Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-17
Fire Destroys Property at
4OO-41O Fourteenth Street.
LOSS MAY REACH $4,000
Owned by Government and Occupied
by Four Tenants.
STARTED IN LOFT AMID HAY
Blaze Discovered Little Before
Seven O'Clock-Confined to
One Building.

Fire destroyed the brick building At 400
40 14th street northwest. opposite the
District building. this morning, the flames
cutting the building from ground floor to
roof. damaging the property. which is
owned by the United States government.
to the extent OF $4,000, and affording a
very strong argument in favor of high
pressure service in the District. WhiAe
four-fifths of the city's iire-fighting crews
and apparatus was scUrrying around the
scene of the fire, leaving a tremendous
territory unprotected, another blaze broke
out in tho heart Of the uncovered area,
making 1t necessary for the fire fighters
to move their apparatus about the Dis
trict with the utmost care and strategy.
The second fire broke out just about the
time the third and fourth alarms at the
big fire downtown were calling for help,
and destroyed three sheds in the rear or
1876 152s- 1870 Columbia street northwest.
Fire Marshal Nicholson places the loss
at S30,Gn on the building and So,UU on
the contents. The National Tribune. in
the next building, suffered s1,ovO damage
by smoke and water.
The burned building was occupied
by the White Oak Coal Company, n. e.
De Lavergne, a harness maker; r. n.
Houser, who conducts the Willard
Storage Company. and by G. X. Hol-
lingsworth, a veterinary surgeon, who
has been for several days at George
town University Hospital awaiting to
undergo an operation. Nearly fifty
horses, quartered in various parts of
the burned building. were trotted out
Of their stalls by volunteers. No one
was injured, but a quantity of horse
feed and stable supplies was burned up.
colored man, whose only name, as
far as the police and fire marshal
can learn. is Henry. is the one who dis
covered the blaze a little before
o'clock.
Discovers Fire in Hay.
Martin Moten. a colored boy who
works for DR.. Hollingsworth. slept
last night in the veterinarians Office.
The man named Henry went early this
morning to work. q. r. Hollingsworth
jr., who lived on the second floor, over
his fathers office. was asleep when
Henry arrived. Henry went upstairs
and came down again in a tremendous
hurry.
There's fire up in the hay" he said.
Martin Moten. who was just about
ready to build fire in the cook stove
to prepare young Hollingsworth's 3
breakfast, replied:
GO long man. Dom you try to scare
me. Go way
But Henry rushed upstaids again. and
yelled Fire" About that time Martin
thought he would take a look. and what
he saw in the hay was enough to scare
nervous colOred boy into spasms. He
rushed into young Hollingsworth's room
and. finding him snoring, shook him
roughly by the shoulders.
Git up. Mistah Hollingsworth. Tn
place is all on fire"
'All RI" murmured young Hollings-
worth. who turned over and went on
sleeping Henry was SO scared that he
was yelling fire at the top of his voice,
and Martin, without regard to what
might happen to him, slapped young Hol-
lingsworth in the face and dragged him
out Of bed. Together they ran to where
twelve horses. under the Doctors care,
were quartered and began slash.ng halter
straps. Hollingsworth was clad in his
pink patamas, and, seeing that it would
be only a question of minutes before he
would have to leave the building. he
made a dash for his c.othes, and sue
ceeded In getting only a pair of shoes
and a pair of trousers. He appeared in
the cold air with that garb and borrowed
a blanket later from fireman.
Men and Boys Rescue Horses.
The smoke was frightful when the en-
gines began to work on the flames, and
it was hard to get at the heart of the
trouble Thirty-five horses, nearly all the
property Of the Chesapeake and + ornac
Telephone Company, We're stabbed on the
second floor. near the fire. and were act
ing neryously. Men and boys ran in and
n flo arfi n,
cutting ropes and halters. second
and a third alarm brought out extra fire.
men. Chief Wagner hadn't had his break
fast, but when he heard those three
alarms he sent for his red specializing
automobile. and Driver Moxley took the
chief down Vermont avenue at Sixty-fiye
miles and hour, changing the Big bell and
working the horn to the intense discom-
fort Of every one on the route who want
ed to take a last nap before getting up.
1t is a bad neighporhood Tor fires, in
the chiefs opinion The first thing ne
did was to send in fourth alarm, get
ting nearly every smoke-eater in the
District On the scene. BY that time the
lar on the roof began TO sizzla and fuHe,
and men who had tried I" night the
fames from the roof had to- defer I" the
black cloud that was rising skyward, 10
be seen for miles away. With the chief
were Deputy Chief Sullivan. Second Bat
talon Chief Henry and Third Battalion
CHIEF Proctor They spread their forces
ali around the burning building. Ii was
ar easy matter to fight the fire from the
4th street side and the - street side.
but from the rear the matter was little
ticklish. Alleys so narrow that a lat
man could hardly squeeze by honeycomb
the block and were swarming with Italian
men. women and children, who were get
ing their household goods together in
ned quilts and making an awfut racket
about IL. I, was therefore no easy JOB
to get ladders, hose and axes up the rear
of the burning building.
Water Towers Good Work.
The water tower was as active this
as Il ever was. II pokeo its long
nosa right over tce roof OF the building
ond turned loose enough water to foat
q steamboat II was mess OF roof,
700 with the tar burning. melting and
sizzling. and no amount of water at rirst
seemed to conquer II.
Down on the street half a dozen husky
6remen were turning the water towers
nose hack and. forth. so that II sprayed
. little matter of Thousand gallons
u,innte over every inch of the blazing
a., And IL does have the power. The
strea,,, hi. @ thick brick chimney which
sironly melted away as IL u ha0' been
rad Of cobwehs. 3 slate-roof tower
nn t,e southeast corner OF the building
was struck by the stream and squashed
IKE an overripe pumpkin
A L. MA fr,t.