Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-06
INVESTIGATION THE FIRE.
A Coroner's Jury lnoairing Into Mon
day's Terrible Tragedy.


A Coroner's Jury IuQairing Into Nom
day's Terrible Tragedy.
cHrKH RAnzn POLICEMAN cArrxIL AND OTHERS
Owe fnKn nxPERIEScEs-rHE ORIGIN OF TIE
yTRx-rHE woRK OF TEE YREMIN-rHR lHs-
CUE OF sEcRE1AaI raAcr.
The inquest into the cause and circumstances
OF the Tracy fire disaster Wa held AT
the third precinct station house shortly
after o'clock today, under the su-
perintendence LOT Acting Coroner schaeffer.
All the jurors we're present, - follow: Jos.
Acton, r n. johnson, DR.. g. NJ. Began, DIR.
James I. Scott. Jas. Il. Dupuey, T. H. Tabler.
CHIEF PARIS STATEMENT.
Chief Paris was first called and sworn. He
said he was in bed when he heard the bell
striking. 10 lives at AL 1 street north
west He dressed and was in his
S Sassn JUST s.ior. fey Dh ins's' Non ,s,
told him II was box "a. They drove very fast
to the ire, taking about four minutes. They
saw the smoke as soon as they reached X
street When they got to the fire the
hallway was ablaze. and engine No. had a
stream already playing in the hallway. His
the stairway AID cut it off.
PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE.
His man Just then reached the door and told
him that there were some people in the house.
He then ran around to the rear of the house just
as the woman was being taken from the
roof He entered By the basement and ran up
by the rear stairs TO the second story. He ran
to the front Of the house, but his man.
who bad followed him and had
gone into the bath room, called
out that there was man In the rear room. He
rushed back and found the Secretary lying on
the floor, whom he and his man" carried TO
the window. laying his head on the sill. He
called to the foreman below to run up lad
der, that he had a man and was
exhausted Then. seeing that the fire was
coming toward him he ran out and called out TO
No. to cut the fire of. Coming back
through the hall he came across the body of
Miss Tracy, which be carried out.
Were the men OF your department prompt
and faithful in their work." asked the coroner.
Eyes, sir; have no fault to find with any Of
them. They all worked like beavers. IL Mrs.
Tracy had stayed in the house another minute
she would have been saved. If the front door
had been kept closed and the draught shut of,
the people would have been saved"
Then it is your idea that the door was
opened originality
"Yes, sir. 1 think that the door was opened
by the servant when he ran down stairs He
said that he closed them. but / think that he
lost his head and forgot to close them. There
is no doubt that the fire originated in the
library"
=, What, in your opinion, was the; origin of
THE IRE marshal and myself have come to
the conclusion that the fire came from the
lamp that we found in the library"
FIREMAN wRIGHr's STORY.
Howard W. Wright, fireman of No. COM
pany, was next called, he being the man who
drove with the chief to the fire. While the
chief was in the house some one told him
(WrighD that there we're people up stairs,
and he Immediately told the chief,
who went around to the rear. He
followed him upstairs and when they landed
on the second floor he went through the bath
room into the next room, where he met an Of
fcer, who said: For Gods sake help Inc to get
this man out am almost gone.'
He ran over and tried to pick the
man up but found that he was too
He came and dragged the man to the window,
telling Wright to look after the woman. But
he could not find her. aud came
back to look after the chief By that
time the flames had cut off their re-
treat, and the witness stayed in the room until
be got the man out of the room by the ladder.
The Secretary had his trousers partly on when
found and was unconscious.
POLICEMAN CArrELL-
Officer n. p. Cattell was next called. Nom
day I'm. at 6:55 he turned in his report at the
box on 18th street and Pennsylvania avenue
and then walked up 18th street and heard
noise, then a cry Of fire, and then he began 10
run, soon seeing q blaze in Secretary Tracy's
house. Going up the front steps he tried to get
in, the doors being closed fast The engine
then came in sight and he ran down into the
basement and entered the house by the door
there which was unlocked. Gong back he
went up the back stairway, which was very
crooked
There was no smoke on the lower floor, but
almost impossible to breathe. He finally,
after going about in the smoke in search
of way through to the 'front.' reached
the second-story bath room and going
into It he reached the window and was getting
1t open when he heard screams and entered the
next room. Mrs. Tracy had gone, but the
witness foot struck the body of a man on
the floor. He shook him, but il did no good,
the man being unconscious. He could not
move him and then he ran back into the
bath room and called for help. Just
then man came in and tried to
help him bur it was no use. The man then ran
back again and almost Immediately the chief
came in and between the three they managed
to get the Secretary to the bath room window
In reply to question by juror the officer
said that he was about four or five minutes in
the house before he was joined by other peo-
pie. The secretary had on an undershirt and
his trousers were partly drawn up. The smoke
was so thick that the witness was nearly blinded
and he could not see who it was that had come
to his aid. The loss Of life, he said had all oc-
CURED, with the exception Of the death of Mrs
Tracy, before the arrival of the fire depart
ment
The first smoke from the fire was thick and
black. which the officer thought came from the
peculiar wood. He had no theory as TO the
origin Ct the fire.
POLICEMAN ELLIOTT.
Officer Elliott was called. He did not get TO
the scene of the fire until twenty-five minutes
after z. and the water was then Just coming out
of the nozzle Of the hose of No. engine. No.
5 he explained is stationed in George
town, and should not take more
than five minutes to get to the fire. The wit
ness was one of the men who ran upstairs and
brought down the body of the French maid.
Had she remained in her room, he said she
would have been all right
The witness explained that he could only
make guess as to the time when he reached
the IRE. He had seen the chief bring down
Miss Tracys boay.
JUDGE xSoTT's OBSERVATIONS
Judge Knott, who had entered the room, was
to the jury and asked If be had any
suggestions to make. He said that his expert
ence ives that little reliance could be placed on
witness memory as to time, and he was called
to the stand as witness.
He lives, he said, on the northeast corner of
Farragut square, on 18th street. and he stated
how he ran to the fire very soon after o'clock.
At that time the flames were not bursting from