1965 INFERNO KILLED FORT COLLINS FIRE CHIEF CLIFFORD CARPENTER

On June 29, 1965, Fort Collins Fire Chief Clifford Carpenter was killed battling an inferno at the State Dry Goods store - one of the largest blazes in the city's history.

Carpenter, 49, "noticed that the south wall had a slight bulge in the middle and decided to go around to the south side to order the men handling the lines to back off," according to Poudre Fire Authority.

"As he and Firefighter Jim Witchel took a 1 1/2 inch charged line in close to the building to check the area where the gas meters were located, the wall collapsed covering Witchel and Carpenter with bricks and stone," the fire authority said.

Witchel survived the disaster at corner of College and Oak streets that was caused by an electrical timer controlling lights in a display window.

The flames were not immediately noticed.

"The fire burned for about an hour, slowly increasing the interior pressure to the point where one of the large windows exploded, showering shards of glass across the sidewalk and into the middle of the street," the fire authority said.

In an oral history, Bob Johnson, store owner, said: "Not only was most of our merchandise and building destroyed that night in the fire, all of our accounts and debts owed to us were burned as well." Even so, "people of our town would stop by to give us money they owed," Johnson said.

[Photo: Fort Collins Public Library, Poudre Fire Authority]