Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-19

THE STUMPH FIRE
Investigation Into the circumstances
by Deputy Coroner Glaaebreok.
bow TIE BuH1Ha WAS ERECTED
-z1s~s Z
AttomeyFhopss lakes a Hand in
Examining Witnesses.
MIR. ENTwISLES ADMISSIONS
how TIE BUILDING was ERECTED
MR.. ENTwIsLEs ADMISSIONS

the conjunction Of 9TH street, X street and
| Massachusetts avenue. on Monday after
noon, was begun by Deputy and Acting
| Coroner Glazebrook this morning at the
sixth precinct station house on New Jersey
avenue above ID street. The jury selected
was composed Of Thomas ]. King contrac-
tor and builder, No. 252s L street north
west; Henry F. Getz. builder, No 92s
Maryland avenue northeast; Pliny NJ.
Hough, real estate, No. 623 Z street north
west; Zepaniah Jones. contractor. llO4 9th
street northwest; w. A. Peacock. retired
liveryman, No. 22G New Jersey avenue. and
Thomas w. Smith. lumber dealer, LIST street
| ana Indiana avenue. number of wit
| nesses had been summoned, including many
contractors. builders and architects.
Shortly before IL O'Clock DIR. Glaze
| brook led the jurymen to the morgus
IN the rear of the station, where they view
| ed the bodies Of the unknown victims of the
| catastrophe. which had not vet been re-
moved. A visit was then paid to the scene
Of the fire.
The Testimony Begun.
At :15 the jurymen returned ana th.
examination was taken up I'm the officers
room Of the station. DIR. Glazebrook an
nounced that the inquest would be held
upon the bodies Of all the dead men,
The first witness was Dr. Sterling Rufsn,
who testified to examining three of the
| bodies found. All of them were frightfully
burned, while one of them had a fractured
skull, while another was disembow eled.
| Death In the cases was due to the burns
and injuries received and the shock re-
sulting therefrom.
Mr.. Edward II. stumph.
Mr.. Edward b. stumph. Junior member
| OF the firm Of Stumph Brothers, was sworn
The business was established ten years
ago in a frame building occupying a third
OF the site of the fire. A two-story brick
building was afterward erected by another
party. which was afterward purchased by
| the firm. When the five-story building
burned on Monday was built the side walls
| Of the two-story brick building were used
and the wallis built UP on them. The front
walls we've built anew entirely from the
foundation. The structure was strong
| enough for the purposes Il was used.
Witness stated that the materials used In
his business were very light. Consisting
| Of light woods, feathers and similar arti-
cles, and the stru' ture was abundantly
able to support the weight II contained.
The fifth fioor contained a number OF car
pets and a piece Of machinery used for car
pei. cleaning. run by a band from the engine
below, which weighed about a ton Three
times as much weight had been on that
floor upon previous occasions. The fourth
floor contained a number Of different sorts
of machines Of light make. The third floor
was used for storing shucks. There were
no men employed on the NTH noor as no
carpet cleaning was being done. None were
employed on the third floor. There were
eight men at work on the fourth and four
men and four women on the second. The
firm employed about twenty-five people.
When He First knew Of the Fire.
Witness. when first told Of the fire. was
Informed by the foreman OF the mattress
room that It had broken out above the en-
gine room in the second story. at the SOUTH
east corner of the building. The stairway
was about ten feet away. The foreman ran
down the stairway as witness was going to
lIEch. and shouted that the building was
on fire. Witness at once broke the glass OF
the automatic fire alarm. He did SO imme-
diateiy upon hearing the foreman's alarm.
The foreman went back, at witness in
structson, to alarm the other employees. He
reported that all had gotten ont ard wit
ness instructed the engine to be STOPPED.
The band had already been burned through
by that time. and the elevator was useless
Witness told his engineer after he had
turn ed in the alarm.
No one had ever called attention of wit
ness to weakness of the walls of his build
ing or TO any cracks in them. About four
or hve months ago Assistant Building In
spector King had examined the building and
reported Ii as being entirely safe. The in
spector's visit was brought about at the
request OF witness. who wanted to find out
IL the fourth floor was strong enough to
support an extra weight that would be put
anime the whole building, with the result
before testified to.
Witness had never noticed any evidences
of weakness in the structure or any cracks
in the east wall. Jurysnan Getz conducted
this part Of the examination and said he
himself had noticed the cracks I'm the east
wall while having his horse shod at the
adjoining blacksmith ship on last Thurs
day. The blacksmith had called his atten-
ton to them, but Mr. Getz said he did not
think they materially injured the walls.
witness said he had never noticed the
cracks IL they existed
Had OrdereazFsre Escapcs.
Mr.. stumph. in reply to DIR. Glazebrook's
questions. recited the incidents connected
with the fire escape which had been or
dered placed upon his building by the Dis
trict authorities. Witness had compiled
with the notification after slight delay and
had ordered a fire escape from Lancaster.
Pa. The construction had arrived here and
was awaiting the arrival OF workmen from
the mandatory to place IL in position. In
response to questions of Juryman Hough.
Mr.. Stumph said that three years ago he
had three times much weight on the
fifth floor as 1t upheld on the day OF the
fire.
Witness then recalled that when the
alarm of fire reached him ne went up
to the second floor and told his brother to
send the warning up the speaking trumpet
to the workmen above. which was done.
and a response gotten. Witness then busted
himself getting the women employees out
Origin of the Fire.
The fire broke out among some cotton
jute on the second floor, and might have.
witness thought. been caused by over
heated bearings of the band from the en-
gine. There was no gasoline stove or other
heating appliance on that floor. There was
no fire in the building outside of the engine
room. There was no one on the second
floor when witness left II. the men hsd
escaped. and he had gotten the women out
of the sewing room.
MIR. Eutwisle's Evidence.
Building Inspector Entwisie testified that
the inspection of buildings and fire escapes.
other than District buildings and large
structures. done by three assistants.
The work Of inspection was entirely too
much for the force at the inspectors COM
mand. and he had repeatedly asked TO have
sufficient force given his Office to do the
necessary work. He had never been In the
Stumph building himself. 1t was In the