UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Wednesday, June 18, 1997 9 Six years after fire,Hoch almost ready for students and classes Officials remember Hoch's fiery past By Daniel Ethan Thompson Kansan staff writer Six years ago last Sunday, $12.8 million worth of Hoch Auditorium burned. **Above:** Firefighters gathered around Hoch Auditorium on the afternoon of June 16, 1991. Hoch was struck by a bolt of lightning during a storm and caught fire. The fire could not be kept from spreading inside the building, so it was kept away from surrounding buildings instead. **Right:** In a photo that ran in the June 19 edition of the University Daily Kansan, structural engineers are lowered into Hoch to inspect the real wall for structural damage. Emergency crews and KU faculty remember the day well. "It was a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon," saidæ–—ation Chief Jerry Karr, who was in command of the Lawrence Fire Department that day. But about 1 p.m. the storm rolled in. Packer Plastics Inc., north of Interstate 70, suffered the first lightning strike of the afternoon. Most afternoon. Most of the Lawrence Fire Department fought the blaze. Bill Stark was the captain on the reserve engine who responded at 3:20 p.m. to a false alarm at Watson Library. At 3:29 p.m. Lawrence dispatch center received a call from a KU student reporting Hoch had been struck by lightning. Less than a minute later, the engine at Watson was re- routed to Hoch. "We were right there," Stark said. "It was raining pretty hard and we just moseyed on down the road. We saw the "It looked like drops of liquid fire coming down. They were falling into the seats starting multiple fires on the ground level." Jerry Karr Lawrence Fire Department smoke from Jayhawk Boulevard." Two minutes after the KU student called, Karr released another engine to respond to Hoch. "Usually, we would have 12 to 13 people on a fire on an old building with no internal fire protection," Stark said. But the department was already overburdened, and part of Hoch went down in history. In 1925, the Kansas Legislature granted the University of Kansas money to build a new auditorium to replace those that the University was outgrowing. The price tag was $317,800. But three years after Hoch opened, it was declared structurally unsafe. The steel rafters used were too small, and it was feared that under a heavy load of snow, the roof would collapse. University officials closed Hoch in the fall of 1930 to reinforce the roof, using a rail car full of mill timbers. "It was a lumber yard in the attic," Stark said. Then in 1946, the Board of Regents voted to repair the roof. Although the skylight was covered, the 3,000-pound steel chandelier hanging from the middle was untouched. That chandelier pulled the lightning through the roof of the auditorium. Donald Watkins, investigator with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, wrote in his report that, "The chandelier showed severe signs of shorting and arcing ... wires which are non-electrical were fused together." Karr said the fire that began on the roof quickly started other fires. Smoke and flames rise from the roof of Hoch Auditorium as seen from the southwest corner of the building. ARCHIVE PHOTO "We had drop-down in the main auditorium and big patches of flaming ceiling were falling away," Karr said. "It looked like drops of liqui fire coming down. They were falling into the seats starting multiple fires on the ground level." Edward Hoch Five minutes after the attack began, the firefighters reported that the fire had advanced and was spreading to the north. Karr requested assistance from the fire departments in Overland Park, Lenexa, and Shawnee, just as the fire started burning through the roof. "Hoch was protected with lightning rods," said Richard Givens, assistant provost. "But the roof was being repaired and the lightning rods were removed." Givens remembers June 15, 1991, and the fire. After the fire destroyed Hoch, he looked out a window of Malott Hall. "The walls were still standing, but they were buckled and bulging," he said. Hoch, like all state buildings, was uninsured. The University requested $197,000 of disaster aid from the State Finance Council to cover demolition, clean-up, stabilization and security costs, but it was denied. Money already set aside for refurbishing Hoch paid for necessary work. By using other buildings such as the Military Science building and the Kansas Union, no fall classes were canceled. In March of 1992, Regents granted the University $18 million to re-build Hoch. Budig Hall has three lecture halls, two that seat 500, and one that seats 1,000. The multimedia classrooms are as technologically advanced as the University was able to afford, Givens said. Former Chancellor Gene Budig fought to keep the facade, and in October of 1994 the building was renamed in his honor. Lawrence architectural firm Glenn Livengood Penzler tried to design a new building using the existing facade and blending it with the more modern Anschutz Science Library. the glass entrances on either side are the apex of the transition, but that is not their only purpose. The front doors are too small to handle 4,000 students in 10 minutes. "With the east and west entrances and the main corridor, we've cut the time needed for the students to change classes by three," Givens said. Bad weather, inadequate fireproofing and design modifications delayed the completion of Budig Hall. The revised target date changed with the budget. An additional $4 million was used. Most of the bottom three floors were left incomplete to save money. Red Lyon Tavern A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence 944 Mass. 832-8228 "We built the basic structure of the walls, the three lecture classrooms, the entry ways, and bathrooms," Givens said. Budig Hall was turned over to the University on June 5,1997,10 days short of the sixyear anniversary of the fire. It will be dedicated on Oct.31,1997. Affordable, Fine Dining for Family and Friends The Castle Tea Room 1300 Massachusetts by Reservation Only, Call 843-1151 Barb's Vintage Rose - Vintage Clothes - Rental Costumes - New Cottons and Rayons - Accessories - Accessories 927 Mass 841-2451 M-Sat 11-5 EVERYTHING BUT ICE BEDS DESKS BOOK CASES 936 Mass. "Get A Higher Education" Call for Reservations For a free brochure call (913) 640-DIVN or 357-4423 Sidewalk Sale Thursday June 19th 10am-3:30pm (or while merchandise lasts) Kansas Union Plaza, level 4 Big savings on HawksWear hats, t-shirts and more!