The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-17
Mrs.
Wand orbits
Beautiful
Home as

owners OF pretentious country
houses that burn are not deliberate
lncendlarie5, says Safety Engineer
ing, out are they not passive incen-
diaries IN accepting conditions that
favor fires? Certainly they could have
anorded homes built To endure; they
mad money TO encourage the anguish
Ing craft of perpetuating beautiful ar
chitectural creations with lasting ma
terials, and incidentally. TO set a few
good examples to country that
needs them badly"
Mistakes, it Is pointed out, are
OFTEN made IN building house Which
must eventually lead TO q fire
sooner or later For instance. a plank
or the flooring may project into
hue. The protruding plank in the
hue would become as dry as finder
as result OF the heat 10 which It
was subjected, and eventually a ny-
ing spark from the fire would Ignite
the plank and the destruction OF the
house would almost surely follow.
NO clue at all would be left TO tell
the tale.
Sometimes. OF course, the care.
lessness OF carpenter might re.
suit In similar situation, and in
one OF the fires In question, this
possibility Is being considered. This
was the case OF the Dawson fire.
The Dawson place at Peacock
Point Is three-story brick and
white stone structure, one OF the
handsonest on Long Island. II had
been closed all the Winter until the
DAY before the fire, when Mrs.
Dawson. her two sons, Trubee and
Harry. and three school chums of
the sons, motored from New York
to spend the day.
1t was cool in the house and the
boys decided to build wood fire.
Logs were lighted in huge fire.
place. When the place was suftl.
ciently warmed, they put out the
ilre and forgot all about 1t. Some
hours later one of the caretakers
saw smoke coming from the roof,
and long before the firemen from
Glen Cove arrived on the scene, the
mansion was doomed
Hero was a case where a heat.
dried plank protruding into the
nue might very readily have been
the cause OF the fire, but. OF course,
1t was impossible to ascertain its
actual origin.
The sixty-room mansion OF Mrs,
W. K. Vanderbilt, Jr., which was de.
stroyed on February Is, was new
house. defective flue was given
as the cause Of the fire which de-
stroyed 1t, but whether or not a
protruding fioor-plank figured In the
case VIII never be known. Mrs. Van.
uero1lt did not have the chance Ia
I'VE even day in her new house.
ne disastrous fire In the Por.
washington shipyards, which de.
stroyed several valuable yachts. is
believed to have started in an ont.
mouse. Whether an incendiary was
responsible for it or not has never
been definitely ascertained.
state Fire Marshal Ahearn Is now
conducting a vigorous investigation
into the causes Of these fires. While
tnere Is little hope that the ruins
OF the splendid mansions will fur
nlsh sufficient evidence to warrant
arrests, witnesses are being exam
ined with the idea of locating the
sulprit.
The owners OF the other estab.
lishments in the vicinity are plan
ming to form vigilance commits.
tee to protect their property against
the torch of the firebug, whoever he
may be, and until he is unprecedented
no Long Island millionaire will con.
slider his country residence safe.