Evening star., 1898-12-24
LIGHTED CANDLE AND A BOY
Combination Causes Fierce Fire in the
0rme Building
Loss Estimated to he Several Thou
sands of Dollars, hut Cow
cred by Insurance.

While playing with a lighted candle near
the folding doors of the fiat in the fourth
story of the Orme apartment building, i3l
10th street, Floyd Holmes accidentally set
fire to the building. The story of the boy
is that he left the candle, which he had
placed in a box, to go in another room.
When he came back the doors were on fire.
The candle had evidently fallen against
the polished doors, which were of highly
infiammable material, and set fire to them.
In moment the house was in an uproar
and the cry of fire was followed almost
simultane ously by a burst of smoke from
the roof. Some one pulled the automatic
alarm signal in the house and the occu-
pants took up the cry of fire. A policeman
passing pulled box 1874, and engine COM
panies 1, =, IA and G. and trucks and d
responded Immediately
NO tlme was lost in getting a stream
from the chemical engine and the men
rom rom tne truck We're sent hurrying with
thelr axes to the top floor. Meanwhile the
Dig aerial truck was raised. and in a very
few minutes the building was surrounded
oy hremen fighting the flames from all
slaes. s They succeeded in confining the
names TO the fourth and fifth stories
wher, they did little damag
Explosion of Hot Air.
The fire took place shortly after 10
O'Clock. While the men had congresated
on the top floor to make the first attack on
the flames, there was a hot-air exnIosion
IN the rear, near the elevator shaft, and
Tor a moment it was thought the building
had fallen in. In the skurry of the men TO
seek seek sa1et several of the firemen, includ-
ing e. Chief Paris, Were slightly injured.
me nre started. as stated above, on the
IouI III moor In the jam of the sliding
doors, and spread rapidly through .ba ne
uton under the roof, where the dry North
Carouna pine beams furnished excellent
.lLe M 1000. SO fiercely did the fire rage be-
tWeeh the partitions that 1t became neces-
salS 10 cut ont two sections and entirely
remove the roof -
;, The building is occupied by several fami-
mes. Mr. hitman Osgood and family oc-
cupy the top floor, Mr.. A. b. Holmes and
Iamlly the fourth floor, Representative ID
f. Wilmer, third floor: w T Robertson
second floor. and Madam Des Gareennes
d Mr. finnigan and Miss Margaret Berry
occupy the remaining flats.
The building is owned by Mr. James r
l'arbour, and the loss, which is estimated
at several thousand dollars. is fully cover
ed by insurance. The OCCUPANTS of the
apartments also suffered loss of consider
abie amount, some of II not covered by in
surance MIR. Osgood being among the larg-
est losers.
Department Criticized,
Ihere was considerable criticism of the
11re department in the large crowd that
mad collected for failure 10 use the big
three-lnch stand pipe which ran on the
outside of the building paralleling the fire
escapes. Considerable time was lost in
getting the line of hose to :he ton of the
building. Had the section been hurried to
tne top floor and attached 10 the stand
pipe and another section attached at the
root of the building. it IS believed much
time could have been saved. Beyond this
there was no dereliction chargeabie 10 the
hremen. They worked diligently