The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1877-10-03
Fire in the Interior Department.

Fire i'm the Interior Department
WATHINGToN, D. c.. Sept "a
Shortly before noon fire brokt
out in the conservatory above tht
model room of the Patent Office
building, and at IL 20 the entire up
| per portion of the west wing of the
building fronting on Ninth street
was In flames, and the fire creeping
along between the ceiling and the
/ roof towards the north wing and
main building on F. street. The
firemen have succeeded in getting a
hose in the upper windows of the
main building, but the fire is not yet
under control. Many models have
been destroyed, and clerks and 9TH
ers are assisting the firemen in re-
moving models, records, ETC., to
places of safety. The streets are
crowded with spectators, and much
excitement exists. The Land Office
is directly under the portion where
the fire is raging, but it is thought
the valuable papers and records will
be saved, and the fire confined to the
upper stories. All the fire engines
of the District, and several from Bal
timore are at the scene Of conhagra
ton; the latter having reached here
from Baltimore in about thirty min
utes.
The street front of the Patent Of
fee is saved. The upper story of
the Ninth and G streets are Quilted
In the upper part of the building,
the loft under the roof was. mostly
filed with immense piles Of papers
and documents from the Bureaus in
the lower part of the building, while
the upper story proper. under the
loft, contained probably the finest
collection of models in the world,
which it is impossible to replace. as
many Of them date back to the early
days of the Patent Office. There
was also on this floor large numbers
of maps, etc. These all being in
wooden cases. the fire spread rapid
ly from one to the other. The floors
Of the building are built on brick
arches, and consequently the lower
part of the building was not reached
by the fire, but the water played sad
havoc with the books and papers be-
low. The relics of Gen. Washing
ton, and the original Declaration of
independence were saved. Many
other articles were carried from the
model room. The origin of the fire
is unknown. Probably from early
fall fires in the Office Of Green & Os-
borne's livery stable close by. which
was also burned. It is asserted pos
itively that this is the work of an in
cendiary. A half dozen people are
missing, supposed to be lost. The
engines from Alexandria and Bslti-
mere were at the fire. The fire
ragged from 1 to 3 o'clock.
A CAsEoF SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
Chief Clerk Lockwood of the In
terror Department states that the
fire originated from spontaneous
combustion among q number of non-
patented chemical material stored in
the Ninth-street wing. The damage
to the building is varionsly estimat-
ed from $500. 900 to $500.O00. while
that resulting from the loss of mod
els and other valuables connected
with the Patent Office proper is al
most incalculable. Many of the
clerks are at work tonight to assort
the records and drying papers which
have been injured by the water.
Arrangements have been made to
construct temporary roof to the
building. and the debris is now be-
ing removed, preparatory to its con-
struction.