Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-09

THE OVERHEAD WIRES
Contributing Cause to Ruin Of
Great City.
BALTIMORE DISASTER
FIRST CASUALTY CAUSED BY
ELECTRIC WIRE.
Discussion Of the Indiscriminate Stor-
age of Gasoline in Buildings and
Fireproof Construction.


and the alleged "fireproof' construction of
buildings for storage and other purposes.
have. 1t is conceded. contributed to the
ruin of a great city. and the Baltimore dis
aster Is now pointed out a horrible ex-
ample of the lax laws and regulations In
vogue in many municipalities. The very
first casualty, in fact, the only one Of
serious moment occurred Immediately after
the arrival of the fire department and the
commencement of the futile battle with
the flames when Chief Engineer Horton of
the Baltimore department was shocked to
Inconsistencies by live electric wire and
totally incapacitated for exercising the
functions for which he was SO urgently
needed
Baltimore streets are today a mass of
tangled and mixed trolley, telephone. tele-
graph and messenger call wires. which but
forty-eight fifty hours ago hung on poles
and housetops throughout the entire BUSH
ness section of the city. crossing and re-
crossing each other In perfect matwOrk
Such a condition of affairs could do
naught but render the conditions serious,
even while they were hanging in the air.
making ii next to impossible for the fire.
men to reach burning buildings with their
ladders and hose. 1t can be easily imagined
how much greater danger resulted to those
fighting tie flames when this tangled mass
of wires fell to the streets. shooting sparks
and deadly charges over the surface of the
ground and making it risk of life to go
near them. In addition to the inability for
man or beast to pass over them. the fire
fighters were greatly handicapped by a fear
of approaching the electric cables. Drivers
of fire engines hesitated before making
their teams go through the tangled masses
of wire hanging from overhead to the
streets and charging everything with '.elec-
trio fluid" They feared the electric charge
would at any moment pass through the
horses to the massive steel engine. killing
nd r. a.
fighting apparatus Gus of business
Couplings Charged With Electricity.
Then again the firemen were in MANY in
stances unable to handle the hose and pour
water on the fire because the electricity
from the fallen wires had charged the COUP
lings and followed the wet hose for its en-
tire length. and to touch the hose was to
receive a shock few men could withstand.
This condition stands before the people of
Baltimore and the people of other munich
palities including the District of Columbia.
as striking and impressive example of the
absolute necessity of having all overhead
wires of every kind removed below the sur
face of the ground and enforcing the pro-
vision that in the future no wires be strung
In the air for any purpose.
Fire chiefs generally throughout the coun-
try have periodically issued instructions to
householders and others regarding the ham
ding of gasoline. yet there are daily oc-
currences of absolute disregard of these in
StructionS. The conf1agration in Baltimore.
regarded Az the greatest the world has ever
known-greater even than the Chicago fire
OK 1SII even though, po lives We're lost--was
largely augmented, 1t is believed. by gas
oline explosion. Gasoline was stored in
tanks in the warehouse of John E. Hurst &
Co for the purpose Of running an engine.
This tank was in the building and the
four walls formed vacuum that gave
added force to the explosion. which caused
the flames to spread over four five other
buildings,
There Is little or no danger from using
gasoline for fuel practically no more than
from burning the same quantity of coal oil.
but the difference is in the generation of
gas. which makes the gasoline so deadly.
Its fumes, if confined in quantity in room
ten feet square and then ignited, would, it
is declared, blow asunder building as
large as the city post office.
There would have been a different story
to tell of the Baltimore fire had it occurred
Monday instead of Sunday. even though it
had been confined to the building in which
it originated.
The storage of gasoline in small quanti-
ties is allowed by the District authorities,
and then casualties occur from it's careless
use.
Fireman's Opinion.
at is not reasonable to suppose that the
use of gasoline can be done away with"
said an old fireman this morning but it is
perfectly natural to insist that proper safe
guards be thrown around its use. so as to
| reduce the percentage of accidental explo-
sions to the limit
The great destruction of alleged ''fire-
proof buildings In the Baltimore fire has
caused an agitation as to whether or not
any building can be so constructed as to be
absolutely ffreproof. That buildings can be
and are constructed SO to withstand
flames for long time in comparison with
buildings of ord nary structure is con-
coded of fha Pulf
more disaster before them many wise ones
| shake their heads and say. Il told you So
referring to some former prediction that
| there is no such thing as a fireproof build
| ing
| Commissioner Mcfarland recently said in
an interview in connection with the Iro-
/ quois Theater fire in Chicago. that the use
| of the term 'freproof Is m.Snomer; that
such terms as fire resisting" or ''slow
burning should be used His title could be
aptly appended to many of the buildings in
Baltimore. using, for example. the Sun iron
/ building the Equitable building, the West
| ern Union Insurance building and others.
| so-called 'fireproof' buildings. Instances
| of such buildings are manifold. In fact to-
day there is not standing in the entire burn
| ed district ''fireproof building to give
even the faintest cause for belief that such
buildings can be constructed.
Main Source of Trouble.
when the excitement of the big fire
| wears or" remarked a Maryland man to
| a Star reporter, 1.-THE public will begin to
coolly consider some of the things that I'm
! necessarily constituted to the spread of
the flames and the apparent inability to
successfully cope with them at the outset.
They will reaIfze that much. If not the
| main trouble, was caused by the overhead
| wires Here In washington, where there
| are no wires strung over the tops of build
| ings. or down streets and alleys and form
! ing an almost irtpenetrable network over
some crossings IT is not probably as thor
oughly understood what il means to fight a
stubborn fire with these conditions. If
| remember rig..,, ya2tfie municipal authori-
ties OF Baltimofeb passed ordinance
something like Two Years ago ordering all
was never enforced for serae reason or
other" ~ &c on
L.sl-4