into and broken a number of electric light wires at Bank street. The broken wires were spitting fire all around that vicinity to the danger of both the house and men. The superintendent took in the situation at a glance and then gave the men just twenty minutes.

“If you’re not out of there by then,” said Cummings,”I’ll burn you up.”

The men lost no time in dragging the house out of danger and the plant was started again with slight delay. There is a  penalty for running into and breaking electric light wires and it will be exacted if there is another shut down of the plant from this cause.

Tags: 1903, Cummings