The Washington times., 1914-01-08
MARSHAL NICHOLSON
BEGINS AN INQUIRY
Says He Is Convinced Ware
house Was Set on Fire and
Not BY Accident.
Employees Hurt By Fall
CONTINUED from First Page)
overcome by smoke. All four were taken
! 10 Casualty Hospital.

Employees Hurt By Fall.
+. L. Lingle, an employe of the com.
pany, fell off pile of hay while
lighting the flames, before the ar
rival of the firemen, and was bruised
about the body. He was taken home
in an ambulance.
Five separate alarms were sounded
bringing practically every available
piece of fire-fghting apparatus in the
District to the scene. The great
quantity of water poured into the
building had apparently little effect
en- the burning hay and the firemen
realized the only thing to do was TO
let the fire in the one warehouse
burn itself out, and confne their ef-
forts TO saving adjoining buildings.
1t was shortly after 5 o'clock when
the fire was first seen. One Of ths
employees called the attention of =.
l.. Mohler. superintendent of the
plant, to a small blaze in a pile of
hay on the ground floor Of the ware
house, about in the middle Of the
block on the D street side. This ware
house was filled with hay and flour.
Mohler Summoned Employees.
Mohler summoned all OF the employees
and an effort was made to check the
flames with hand extinguishers, with
which the building was well supplied.
In the meantime some one had sounded
an alarm from box II, at Second and d
streets, and when the firemen arrived
the flames were rapidly gaining head
way. Before the pipe lines could be
Dense, black smoke, caused by the burn
ing hay, poured out of the doors and
windows, and il was with difficulty the
fremen could get near.
Three more alarms were sounded, and
late in the evening a fifth alarm, known
as a special" was sounded. summon
ing engine companies from the suburbs.
It was not until after o'clock this
morning that the flames were really IN
Der control, and from that time up to
daybTeak the firemen were busy keep
ing the fire confined to one building.
The building in which the fire was con-
fined is separated from the two ad-
joining structures by brick walls, while
in the rear there is an alley running
through the block, which kept the fire
from spreading to the warehouses in
Indiana avenue. Considerable water
damage was done to stock in some of
the other warehouses.
Lumber Yard In Danger.
On the opposite corner of First street
and Indiana avenue is the lumber yard
of Thomas W. Smith. Sparks and
burning embers threatened TO set fire to
the lumber piles, but employees of the
company remained on guard on the
lumber piles all night and quickly put
out all blazes with hand extinguishers.
With reCollections of the narrow es
cape which five firemen had when the
floors of the American and 10 Cent
Store. in Seventh street, caved in, Of
fcials of the department had the men
take every precaution in fighting the
fire. The rear wall of the warehouse
fell in, carrying the roof with II. This
left a tin covering over the thousands
Of bales Of burning hay in the struc-
ture, and the pouring in of water from
the roofs of adjoining buildings had little
effect.
Mr.. Gait said, while he did not have
any direct evidence that the blaze was
of incendiary origin, he could account
fires, one about three years ago and the
other twenty years ago, both started
in the same part of the same ware
house.
Gasolene Held Unnecessary.
1t had been reported there was the
odor of EasoIene when the first fire
started. but the police could find no
verification for this report, and Mr..
Gait said that anyone who wanted to
start fire in a hay warehouse would
have no use for gasolene.
Miss Caroline Davis. of IO7 D street,
who was sitting at a window when the
fire broke out, said that just at the time
she first same the flames two men
came down ID street. They stopped
for va moment and lokcd in the ware
house and then continued on down d
street. IT had been suggested that one