A charred and twisted framework, enmeshed in a ghostly network of ice, is all that remains of the Ritz Theatre, Coaldale, following a fire discovered at 1:30 o’clock yesterday morning.
Two adjacent homes were damaged as firemen from Lansford, Summit Hill and Tamaqua joined the Coaldale volunteer company in a heroic three-hour effort that avoided a far more serious conflagration. A dozen families in the immediate neighborhood stood tense guard in their homes, hoping for the best but frequently doubtful that the entire block would not be razed.
Eight firemen became victims of exposure and frostbite and were treated in Coaldale State Hospital. Dozens of others labored valiantly in clothing that was stiff with ice, their hands numb and paralyzed in the near-zero temperature.
Firemen Heroic
The goodness of man to his fellowmen in an emergency could not have been more nobly exemplified. Those firemen were living, laboring exponents of the true Christmas spirit and the brotherhood of mankind as they risked life and health to battle a blaze under the worst possible conditions.
The neighbors who stood fearfully amid their Christmas decorations will particularly never forget what was done by those fire crews in the raw frigidity of yesterday morning.
The only thing standing upright at the theatre is the front wall, partly of metal construction. Beyond that the building burned to the ground. P.A. Magazzu, the owner, estimates the damage at $35,000 and recalled that he had his movie place completely redecorated and refurnished six months ago.
On the North side of the theatre a two-family dwelling owned by Postmaster James Donahue, of Coaldale, was damaged to an extent estimated at $5,000. Another home on the South side of the theatre, owned by Mr. Magazzu, escaped with a scortching. That home is occupied by John Emerick and family. The lower floor of the Donahue home is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Edward O’Brien.
Two storage shacks in the rear of the movie building were destroyed beyond repair. One housed the theatre’s cooling system.
Up to a late hour today no one knew who discovered the fire and sounded the alarm. And no one knew the cause of the blaze.
Mr. Donahue said he and his family were asleep and were awakened by a loud rapping on their door. Going to a window he saw the flames shooting from the side of the theatre. The Donahues and O’Briens grabbed personal possessions and left their homes. Mr. Donahue managed to save his car, parked between his home and the theatre, before the flames could surround it.
The Emerick family was out of town at the time, visiting kin in Wilkes-Barre.
Firemen Hurt
Fire fighters injured by the cold are:
Daniel Kokalek, 366 West Ridge Street, Lansford.
Thomas Walton, 202 West Patterson Street, Lansford.
Alex Ostrosky, 119 Ruddle Street, Coaldale.
John Berezniak, 31 East Phillips Street, Coaldale.
Ralph Miller, 624 East Bertsch Street, Lansford.
Raymond Evans, 24 West Patterson Street, Lansford.
Joseph Pisklak, 250 Eat Water Street, Coaldale.
Theodore Jones, 28 East Ridge Street, Coaldale.
The first four named were kept under observation in the hospital overnight. The others were discharged after dispensary care.
Mr. Magazzu was summoned from Hazleton and arrived on the scene before the blaze had been extinguished. Today he said he will open a new Coaldale theatre at 113 East Phillips Street as soon as possible.
Theatre Opened in ‘33
Mr. Magazzu opened the Ritz Theatre on October 13, 1933. He operates 12 movie houses throughout the coal regions.
All properties involved were partly covered by insurance. Phillip Robinson, of the General Adjustment Bureau of Wilkes-Barre, was in Coaldale today heading an inquiry and making adjustments.
