Blaze in Burbank

On the Warner Bros, lot in Burbank one day last week, actors, stagehands and other employees were eating lunch when they heard the shriek of fire sirens. Rushing from the studio commissary, they could see a wind-whipped blaze spreading from an outdoor reproduction of a Manhattan street. As the fire leaped, it engulfed Studio 21, Warner's biggest sound stage (120 ft. wide, 320 ft. long, seven stories high).

The five hose companies from nearby towns and lots laid blankets of water over the area, managed to shield nearby film vaults and buildings. The firemen had plenty of help. Actors Burt Lancaster, Ray Bolger, Steve Cochran, Gordon Mac-Rae, and studio Vice President Jack Warner dashed about like real-life heroes, saving whatever they could from the burning shed. In three hours it was all over. The fire (cause undetermined) had destroyed $1,500,000 in buildings and equipment over an area of eight acres. It was the biggest studio blaze in Hollywood's history.

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