The Washington herald., 1914-02-01
SULLIVAN TO GET
trial BY BOARD
Deputy Fire Chief Is Granted
Right to Face Accusers
February II.
COMMISSION IS NAMED
Charges. as a Result of Secret Probe,
COMMISSION IS NAMED
Charges, as a Result of Secret Probe.
Involve Ineficiency and Neglect
of Duty.

Deputy Fire Chief Andrew ]. Sullivan
will be tried by a specially appointed
trial board Thursday morning. February
, le. at 10 o'clock in the board room in the
Municipal Building, on charges OF in
efficiency and neglect of duty.
The trial board. appointed by the Com
missioners late yesterday afternoon. is
composed OF Capt. Mark Brooke, Assist
ant Engineer Commissioner: Joseph c.
Sheehy, chairman of the Excise Board,
and Charlie. F. Nesbit. Superintendent Of
Insurance.
The Commissioners will be represented
by Corporation Attorney Conrad Syme
Attorney Charles ". Darr will represent
Sullivan.
The charges were formally drawn by
the Commissioners after a several hours
conference late yesterday afternoon and
were supplemented by detailed specif-
cations They are based upon testimony
rendered in a secret probe before Com
missioner Siddons into the circumstances
leading to and surrounding the trapping
of ive firemen in the fire of the Five
and Ten Cent Store Building In Seventh
street. December "A. last.
Deputy Chief Not s.sPendcd.
A COPY Of the charges was sent to Chief
Engineer Of the Fire Department Frank
J. Wagner with the instruction to serve
IL upon Deputy Chief Sullivan within
forty-eight hours.
The deputy chief is not suspended.
All witnesses appearing before the trial
board will be sworn and subjected TO
examination and cross-examination-
The news OF the Commissioners de-
cisior to give Sullivan an opportunity
to be confronted with witnesses who
testified against him, to cross-examine
these witnesses. and, IL able to do so.
10 refute their testimony. was received
with much qualification by Sullivan him
self. Attorney Darr. and the deputy
chiefs friends.
"A square deal is all I as!; for. and
I cannot thark the Commissioners
enough for giving me this chance TO
prove nv innocence" said Deputy Chief
Sullivan last night when told by a
Herald reporter of the Commissioners
action.
Attorney Darr. who as Sullivans best
friend. has championed the deputy fire
chiefs cause ever sirCe the latter had
beeu ..tipped or by Commissioner Sid
dons that his resignation would be wei
coined, said he had the utmost confi-
dence in the fairness and sense OF JUS
tice of the trial board
THE whole truth about the fire Will
be known: that's all I can say at TINS
time concerning the case ITSELF, said
Mr. Darr.
Chief Engineer Wagner. when in
FORMED of the Commissioners action
last night. said:
We'll, | hope they'll settle it some
time or other; that's all have to say.
The charges and specifications, in part
follow:
First Charge of Ineaciency.
.r,tns, Sullivan il
that he is guilty of ''lneficiency IN the
performance OF his duues as uepu'S
chief engineer.
The specifications state that he ordered
1--WE. firemen Of Engine Company. No. g.
to the rear of the first floor OF the FIVE
and Ten Cent Store building when the
building was on fire and burning on the
second and third floors, and when proper
fire, protection did not call for the eN-
posure of said men to such peril. ana
when there were no persons in the build
ing whose lives were in danger; that ne
permitted the men to remain IN said
position of peril until the roof and the
f,oorE OF said building fell in and buried
said men Hereunder and injured them
and endangered their lives and limbs
Continuing. the specifications charge
that the deputy chief ''neglisentlv and
carelessly failed to notify the chief en-
gineer who arrived in front oil SAID nu.n
ing five minutes thereafter. that said
men had been ordered into said building
in said position of peril and left the front
of said building" and that he went 10
the rear thereof. and upon the top OF
the adjoining buildings without not'.y-
ing the chief engineer or any other OIL
Ger in authority OF the fact that the
men had been ordered INTO the nurnins
building"
Specifying the second charge. that OF
| neglect of duty" the Commissioners
repeat that Sullivan failed to notify the
chief engineer or any other man in ars
tbority of the dangerous position in
which his men were.
Regarding the Trial Board.
THE trial board is hereby authorized
to INQUIRE into such facts and circum-
stances of the said fire as may by 1t be
deemed necessary for the purposes of
this trial
THE trial board shall meet in the board
room in the Municipal Building at 10 4.
m. on Thursday, February Z, 1914, and