Evening star., 1914-02-13

action in sending the men Of No. COM
pany into the store
Attorney O'Donoghue asked the witness
on cross-examination If he had any diff
! Guilty in seeing the line OF No. 6 hose
leading into the building and was in
formed that the hose could be plainly
| seen.
Q. What is your opinion of Sullivan
| A He is as good as any in the city;
Q. Have you ever known him to be
negligent or inefficient in his duty?
| A. No.
No Fixed Rule for Reports.
Charles B. Proctor. third battalion
chief, took the stand shortly after noon
He was questioned closely by Mr.. Syme
as to the rules Of the fire department
governing the making Of reports to supe-
rior officers.
Chief Proctor said that there is 10 fixed
rule as to the matter, but that there pre-
walls custom whereby reports are made
If unusual conditions exist
when men have been put in q place
Of danger does responsibility for their
lives rest on matter OF custom!" asked
the corporation counsel
Yes was the answer. This has been
the practice ever since have been in the
fire department.
Questioned as to whether the chief
fire or wait until he Is informed as to
their positions, Chief Proctor said that
1t is the duty of the hcief to go all around
a fire, locate the companies and ask
questions If he does not know what the
exact conditions are.
'If you send men into a building and
then are ordered to another part Of the
fire, is it your duty to inform the chief
engineer OF the presence Of the men
there?" Proctor was asked.
he 10 Ia ho
gineer.'
In narrating his part in the 7th street
fire. Chief Proctor testified that he first
when he ran out of kann's store and
ran into Capt Lanahan Of No. engine
company. who said to him. My men are
in there"
was sure the men were not in the build
ing. explaining that he (Proctor) was
fighting the blaze from the rear. and he
knew no one had gone into the store from
that end. Lanahan, he testified. said that
he was afraid his men had gone in at
the front door.
Hose Acts as Guide.
Together he and the captain of No. 6
ran to the 7th street entrance, Chief
Proctor testified. found the hose Of NO.
6 and traced it into the building to the
point where 1t led under the debris
This was about forty feet from the
entrance.
the nozzle end Of the hose, Proctor said
he rushed back into the street and up to
Chief Wagner, who. he said, was stand
ing In the middle of the street car tracks,
about ten feet from the line of the hose
and directly in front Of the building.
Proctor stated that he rushed up to the
chief and said to him: Are you aware
that No. IS men are in there?
Proctor testified that Wagner said
"What?" and that he repeated his state
ment to the chief
He was Immediately instructed by the
chief. Proctor said. to order all ambu-
lances to the scene.
In narrating how he made preparations
for rescuing the imprisoned men, Proc
tor testified that he ran into Deputy
Chief Sullivan and asked that official who
was responsible for the men being In the
building.
Sullivan, Proctor testified, said he had
sent the men in there and that they were
killing the fire right and left.
Wagner and Hellmuth Examined
Chief Wagner and Private Frank He'll
muth. who was acting captain OF No. 8
the night Of the fire and who was one
of the nve men buried in the wreckage,
were the only witnesses examined yes
terday, the former occupying the stand
most Of the day.
Attorney O'Donoghue's cross-examina-
tion of the fire chief indicated that Sulli-
vans attorneys will endeavor to show
that any responsibility FOR any mis-.
management Of the fire or trapping OF
the firemen in the burning building rests
upon Wagner rather than the deputy
chief.
O'Donoghue's questions were Of the
rapid-fire order. At one point in the ex-
animation Wagner appeared to grow
confused to the point of not being able
to remember what companies should have
responded on the second and third alarms.
A few minutes later the witness showed
exasperation at the character of ques-
tions asked him and retorted that it was
evident that the attorney did not know
anything about lighting fires
Throughout, Wagner maintained that
it is not his practice. upon arrivins a.
fire, to ascertain Immediately what COM
panies are there and where thev are
placed 1t is his duty. he said. t. ct at
the fire; not first make an inventory OF
the force he has to fight it with. -Ae re-
peatedly declared that there Is no rue
recurring a report Of conditions to be
made to superior officer upon his ar
rival at fire unless there exist unusual
conditions which would warrant report.
Wagner Praises Sullivan.
Chief Wagner testified that, in his opin-
ion, Sullivan is one of the best hremen
the District ever had, and that his han
ding of the blaze in the five and ten cent
store was an excellent piece Of work. He
declared, however, that Sullivan had erred
in failing to report to him the fact that
he had ordered men into the burning
building.
The fire department head stated that
he believed there should be a written
rule requiring reports to be made to
superior officers.
Private Hellmuth testified that Sullivan
ordered him and four men OF NO COM
pany into the building, and later directed
them to work their way UP to the second
story He explained that he and his COM
panions did not consider that they were
In great danger. Had there been indica-
tons of danger, he would quickly have
ordered the men out, he said.
HOLD-UP GETS TEN YEARS.