Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17
EXCITEMENT AT FIRE.
Many Incidents Attend Burning of the
Admiral Hotel.

A fire in the Admiral Hotel, 81 c street
northwest. Saturday night about o'clock,
was attended by a number of exciting Incl
dents. Several guests of the colored hotel
were injured and several had to be assisted
out OF the building to prevent possible IA
tally. Walter Bailey, the proprietor of the
motel, was In the building at the time, and
was certain that the fire was the work of
an lncendiary. woman rushed into the
street and shouted fire" at the top of her
voice, Her screams were heard by police
men and others at the Baltimore and Ohio
depot, and Policeman Saunders turned in
an alarm of fire from box 10.
Before the fire department had time to
reach the building a ladder was procured
from Thomas w. Smiths lumber yard and
the work of rescuing the occupants of the
truck A company assembled ladder in front
of the building, and those who witnessed his
conduct declare that he went through the
flames to rescue a man who had been
unable to get out of the building. Two wo-
men climbed out the thiId-story window to
the cornice over the windows on the sec
ond floor and waited there until assistance
reached them. Thomas Smith, his wife and
two children were taken from the windows
On the second floor. Lizzie Hill caught the
children when they were dropped from the
window to her, and then the man and his
wife followed. ]. A. Naylor, who occupied
a room on the second floor, was slightly
scorched while trying to save his trunk.
Charles Barber and his wife, who occu-
pied a room on the third floor directly over
the room in which the fire started had the
most exciting experience of the hotel guests.
They were married only three days ago
and had moved into the hotel Saturday
morning. Barber returned from his place
of employment about shutdown, and after
supper he repaired to his room. His weeks
earnings had been placed upon the bureau,
and so quickly did the fire reach the room
hot he rroC bt n
Mrs. Barber managed to fight her way
through the fire and smoke and reach the
street. Her husband was not quite so for
tunate. He found it necessary to leave the
building by way of the third-story window.
How he managed to get to the ground
without receiving serious injury he was too
excited to tell. He was Slightly cut by
pieces of broken glass and his wife was also
slightly injured.
When No. 3 engine company reached the
scene of the fire the blaze was making its
way to the lower floor and had already
gone through the roof. 1t required but
few seconds for the firemen to check the
progress of the flames and save the old
frame structure from being destroyed. The
proprietor Of the place complained to the
police of the alleged suspicious conduct OF
a former boarder. Lieut.. Moore. Detective
Berman and a number of officers of the
sixth precinct were upon the scene. They
heard Bailey's complaint. and are making
an effort to find the colored man VINO Is
suspected. Fire Marshal Bleber ana ms as,
slstant were at the fire. and they estlmateo
the total damage at about $oo0 Inc Dulio-
ing was insured but Bailey mad no lnSur-
ance upon his effects. va3