The Herald-Dispatch
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 1993, page 24
HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA, THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 30,1952
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire-Razed Plant Will Be Rebuilt
The Line Material Co. plant at Kenova, which was destroyed by fire yesterday
with an estimated loss of $750,000 to $1,000,000 to buildings, equipment and
inventory, will be rebuilt as soon as possible, a company official said last
night.
The electrical insulator manufacturing operation employs more than 400
persons. The blaze left only a small office building and warehouse standing.
Water cracked and ruined thousands of insulators packed for shipment or stored
at the plant. The fire made them red hot.
John Van Vleet of Milwaukee, vice-president in charge of manufacturing, said crews were already at work
clearing away the rubble. He made damage estimates.
The fire apparently started
about 5:00 a.m., but Kenova firemen did not receive the alarm until 5:45 a.m..
They and firemen from Huntington and the Ashland Oil & Refining Co. plant
nearby battled the blaze for eight hours.
A heavy drain on Kenova's water supply
just at breakfast seriously handicapped efforts to halt the blaze.
Kenova Fire Chief Charles Bocook reported that when the hose was hooked up,
the domestic water demand sapped the pressure. He said it took nearly 45 minutes
for the Catlettsburg Water Co., which supplies the town, to increase the
pressure sufficiently for proper fire fighting.
"The sprinkler system went
off but only a trickle of water went on the flames, " said Mr. Van Vleet.
While the exact cause of the blaze was not determined, it is believed it started
in an insulator baking kiln. Nobody was hurt.
- - - - - - - - - - -
The above newspaper article was found by Jimmy Burns of Conroe, Texas.
"During my research on Jeffery Dewitt, I came across an article about the
demise of the J-D plant (Line Materials)." Below is a photo from the
August, 1940 issue of The National Geographic Magazine showing inspection of
insulators at the Kenova plant. Roger Lucas of Columbus, Indiana shared this
item. All of a sudden the two articles found one another in the "To Be
Printed Box." Thanks, fellas.
- - - - - - - - - -
| 
)