The Washington herald., 1913-07-31
SIX IN peril AS
Home C0LLAPSES
Frame Residence IN Fifteenth
Street Completely Demol-
ished in Storm.
FAMILY FORCED, TO FLEE
Mrs. Pasis, Children,. Sister, and
Nephew See Wall Rent Asunder
by the Tempest
FAMILY FORCED TO FLEE

Six persons narrowly escaped injury
when the storm completely demolished
The frail two-story frame house Of Louis
Pasis, at 800 Fifteenth Street Northwest
Mrs. Emma Pasis, her three little chill
dren, her infant nephew, and her sister,
Mrs. Edith Singer, of Philadelphia, were
all in the structure, when. in the midst
OF the storm, the building collapsed with
mighty crash.
Only the framework of the structure
now stands-it is one mass of wreckage.
The roof was blown OF, and lies among
the tall weeds on a vacant lot several
hundred yards away. The south and
east walls are fallen, and now lie on
the ground, mass of twisted planks
and powdered plaster. The beams of
the upper part of the building are
wrenched from their joints, and are in
clined at steep angle toward the west,
forced there by the gale.
The building stood alone at the corner
of Fifteenth ana Euclid Streets, leaving
an open path over which the wind could
sweep. Houses adjoining the structure
had recently been razed, leaving this
single frame building.
Family in the Kitchen.
Mr.. and Mrs. Rasis, who are Russian
Jews, conducted a grocery store in the
front room of the structure. Mrs. Pasis
was in the little kitchen behind the
store. busily engaged washing the lunch
dishes. when the clouds began to gather.
In baby carriage, nestled among pill
lows, was Ben Singer, the little nine
month-old nephew of Mrs. Pasis. Mrs.
Singer was aiding her sister about the
kitchen duties, and four-year-old Bessie
was playing on the floor. Rubin and
Jacob. five and thirteen years of age
respectively, We're on a nearby vacant
lot flying a kite but when the sky began
to grow dark and the wind began to
blow they hurried home and Joined the
rest of the family in the kitchen.
The wind whistled through the crevices
and the rain forced its way into the
store. The children covered in the cor
ners and commenced to cry. Mrs. Pasis.
almost hysterical and sobbing with
fright sat by the window and watched
the storm. The lightning flashed and
little Jacob. crying. caught his mamma
by the dress and pulled her away into the
corner
Suddenly there was a sound of tearing
and ripping above, and the roof of the
house was carried by the wind far away
across the vacant lot near the home.
The plastering on the north wall of the
kitchen began to fall. One piece struck
peraHklfEtor to one of the far. corners
and crouched down with her children.
Suddenly the north wall was cleaved
apart by the tempest, leaving near one
of the beam joints an opening from floor
to ceiling nearly a foot wide. The rain
beat in at the crevice, and the occupants
of the house hurried. shrieking, into the
store, despite the fact that it was flooded
with water. Then above them there was
a mighty crast.
They hurried out of the store, through
the kitchen. and into a shed at the back
door. Jacob climbed over the fence and
unlocked the gate, which was fastened
on the outside. The upper walls of the
structure had fallen in. Through the
wind and the rain Mrs Pasis and her
sister and the children rushed from the
house across the street to the store of
Mrs. NJ. F. Ingram, 2i23 Fifteenth Street,
where they remained until the storm was
ever. Joseph Abel, of 1454 Clifton Street,
hearing of the demolition of the house,
at once offered to take the family in.
Later in the afternoon he made arrange
ments to have the family provided for at
the Hebrew Inn, S13 Ninth Street North
west. where they spent the night. Mr..
Pasis estimates the damage to the stock
and his personal property at $500. The
building is completely demolished.