Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-03
THIS MORNINGS FIRE.
The First Accounts Given in The Stars
Extra.

|
| The First Accounts Given In The Stars
Extra.
| SCENES ABOUT THE BURNING RESIDENCE
GRAPHIC ACCOUNTS OF THE TRAaEDY-How
MRS. TRACY AND HER DAUGHTER MET THEIR
DEATH.
An account of the fire was published in an
early extra edition Of The STAR as follows:
Three human lives went ont in fire and
smoke this morning from the residence of
| Secretary of the Navy Tracy. There was no
appearance of anything wrong on the exterior
of the building when letter carrier passed by
! shortly after z o'clock but few minutes when
an alarm was turned in at engine house No. /,
some one, who, it is not yet known, telephoned
to the engine house the startling
sent the alarm over the wires
and followed it with a general alarm when he
saw the sheets of flame sweep up from the base
ment to the roof. No. company never made
better time in all its history than it did in
reaching the confagration, but the fire had a
big start.
Leaping for Life.
Before Foreman Boss could get his ladders
sscondstory windows in front and, in spite of
the warnings not to jump they leaped out
to the grass. They proved to be
Mrs. Wilmerding, the married daughter of the
Secretary. and her daughter, Miss wilmerdng.
Mrs. Wilmerding broke one of her wrists and
was bruised; her daughter was burned quite
severely but not otherwise injured.
Rescued With a Ladder.
Truck b arrived very soon after the alarm,
although to the watching spectators minutes
seemed hours. Assistant Chief Louis p Lowe
at once went to the rear, where a woman-pre-
sumably one of the servants-was waving a
blanket to keep the flames and smoke away
from her. She was up under the mansard roof
and behaved with good deal of GOODNESS. She
was requested not to jump and she did not.
She came down on ladder.
By this time Chief Paris arrived, and, learn
ing that there were people still in the house,
he left the fire extinguishiug arrangements to
his subordinates and dashed into the burning
house, followed closely by Howard Wright, who
drives the chiefs wagon.
Chief Parris's Story.
The chief told his story to STAR reporter
as follows: Il paid no attention to the fire when
my way through the smoke to the second floor
and found man in bed in a ROOM tried to
pick him up, but he was almost too
heavy. l managed to drag him into a
back room where there was more air
and then 1 broke the window out and called to
Lowe, who was in the alley, to run up a ladder.
Then they took the man out and it proved to
be the Secretary. l couldn't move him any
f1rt for r f,,n,
neck with smoke. Then went back into the
smoke and fire again and found young
lady-Miss Mary Tracy they tell
me it was, and as caught hold of her wrists
to lift her up the flesh came off her burning
HANDS. She had been burned. got her out,
but she was dead. That exhausted me; could
do no more"
MIR. Rheem's Graphic Story.
E. S. Rheem, whose house on 18th street runs
back to the rear of the Secretary's house,
gives graphic account of the terrible
death of Mrs. Tracey. II heard terrible
screams" said Mr.. Rheem, ''about
7I5 this morning and jumped from
bed and ran to the window. Mrs. Tracy was
hanging by her hands from the sill of
window on the second floor. She
was screaming and almost immediately
dropped. A moment afterward another woman,
who it seems was the cook, appeared on the
ledge of the mansard roof. She was waving
blanket and crying out. Every
| minute expected to see
her jump. As quickly as possible we threw
some mattresses under the window, but
shortly the hook and ladder appeared
and ladder was run up and she was brought
down"
How the Deaths Occurred.
| DR.. Ruth, at the solicitation of friends, Wis.,
listed the undertaker's establishment and iden-
tilted Miss Tracy. He made a hurried
examination and found she had died
from suffocation. Mrs. Tracy was found
to have died from rupture of blood vessels.
| Mrs. Wilmerding's Leap.
Mrs. Wilmerding who leaped from the sec
ond-story window sustained slight injuries, a
broken wrist, while her young daughter escaped
| with slight confusion of the knees.
A Bystander's Story.
| gentleman who saw the fire said never in
his life did he see or hear of such a sight.
1t seemed, he said, as though hell had
| broken loose and sent its fiery tongue to
earth. The whole building seemed one seeth-
ing mass Of flames, bursting from every point
i Scream followed scream, each one more horri-
BILE and blood-curdling than the other, from
the interior Of the building. Only a few peo-
pie were passing at the time and they seemed
lost and bewildered. The engines soon ar
rived. You know the rest
The Scene of the Disaster.
Hundreds of anxious people were soon at the
scene Of the disaster. The President and Sec
rotary Halford were among the first on the
scene. They went at once to the house of Mr..
Rheem. where the Secretary and the bodies of
his wife and daughter were taken.
The Secretary's Condition.
The President at once directed that the Sec
rotary be taken to the White House, but it was
thought best not to move him SO far and he
was taken around the corner to Judge Ban.
croft Davis. At the last accounts there was
more hopes of his recovery than at first was
thought possible.
The Distinguished Inqutrers.
The Vice President Secretary Noble, Secre-
tary Window, Senator Chandler, Senator Haw.
4 lau at.I ,,.&.z