Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-13

PLAN nE THE pI,II nINQS


PLAN OF THE BUILDINGS.
overcome that could only stand at the win
dow and yell. After what seemed an age q
| ladder was run up to me and came down.
As left the room the flames were cracking
and blazing in the rear portion.
MR. FAULKNEB's CLOSE SHAVE.
Mr.. I. r. Faulkner was one Of the four who
| escaped by means of the trap door in the roof
| and the fire escape. Eyes, we had q
close shave" said Mr.. Faulkner. MY case is
by window looking into the court between
the Office and the Palais Royal. There is
always smoke coming up through this court
from the engines, and at first / did
not pay much attention to it this morn
ing. Mr.. Boss, however, saw flames and
yelled fire and everything was moving at once.
did not think there was much or any danger
and put on my clothes. When l started to get
out however, the smoke was rolling in dense
columns up the staircase and exit was shut off.
Some Of us thought of the trap door to the roof
and after fighting through the smoke, which
was something terrible by this time, we found
the ladder and managed to get the trap door
open and reached the roof. 1t was close shave
as the flames we're in the room, although the
smoke was the great danger. On the roof also
it was terrible and it was a hard fight to get to
the fire escape and get down"
Mr.. VIM. W. McCullom was also in the rear
when the alarm was given. "In three minutes
be said, ''the room was filed with dense smoke.
Escape by the stairs wss cut off, and, after q
hard struggle, We reached the roof
The smoke was the worst ever saw" said
Mr.. J. II. Dripps. My case faces south and
when the alarm was given l went to the front
to yell down the pipe, giving the alarm down
stairs. The smoke was pouring in the windows
and when started to get out was so dense on
the stairs that almost tainted. 1 fought my
way back and could hear the cracking Of the
flames. Finally. after being nearly overcome,
reached the roof by the trap door and went
down the fire escape
ESCAPED BY LADDER
W. G. Collins was one of the men who es-
capped by means of a ladder from the project
ing roof of the adjoining building to the north
window of the composing room. Il did not
hurry" said Mr.. Collins, "when the alarm was
given and shortly after going to the windows
to look out found myself in pretty bad way
The smoke was fairly suffocating and there
seemed no way of moving in any direction. l
tried first to fight my way to the ladder which
had been run up through the trap-door
but could not make it. Finally 1 reached
a window and thought at first of throwing
myself towards the projecting roof OF Judd 4
Detweiller's building 1t would have been al
most sure death however and when some man
run ladder from the roof to the window SO
that by standing on the sill you could reach his
outstretched hand and step across it was tre-
mendous relief don't know who the man
was who put the ladder across, but he saved
several lives in my opinion!
W. N. Croggon also escaped by the same
means, after in all probability saving the life
of young colored boy. "When started OUT
said Mr.. Croggon, the egress was blocked with
smoke and 1 moved back. By the proof room
found Lloyd Curtis, young colored boy, in
pitiable condition Of fright and suffocation. 1
managed to get him to the window and we both
finally reached the cornice OF the adjoining
building"
Nearly all Of the compositors, even those who
did not have to climb over roofs or down fire
escapes, suffered some loss of property. Over
coats and coats and vests were lost in large
quantities, and many OF the men escaped only
with their working clothes leaving hats coats.
and in a number of cases considerable sums of
money 10 nelp 70 iced the names.
IN THE MAILING ROOM
Mr.. Findlay Harris who has under his su-
pervision the subscription and mailing depart
mcnt, began as soon as the alarm sounded at
once to remove valuable papers, subscription
lists, books, &C., from the mailing room, and
had nearly secured all that was essentially nec-
essary when the flames, which had heen push
ing their way from the west end Of the room.
rolled over along the ceiling and whirled down
to the front almost enveloping the entire room.
Mr.. Harris fell on his hands and feet and
crawled out safely, having merely had his eve
brows, eyelashes and mustache singed. All of
the back numbers Of the paper and files of ad
vertisements, &c, to date, some Of the mailing
apparatus and quite a number Of articles stored
in the mailing rooms we're lost The type of
the mailing Lists in gallies was badly shaken up,
but can be soon rearranged for service.
IN THE ADVERTISING BUREAU.
For considerable time 1t was an open ques-
tion whether one of the finest collection of ad-
vertising matter in the country was totally
destroyed-that Of Mr.. William A. Hunger
ford's, in charge Of The STAR's bureau of
advertising writing" Mr.. Clarence Archibald
Of the bureau had Just sent into the composing
room the matter for about twenty-five sdver-
tsements prepared by the ''bureau" the day
before, which instead Of going into type went |
up into smoke with the rest Of the news and |
advertising copy. Mr.. Hungerford, Mr., Miller |
and Mr.. Archibald Immediately set to work to |
remove the desks, encyclopedias, scrap books, |
types &c. and it is thought at this writing that
the major part of the bureaus effects viii be |
saved