Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-12
A HOTEL ON FIRE.
A Mysterious Connagration 1t an Early Houl
This Morning.

This Morning.
| roRTUSATKLY THE House WAS UHocouPIED--THE
CONTENTS SERIOUSLY DANAaED-How TEE YIRx
WAS Observation-Disclosures MADE TO A
"sTAn'' REPORTER By THOSE R.RLY ON THE
SCENE.
Murder! Police. Heipr' were the cries which
sta tied people living In the ueighbor hood OF
the 81. afford Hotel, l4th and II streets north
west, about 40 this morning. And those who
heard the cries nd looked In the direction o.
the hotel saw Old David Bowen, the colored
watch nan left in charge OF the houss, standing
In font of the II STREET entrance Of the hotel
and heard him req eat he cries louder than be-
fore. Hardy o moment later tho now thor
oughly reused residents saw smoke issuing n ON
the top foorSbf the building, almost instantly
followed BY macs Of fame which seemed
sweeping across the top foor in one vast wave.
Then policeman was seen running tc ward the
hotel from 14th and s.reots From there he
ran to box l43, 18th and streets, and pulled
the alarm at 4:o6.
GENERAL ALARM.
Engines 1, 2 and and truck B promptly 70
sponied. together with Chief Engineer Paris
and Assistant Chief Engineer Lowe. When the
frernen arrived the upper floors were burning
fereely, and Chief Engineer Paris at once
Turned In q general alarm. The flames were
then shooting up through the roof and out the
widows Of tho hotel, ualing . Hight ssen
throughout the city. The efforts Of the Ore
men we're directed against the descent Of the
flames below the upper two foors and after q
hard fight of about an hour they succeeded in
continuing the fire to the fourth fiji th and sixth
floors, and mainlv to tine southwest corner Of
the building. Owing to The great volume Of
water which it becsme necessary to throw on
the flames the unburut portion of the building
household effects, were saturated and greatly
damaged.
Chief Paris stated that when he arrived.
about two and O half minutes after tho alarm
had been sent in, he found the upper door, the
sixth, bnrning aercely, and he thougnt that the
FIRE had origina.edin the basement and followed
the elevator shaft to that floor
TEE w,rcHnAS's STORY
David Bowen, the old colored watcLman,
however, told the following story to . STAB
reporter:
Until about o'clock 1 had been sitting ct
the Office door on n street, whom locked the
door and got ready to take nap on little cot
had between the door and tho elevator, few
steps away. Before lying down took my Ian
tern and made round Of the building and
found everything all right guess that was
about las. / then lay down and went to
sleep. About 4-2o was awakened by hearing
some one pounding on the door beneath
me, down in the basement They kept
right on. and, fearing that It was
s sonsb1dy trying to break in the
ana yelled for the Police. l didn'i see any fire
or smoke and didn't smell any In a little
While Mr.. Dovrie, the foreman Of Widdic omb'e
livery stable on street, few steps from the
hotel, came running up and policeman came
g. A r. a. Y
fire away up in the top floor and the policeman
ran of TO turn IN the alarm. Ipulled my cot
out and then the engines came, and that sbout
all know OF it,"
The old man said there was no fire in the
building that he knew of, but there was an
electric light burning in the Office, and his
lantern Wa also burning by his cot when be
went to sleep. When he was awakened both
the electric light and his lantern were burning
usual
SAW MAN RUN OUT.
Mr.. ". r. Downie, the foreman Of Widdi-
combs livery stable, said that he was awakened
about 400 by the cries Of the cid man, and
thinking that he was being murdered ran out
into the street and up to the hotel without waiting
to put on his shoes. when 80: to the hotel, q
said Mr. Downie. 81 went into the ONCE, and
while l could see no fire, could smell smoke.
Just AZ left the stable office TO 20 up to the
old man saw what took to be q colored man
rush out of the hotel Office, run across II street
and then down 14th. Joe Clark, q cclored
man about the stable, also saw the man. II
might have been . white man. but l think II
was a colored man. / stayed at the hotel mo-
ment and then ran back for my shoes Put
ting them on, l ran back to the hotel and found
il then on fire in two places, down stairs and
upstairs. Very shortly after that the fremen
arrived"
WHAT MR. COOPER SAW.
Mr.. J. A. Cooper, residing at the Rlsmere.
1406-0s h street, was awakened by the cries Of
the old colored man. Il looked OUT said NJ
Cooper, "and saw lights in the upper three
stories Of the hotel as II the gas was boing
lighted Smoke could be seen coming out from
the top focr, and all CT q sudden saw flames
sweep across the entire floor. Then the fire
shot up from the roof and out Of the windows"
Chief Engineer Paris was told by an I'M
known lady today that she saw the fire burning
at least twenty minutes before the old man was
heard, but the lady could net be found.
TIE HOTEL UNoccUP1Ep.
Mr.. Walter E. Hughes, from Lynchburg, Va,
by ex-Collector John f. Cook and Mr. Hughes
ief' the city at IL o'clock last night for Lynch
burg.
Fortunately the hotel was unoccupied, and on
Monday next Mr.. John B. Larner 10 whom Mr.
Hughes made an assignment last Friday, had
advertised sale az public auction Of the con-
tents OF the house, which contents originally
cost about eos, 900. Mr.. Lsrner stated to .
STAR reporter that the contents were insured.
and tina. as Mr.. Hughes liabilities amounted
70 only abou. 81 900 his creditors would lose
nothing. The building, it was stated, was also
amply protected by insurance.
THE SECOND FIRE.
The fire this morning was the second one at
the hotel within the last two or three months.
The previous fire, however was in the annex
and did not reach the main building. II also
occurred at about the same hour Of the morn
ing. At that time Mr.. Cook had no insuranoe
on his house. but he afterward had it insured.
principally in home companies.