A stubborn fire that took firefighters three hours to get under control ravaged the south wing of the state Capitol on Sunday, July 9, 1933. Nearly every piece of firefighting equipment in the city responded to the scene. One firefighter suffered fractured ribs when he fell through a floor.

Much of the estimated $100,000 in damage was caused by water used to extinguish the blaze.

It was “pouring down the west elevator shaft and a stairway on the east like a mill-run,” The Illinois State Journal reported. Water rained through the House ceiling and soaked the speaker's rostrum and much of the floor in the chamber. “One ornamental pillar gushed forth water from its top in a solid stream as though it were a fountain,” according to the newspaper.

Gov. Henry Horner arrived on the scene within minutes and, climbing over hoses, went straight to the fifth floor where firefighters were still battling the flames. He ordered removal of historic portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas near the House chamber and other artifacts. Tarps were thrown over the speaker's desk, but not before the water had soaked it. A portrait of George Washington, which had been hanging behind the speaker's chair since the Washington bicentennial in 1932, also was removed.

Heavy smoked hampered the work of firefighters.

“At first the firemen wore smoke masks, but the heat became so intense that the masks were a hindrance. The firefighters took turns at playing the water on the blaze and returning to windows for fresh air,” the newspaper said.

Scaffolding used in reroofing the building in that area added fuel to the fire and made it more hazardous for firefighters. At 5 p.m., 2 1/2 hours after the blaze was reported, a portion of the roof collapsed, and several men narrowly escaped serious injury by ducking under tables. The months-long reroofing project was almost finished when the fire struck.

The state architect's offices on the fifth floor suffered some of the worst damage. On the desks of the draftsmen at the time were the nearly completed plans for the remodeling of the women's prison in Joliet, but it was later determined that they could be salvaged.

Offices on the second floor that were damaged included the corporation department, which was in the former Supreme Court room, decorated with an ornamental ceiling and murals on the wall.

Adding insult to the mess was a drinking fountain in the north wing that suffered a broken pipe, possibly due to the high water pressure. It was on the opposite end of the building from the fire, but it released enough water to damage offices in the rear of the Senate.

Fire officials said the following day that the fire started in a storeroom on the fifth floor, although they had not yet determined the cause.

There were at least a few who found humor in the tragedy. On the day after the fire, the convention called to vote on ratifying the repeal of Prohibition, supporters were known as “wets,” was set to meet in the House chamber. A joke quickly circulated that the chamber went dripping wet a day too soon.

Contact Rich Saal: rich.saal@sj-r.com, 788-1475, twitter.com/richsaal.