Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-22
OLD FIREMEN, 1915 TO 1920.
By James Croggon.

at Davis Hotel. now the Metropolitan,
for the relief Of the sufferers by this fire.
Mayor Blake presided and Joseph Gales
or the Intelfigencer was secretary. A
committee was appointed to solicit con-
tr1outions: Capt. Peter Lenox, John Nc
Clelland. Joseph Mechlen. Henry Ingle
the corporation was requested to provide
q suitable alarm bell and to have at least
one good and efficient engine in each
ward.
Engine Is Ordered.
| In March, 1917. an engine was ordered
at cost not exceeding 5000 for the Sec
ond ward, and 1t was received in August.
January 4 1918. Commodore Decatur's
stable. near the northwest corner of
Lafayette Square, was burned. On the
18th Of the same month the house of
Gen. Philip Stewart, on N street west Of
short time nothing but the walls re-
| manned.
| The houses of benjamin. Sprigg, clerk in
the office Of the House OF Representatives,
and the unfinished houses of Edward s.
Lewis OF the third auditors Office and
Daniel Pagan were destroyed, but the
adjoining houses Of Thomas Dougherty
clerk In the House of Representatives.
and William Jones were saved. The en-
| gines of the second and third wards were
there, and did good work: nearly all the
| furniture was saved. March 10 a meet
ing was held at Davis Hotel for the relief
of some of the sufferers at this fire. Jan
! uary 10. 1918. meeting was held at
| company. Ex-Mayor Daniel Rapine pre-
sided. and John p. Ingle was the secre-
| tary, and they were directed to prepare
articles OF association to be reported the
21st instant. This they did. selecting the
s., old name OF Columbia Fire Company.
| The following were elected officers:
James Young, grocer at New Jersey ave-
nue. and B street southeast. president
ex-Mayor Rapine, vice president; William
| Ingle, secretary; Alexander Mccormick
treasurer. There were about twenty-five
| engineers, axmen, laddermen and sentf-
nels, among them Nicholas L. Queen.
Richmond johnson, then of the Bank of
| the United States; William ]. Mccormick,
ter Of the city: John Dunning, leading
| butcher; Rev. A. Hunter. chaplain, U. S.
N; James Middleton. for many years a
| carpenter: Ignatius Wheatley, living on
A street near list; A. r. Dawson. Benja-
min Burch, doorkeeper of the House OF
Representatives.; James Hickey, Simeon
Matlock, Mark Hickey, William Brent
Griffith Coombes. Mr.. Young declined to
| serve as president and John g. MacDon-
| aid of the Office of the secretary Of the
| Senate was chosen president.
| Suitable badges were ordered to be pro-
cured. also axes and fire hooks. In the
Intelligencer Of January %. 1918. ''Civis'
appealed to the citizens to take more
intelligently at fires. and he urged that the
general government provide 1rst-class
| engines for each Of the public buildings
and asked what would become of the
general post office, the patent Office and
| the Congressional Library were fire to
| hroQk with the TYNViSod nv
the city so Inadequate that not a single
| engine had sufficient power to reach the
roof of the patent office.
Company Reorganized.
January "a, 1918, a meeting was held at
the Western Academy. the public school
house on I street west OF 18th. and the
Union Fire Company OF the First Ward
was formed, or rather the old West Mar
ket was reorganized. At an adjourned
meeting Of the Columbia Fire Company.
February %, Thomas Law, Samuel
Burch, House clerk; E. D. Tfppett, public
school teacher; Thomas Dunn. sergeant
| alarms of the House, and others were
| elected. At a subsequent meeting. held
at Queens, the membership was in
creased.
About / am June IS. 1s1s fire broke
out in the boarding house of Mrs.
1
Avenue between 21st and 22d streets. II
was extinguished with some loss to the
| interior and there were some narrow
escapes Of the boarders In communi-
cation to the 1ntelligencer describing the
| fires the citizens are praised and thanks
returned for removing and returning the
furniture without much damage. The
service Of a number of youths forming
the Star Fire Company is commended.
The Treasury engine was manned by
In July. 1918, the mayor was author
lied to have reservoirs constructed at
the site Of the public hydrants ten feet
square and eight feet deep. Up to this
on c street between AZ and 9th, from
Caffray's spring. near 9th and F streets,
and it was contemplated to lay other
wooden pipes However. the numerous
ponds were natural reservoirs, but the
means Of getting water therefrom were
limited, as the companies each had only
a few hundred feet Of hose. and the
hydraulion or the suction engine had not
come into use.
Navy Yard Active.
The Navy Yard people formed the
Navy Yard company at Hemsworth's
Tavern. near the gate. December 8. 1918.
John Davis Of Abel presided, with John
Newland secretary. and after adopting
constitution officers were elected. Mar
maduke Dove was chosen president, Mr..
Davis vice president. Mr.. Rowland sec
rotary and Lemuel Townsend treasurer.
Among the fifty-odd members were
James Bury. w. B. Ellis. Benjamin
King, Thomas Sindall, William and
Thomas Sanderson. William Burdine.
Moses Shelton, George Beane, George
Grant and others. Nearly If not all
were employed In the yard, but the COM
pany and apparatus, belonging to the
United States, responded to fires gen.
orally.
The Anacostia or fourth ward COM
pany, whose apparatus was near the
Branch market 9th and X streets south
east, was organized at Lawson Persons
tavern, opposite the marine barracks.
December Is, 1918, and the following Of
ficers were chosen: DIR. Alexander Mac
Williams, president: j. W. Brashears, vice
president; Noah Brashears, secretary, and
Robert Desha, treasurer; Thomas Holi-
day, James Friend, George Adams, Will
liam Prout and E. w. Clark. director OF
engineers, laddermen, sentinels, house and
lane men. and Robert Clark and Col
more Beane, axmen.
The Star fire company OF youths above
noticed met December q at William Colt.
mans, on the north side of Pennsylvania
avenue near 18th street. to elect officers
for the year 1919. In that year the
Union Fire Company reelected John ".
Moulder president and the other officers.
The Columbia Fire Company held its