Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-04-22
|AT THE NAVY YARD
Lively Fire Gives Work to the De-
partment.
ONE OF YHE BUILDINGS RUINED
Marines From Barracks Rendered
Effective Service.
FLAMES UNDER CONTROL

An alarm of fire was sounded from the
alarm bcx at the navy yard about 1:3O
O'Clock this afternoon because of fire in
one of the big buildings ir the yard and a
few minutes later several companies of the
| fire department were on hand. The flames
| were discovered by one of the men in the
yard. who telephoned to the gate, and an
alarm was sent in without any delay. When
the firemen arrived and the blaze was seen
| coming through the roof, a second alarm
| was sent in. and additional companies were
soon on hand. Chief Paris was among
those to reach the scene early and he d.
fected the efforts Of the firemen to keep
| the flames from spreading to other build
| ings.
Some difficulty was experienced in getting
water, some Of the streams being very lit
tie larger than streams sent through gar
den hose. This caused more anxiety than
| ever on the part of the officers of the yard
who feared that the fire department would
| not be able to cope with the flames. but
Chief Paris, seeing the danger, ordered
some OF the men to pick up their lines and
get water from the river. This was done
and the chief said he was confident that
the flames would not go beyond the outer
| started.
This is known as the naval examiners and
retiring boards building. The offices of the
steel inspectors are also in the building
capt +. X. Robinson of the barracks was
scon on hand and he assisted the fire de-
| partmsnt as much as he could by ordering
| out all the marines from both the main bar
| racks and the navy yard.
The Origin.
1t is thought that the fire originated ON
the top floor of the three-story building,
and that spontaneous combustion was the
cause, because Of the amount of paper and
perhaps some oily substances stored there,
There were no explosives in the build
Ing, and when this became known those
VINO were IN the yard were willing to ven
ture nearer the scene of the fire. At first
II was reported that some dynamite was
stored there and that there was danger of
wholesale explosion But beyond some
oils stored in the cellar there was nothing
to cause alarm.
The marines worked with as much will
as did the firemen. and they rescued rec
ords and furniture enough TO furnish a
large building. Their movements were
made with as much regularity as the move
ments OF the engines In front of the build
ing sending the streams of water from
the f1fe plugs and river. But there were
some amusing incidents connected with
| lnese clock-work movements, for the men
never seemed to forget they were soldiers.
ana no matter how much of load they
were able to get they moved Off and made
room Tor others.
Several of the big marines were seen in
the fire lines carrying as little as one
book. a few sheets of paper or a pair of
scissors, but there wes not the slightest
confusion nor was there any broken furni-
-ure.
Under Control.
Chief Paris. with his men, attacked the
fire from the front and soon had the roof
covered with f1remen. The marines, VINO
tod Rro
work. prevented greater spread Of the
fire.
Adjoining the scene of the fire is the
residence of Captain ONeill At one time
it looked as If the fire would consume the
building, and the occupants left in haste
watching the fire from point of vantage
on the lawn.
The fire laddies fought bravely, and be-
fore o'clock the fire was well under con-
troll.
Water Needed.
So intense was the heat during the pro-
gress of the fire that the slate roof gave
way to the flames, and every few minutes
part of the roof would give way, until
finally most Of it was destroyed. Despite
the fact that there was scarcity of water,
the fremen got the flames under control in
comparatively short time, and prevented
the total destruction Of the building. There
was no powder or other explosive stored in
any building close by the one that was
burned. A number of clerks were in the
building at the time, but as the fire started
on the floor above them, the flames gained
considerable headway before it was known
that there was anything wrong in the
building
AS already stated, most Of the valuable
documents were recovered ami removed to
the lawn in front of the burning structure.
Before the firemen finished their work,
however, all this material had been re-
moved to one of the big buildings by The
marines under the direction Of Capt. F. H.
Harrington of marine headquarters. The
damage, it is thought, Will not exceed
$1O.OOO
Chief Paris discussing the fire with a
Star reporter, complained bitterly of the
scarcity of water, and seemed very much
a5tcnished at the scant supply at SO i'm
poItant place as the navy yard. When
the flames had been almost extinguished
Chief Paris directed some of the compa-
nies to return to their houses in order to
keep the city well protected.
Soon after the fire-alarm was sounded
the main gates were closed to the public
ard there was no crowding in the way Of
the fremen to retard their work.
.-Court-martials, as a rule, are held in the
building destroyed by fire, and many of
those who would have come up for trial are
rejoicing in the hope that the records
against them have been lost with the pa
pers destroyed.