The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1894-08-01
MEN AND HORSES BURNED.
THREE FlREMEN KILLED.
Large Express Stables and Several
Residences Burned-Two
Hundred Horses Die.

/ The warehouses and stnbles Of the George
". Knox Express company, occupying over
quarter OF block at Second and II streets
Northwest, Washington, DC. were destroyed
by flre Wednesday. Three fremen lost their
lives.
over 200 heavy draft horses. nearly all OF
the company's express wagons and the con-
tents OF the large storage building were
! burned.
The Adams Express company stable, ad-
joining the Knox building TO the north, was
also entirely consumed About i50 horses
/ were In the Adams Express company's stable,
/ but all were taken out by the hardest kind OF
work on the part Of citizens and policemen.
Eight two-story houses on the alley north
! OF the Knox building and two small frame
houses back Of the Adams stables were des-
troyed. Six or eight other residence houses
were more or less damaged.
! The total loss will exceed $3.50 900. AZ to
the amount of insurance, no definite infor-
nation can yet be obtained.
The bodies OF the following flremen have
| been recovered:
SAMUEL T.. MASTIN, fireman. No. 1, OF 500
! Eighteenth street. Northwest
MICHAEL FENTON. ereman, No. I, OF 232
| Thirteenth and n Half street, Southwest
DENNIS DONAHUE. fireman No. 1.
-Four nremcn were badly injured, and had
to be be taken TO the Emergency hospital
One Of the Knox stable employees was burned
and may die. Fully dozen fremen and
! policemen were overcome 10y the heat and
had to be carried to places OF safety.
The injured are;
! j. q. Wilson, 525 Eleventh street, South
sast, broken leg
James Kelhal. iG2 Virginia avenue. South
! west, sprained back; seriously injured.
! Lee Bell, 1902 | street, Northwest, burned
about hands and face.
james A. Hooper, truck "a" 521 + street,
/ Northwest; lncerated forehead.
Edward Cahll, citizen, shoulder broken.
Unknown cmploye of Knox company,
probably fatally burned about head and
chest
The fire was discovered at 22O o'clock. A
| number OF men who were sleeping In the
| Knox building were awakened by smoke
| They found the entire rear OF the second floor
OF the building In flames. and had hardly
| time to escape with their lives. Before they
| had left the building the blaze had coinmuni-
Gated to the three-story rear part Of the
| Adams stables, and was darting out of the
windows of the second and first floors OF both
| buildings In the rear. A general alarm was
turned in and the entire fire department
| Of the city was on hand In short order.
Every company and every fireman was
needed. hotter fire never ragged. Flames
poured In great sheets from the doors and
windows OF the great stables. All this was IN
/ n very few moments.
A hundred men ran into the Adams stables
and cut loose the 100 horses they contained.
| The animals were cut loose and turned into
the street. The horses of the Knox company
could not be reached. They were on the
second story Of the building. which was n
seethins mass OF flames from the very start.
! The most Of them must have perished from
tie terrific heat and from the dense smoke
before the flames reached them.
The Knox building was a four-story struc-
ture OF brick. On the first Hoor were the
heavy wagons Of the concern; ON the second
floor the horses; on the third and fourth
| noors hay in large quantities and merchandise
OF all kinds which had been stored with the
company.
Another four-story building OF the Knox
company facing on Second street and con-
Meeting with the stables, separated only by
thin brick wall was used entirely for storage
| purposes. II was was packed from basement
to roof with furniture and merchandise
Families had stored their entire household
belongings here; merchants had left carloads
| OF supplies here, and there was load after
| load OF incoming and outgoing freight. II IL
In this building that the greatest loss occuir-
! ed. The insurance cannot begin to cover
II.
just before o'clock the most terrible Incl =
| dent OF the nre occurred. The flremen had
| carried their hose into the burning warehouse
through one OF the large rear doors. This
| door was held up by weighted ropes. and the
men had Just entered the building when the
ropes burned through and the heavy wooden
door fell. penning them in. The work OF
cutting through the door was Immediately
began, and was all but finished when the
| floors above fell with n crash. The immense
| weight burst out the door and crushed two OF
the flremen to death. The others were with
! difficulty dragged out OF the debris alive. In
about five minutes the portion OF the outside
wall Immediately over the door gave wav,
filling the wide alley but injurlng no ono.
Massive iron girders over the door held,
leaving the doorway almost clear. In this
clearing, lying on his face, his head and right
arm exposed, lay Assistant Foreman Mastin.
A Pinch beam lying across his shoulder had
crushed out his life aud now held him pinned
| to the ground. II was not until all the top
pling walls around had fallen an hour later
that his body could be extricated. The great
beam had TO be chopped away from over the
body beforeit could be removed.