Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-12-16
NEGRO DISCOVERS FIRE
FROM RAILROAD YARD
Department Has Hard Time Extin-
auishins Flames in Stock OF Dry
Goods and Notions--senator Holt
sprains Ankle While at Work in
Adjoining Building.

Fire of unknown origin broke out OF
the second floor OF the wholesale house
OF wilkins & Robinson. Inc. a blt
thres story brick building at 2l6-2i'
T'n enty-third street. shortly before
O'Clock last night and entailed Ioss
estimated at approximately $4,000. Tue
actual loss from the fire itself prop
ably will not exceed $500, but the
great Volume OF water poured into
the building to extinguish the danes
damaged the stock of -four. Gomez
sugar ana other goods to the extent
of .ibom $500. The loss is fully COW
cred by insurance.
Tne flames started in the notion de-
partment at the extreme rear END vi
the second floor OF the structure ana
its o.. igin is mystery. There was
no electrical wiring near the place
where he blaze originated and no one
had been In the store room for several
hours before the FIRE was discovered.
The flames broke out about half an
hour after the employees in the house
had left for the night.
Discovered Quickly.
Little Roadway had been made Dy
the blaze before II was discovered by
Grant Wynne, a negro billing man
employed by the Chesapeake & Ohio
railway Wynne was passing by me
rear OF the building on railway ve'cc-
ipede which ne was running on the
tracSs leading 20 the Chesapeake a.
Ohia passenger depot. As he passed
the structure. the negro heard glass
break and. looking up he saw fiames
shoo;ing out of the window on the Sec
end door.
Stopping his machine, the negro ran
un the hill TO Twenty-third street anu
TO n nearby saloon. where he reported
the blaze. The fire department was
notified by telephone and in a few
minutes the Central Company was on
the scene. Dy thatstime the second
ficcr of the building was filed with
dense, choking smoke and the firemen
faead hard fight.
Senator Holt Injured.
State Senator Saxon w. Holt, who
has a Wholesale house next door TO the
building occupied by the Wilkins Il
Robinson Company, Inc. fell and
spralned his ankle while working IN
his store during the fire. The injury
was more severe than he realized at
frs. and the senator had to be taken
homo in carriage. No one seemed
to know exactly how the accident DC.
Cured. Senator Holt probably will be
laid up several weeks by the Injury.
Long Ladders Used.
As the fire was In the rear OF the
building the aerial truck could not be
gotten into position to be used in
fighting the blaze. However. the long
ladders on the truck were pressed into
service and the firemen began fighting
the blaze through the rear windows
on the second floor. Two streams OF
water were gotten out and in twenty
minutes the blaze was easily under
control
Later, the flames broke ont On the
third floor, but a stream OF water was
thrown INTO that floor and the fire ex-
ting1;shed A great amount of water
had 10 be thrown into the building and
il ran through the flooring on the sec
ond finor and dropped down on hun
dreds OF bags of -four. boxes Of cof-
fec. crackers. etc. on the first floor
causing much damage.
SO far as the actual damage done
l. concerned. this was the largest IRE
OF the year in this city. However. the