The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-18
Avert Disaster This Morning
by Keeping Flames From
Ammonia Tanks.
$4,000 LOSS AT
ICE CREAM PLANT
Blaze Caused by Defective Wir-
ing-Factory Is Not
Crippled.

4 three-slsrm Of FIRE. caused probably
BY defective wiring. broke out on the
third floor of the ice, butter. and ice
cream making plant Of the Chaplin
Sacks Manufacturing Company, at First
and NJ streets northeast, shortly after
o'clock this morning. For about an
hour it looked to Chief Wagner and his
assistants in the frefghting business
as If 1t might develop into a ccnnagra-
ticns but IN the end the highest esti-
mates of the damage were $4,000. The
IRE was confined 10 an old brick build
ing, the original plant Of the company,
which was protected by 10000 insur-
ance. but it was alarmingly close all
the time TO the ammonia tanks used In
the manufacture Of ice. A little spurt
Of fame into the ammonia, and the
Capital might have read this evening
Of a disaster
AS it is, even the output Of the plant
win not be endangered, according TO
Arthur Chaplin. president of the com
pany. He expects to get things working
this evening, he said.
II wasn't holocaust by any means,
but i was spectacular enough for the
first hour and furnished the crews of
4
trucks. and the reserves of a quintet or
more Of station houses with an oppor-
tunity TO eat enough free ice cream TO
last them for three days.
The Chapin-Sacks Company started
out TO do business on First street north
east, In comparatively small brick
building, built probably a dozen years
ago. Since that time, building after
building has been erected until the plant
stretches from II street. north to Pat
terson street, and west along Patter-
son and n streets, almost a third of
the distance 10 North Capitol street.
Fhe blifaing facing n street Is Of hol-
toM tle construction and in the west
corner ls located the ice cream end of
the business. over in the northeast
corner, ~ Patterson and First streets,
Is the ice-making plant. on top Of the
corner building are the ammonia tanks.
and underneath is the expensive ice
south Of this one. also on First street, is
the machinery used In making ice cream
cones
Engineer Discovers Blaze.
About o'clock this morning the engi-
neer Of the company went up in the top
floor of this Iast-named building and
took his usual look at things. In
short time he came down, everything
AZ the time seeming 60 be all right
It couldn't have been more than few
minutes until he saw flames shooting
out of this top story With the first
alarm came Chief Wagner, who sleeps
iu NO. l4 engine house, engine cOmpau-
les u. o. and 3. and truck g. A second
alarm ordered by the chief brought
companies Z and Is, and truck /, and
with a third alarm came engines 20 and
g. and truck 3. Battalion Chiefs Keleher
and Proctor were on the job right after
the chief.
il only took one look 10 convince Chief
Wagner that things might so bad any
minute. He stationed one engine at the
corner of NJ and North Capitol streets;
one iu the middle OF the block between
North Capitol and First streets on n;
one at II and First streets; another at
First and n streets; another at Patter-
son and North Capitol streets. and
pushed the other two IN where they
would do the most good
ON account OF a leak ina the ammonia
tanks somewhere the hremeu couldn't
get at the fire very well. They climbed
over ILe top OF the new building on NJ
street and stuck ladder up against the
old building on First I'm spite OF the
fumes, the men on the First street side
managed some way or other TO get a
line into the TOP story. Streams were
Continued on Third Page)