Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-01
PLAYED WITH MATCHES
Cause of Fire in Which Three
Children Lost Lives.
MOTHERS NOT AT HOME
Only Adults in House Were on Up
per Floor at Time.
WOMEN SAVED BY FIREMEN
Too Excited to Tell That Children
Were in Peril Until
Too Late.

| Children playing with matches are
/ thought to have started the fire in house
800 street northwest yesterday after
noon. Clara and Clifford Hickman. two
of the three colored children who lost
/ their lives Il was stated yesterday after
noon. had been in the basement with
children of neighhors until about twenty
minutes before the blaze was discovered.
| but little Nava Armstrong. the third VIC
tim, had not been down there. Frank
| +. Hickman and James Armstrong,
! fathers of the children. were at their
places of employment at the time the
fire occurred the former in the Navy
! De; artment and the latter in the quarter
! masters office War. Department, while
| the mothers were at market.
| When the parents returned to the badly
! damaged house and saw what had been
done during their absence they were al
| most frantic. The men were summoned
| from the departments. but IL was not
! until they had reached the vicinity of
| the house that the mothers became aware
| of what had occurred during their
absence. They were taken to the houses
OF neighbors and told of how their chill
! dren had been suffocated.
I'm afraid the children were playing
with matches shouted Mrs. Hickman
when she reached the house of neighbor.
| not knowing they We're dead.
| Members OF he fire and police depart
| ments remained about the house until. the
last spark had been extinguished and
until most of the crowd of spectators
| had disappeared. The house was left In
such condition, however that the sew
/ eral occupants who were not suffocated
were unable to spend the night there.
Their Escape Cut Off.
Mary +. Harris and Florence Young
who were rescued from the third floor.
were occupants of that floor. The former
was seated near the front window read
| ing a newspaper when she detected the
odor of smoke and soon afterward saw
| the smoke i'll front OF the house. Florence
! Young having been asleep. Mary Harris
awakened her companion and tod ner
| there was a fire in the house. Then she
opened door leading to the stairs, but
| the smoke was SO sitting that she found
| it necessary to close 1t before the room
became filled. 1t was impossible to leave
| the room and make an enort to reach the
! lower floor, and the two young women
went to the front window and climbed
| out upon the roof of the bay window.
| Even there they were not out OF reach
! of the smoke. and 1t was almost impos-
| sible for them TO remain there until the
arrival of the firemen. The Harris woman
managed to protect herself by covering
her head with her skirt, while with her
| other hand she held firm grip upon
| Florence Young to prevent her from
! jumping cut of the window
Deputy Fire Marshal Seib. who respond
/ ed to the alarm with No. Il engine COM
pany. reached the fire in time to shout to
Florence Young and keep her from break
ing away from her companion and jump
ing to almost certain death. The women
were carried down the fire ladder by Fire
men Clarence of No IL truck company
and Daniel Sullivan Of No. truck. 1t
was not until after the women had been
rescued that the firemen learned the chill
dren were in the house. Then Deputy
/ Fire Marshal Seib broke out the windows
on the second floor to permit the escape
of smoke, and Harry Barker of No. II
engine company and Joseph Gates. MEM
| Der of No. Z, entered through the dense
1 spoka tn reSclIe the children.