Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-30

Fire of unknown origin swept over the
principal works of the big filtration plant
before daylight this morning and practi-
cally wiped out the mechanical departments
Of the outfit, causing loss which was
variously appropriated at from $4,000 to
$3OOO0O
A red glare near the south or list street
gate Of the Soldiers Home grounds at
tlacted the attention Of ;Watchmen George
Doyle and Thomas Nowland and Police
man A. B. Hunt about PAS o'clock this
morning. The three men. who were In the
immediate vicinity of the gate, made
quick investigation and discovered that the
main shed for the storage of cement, which
is Immediately at the gate, was ablaze
A fire alarm box and police patrol station
were only few rods away from the burn
ing building and an alarm was at once sent
In to No. IL engine company. which re-
sponded as quickly as the muddy roadways
permitted.
In the meantime the fire gained great
Roadway and extended from the long &C.
ment shed eastward to the mixing plant
When the flremen of No. IL company reach
ed the scene they scurried hither and thith-
err looking for fire plug. One was found
finally on Cincinnati street. fully four
squares away from the burning buildings.
The discovery was then made that the
hose supply of the single engine was not
| of sufficient length to reach either the
plug on Cincinnati street or another plug
which had been located over near Trinity
College.
Second Alarm Sounded.
A second alarm was thereupon sent in,
to which No. engine responded, and the
combined hose of the two companies was
connected, and one of the engines went
into service. BY that time, it was stated,
! the flames had swept over the power
house, the saw mill and the engine house,
| leaving in their wake a mass of red-hot
! tangled and twisted machinery and other
| evidences of the ruin which had been
| wrought.
| Several of the little dinky locomotives
and one big freghter, the latter the prop
| erty Of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
| Company besides four little dump cars.
| were standing on the track Immediately in
| front of the burning buildings. BY dint of
| hard work the Waterman, Policeman Hunt
and others. who had been attracted to the
scene by the great, red glare, managed to
| haul the four locomotives out of danger,
| but the four dump cars were destroyed.
| Concluding that 1t would be impossible to
| save the buildings already ablaze, the fire.
men, under the command of Assistant Chief
James Keleher, devoted their efforts, with
| the single line Of hosein Use, to saving the
] carpenter shop, additional cement sheds
| and the lodge house of the Soldiers Home,
| near the gateway. These were saved, but
| the f1re-swept structures were reduced to
| aSneS ana charcoal. ssII =
ut was a lucky thing said Assistant
| Chief Keleher to a Star reporter, that 1t
was calm night. A dead calm prevailed.
Had there been even q lights breeze the
created far greater destruction.
| Mr.. Keleher also stated that the de-
| stroyed buildings were veritable finder
boxes. They were covered with tar roofing.
| and once on fire only a deluge of water
| could have saved them.
The assistant chief said he visited the fill
| tration plant last Saturday and called at
| tention to the inflammable nature of the
| structures and the possibility that a spark
| from one of the engine stacks or passing
| locomotives might result in the serious
blaze which occurred this morning.
Apparently Mystery.
| The origin of the fire is apparently
! shrouded in mystery, and Lieut.. Elliott Of
| the tenth precinct, who was early at the
scene of the eonfagration, this forenoon
instituted an investigation to determine
whether it was of incendiary, accidental or
| spontaneous origin.
Assistant Fire Chief Keliher stated it to
| be his belief that the fire started in the
| center Of the cement storage house. near
| the entrance to the building from the Sol
diers' Home roadway. Just inside the
| Structure at this point was small inclo-
| sure, which was used as an Office In this
| Office, it was said. was the only inf1amma-
| Bile material in the structure, and it was
ADDED that several days ago a small gdSO-
| line stove was taken into the Office for
heating purposes. =
| The door leading into the cement house
| was locked with Yale paddock, and 1t was
| supposed that the inner Office door was also
| locked But such proved not to have been
| the case, as the open hasp was found in the
debris after the fire had burned out, while
| the Yale lock was also found, and it was
| still locked.
| The watchmen are said to have stated
that no suspicious persons We're seen Turk
| ing about the premises, and as the cement
house was tightly locked, according to the
| statement of employees of the contractors,
| the mystery was deepened.
| The immediate scene of the big blaze is
| at the intersection of LIST street and Mich
| igan avenue northeast, at the point where
| Soldiers Home. The fire caused a great