A party for a former fire chief turns into chaos when none of the guests behave.

The retired commander of a fire brigade is honored at a ball thrown by his former associates. Sick with cancer and 86 years old, he is to be presented with a ceremonial hatchet by the winner of the ball's beauty contest. The contestants, however, are shy as well as plain, and they huddle en masse in the lavatory, resisting the firemen's entreaties and delaying the evening's ceremonies. This impasse is broken by an alarm summoning the company to a conflagration in which an old man's home burns to the ground as the useless fire engine sinks slowly in the falling snow. The victim sits watching the conflagration in a chair, and to spare his feelings the thoughtful neighbors turn the chair away from the fire, moving it closer to the flames when he becomes chilled. To console him the firemen proffer the tickets remaining for a raffle to be conducted that evening. The gesture is in vain, however, for both tickets and prizes have been stolen in the course of the evening. Alarmed, the master of ceremonies turns out the lights, inviting the thieves to return the loot under cover of darkness. When the lights are turned on the raffle's director, alone in taking advantage of the invitation, is discovered returning a pilfered cheese. Overcome by embarrassment, the well-meaning culprit suffers a heart attack and is taken by the firemen to the conference room. In the now empty hall the patient guest of honor profusely thanks his hosts for the evening's entertainment and for what proves to be an empty hatchet case, the ceremonial gift having also been stolen.