The Washington herald., 1914-01-25

fought from ladders and no one sent in
| there"
| Q-'Ts there any one supposed. besides
the men fighting the fire, is there any
general direction or any rule that re-
auires one or more persons in authority
to watch the progress Of things, look for
q danger, and so forth?"
| A-''That is what the chiefs are for"
Q.-"whom do you inclue among the
chiefs; all the men from the chief engt-
neer to the battalion chiefs?'
| Ayes. sir"
Marshal Nicholson Testihes.
Fire Marshal Philip W. Nicholson tes-
titled that when he arrived at the foot
of the ladder, after descending from the
| roof of the Strasburger shoe store.
where he had been for some time with
Deputy Chief Sullivan. he met William
II. Nash. Sullivan's chauffeur. Seeing
that Nash was out Of breath. he said
he asked him what was the matter.
Nash, he testified, replied:
Chief Sullivan Is right smart con-
cerned about No. G. think he is afraid
No is inside OF that building"
| Commissioner Siddons asked Nicholson:
| rs there any rule or practice of the
department in fighting fire that re-
quires anybody to be looking out for
the safety of men who have been sent
into a burning building TO fight the fire v
Absolutely So" replied the fire mar
shall. 1T is the duty Of the battalion
chief or whoever is in charge Of the
fire to issue such orders to see that the
mems lives are safe
Whose duty is 1t to watch?' asked
the Commissioner.
1T is the duty of each and every one
of those in charge Of the fire, and es-
pecially of the chief engineer, to issue
| orders to see that the mems lives are
cared for, without any undue danger;
not to send them into building unless
| there are some lives to be saved, es-
pecially a building in such a hazardous
condition"
| Q.-"When a company or more are sent
into a burning building. is II the Gus
tom or practice; is it proper hre-hghting
or not, that some chief should occa-
| sionally go in there and see what they
| are doing?'
| A-"By all means he should do 1t. Also
the captain and battalion chief. They
must look out for their men,"
There seems to be an impression for
claiming n great deal of glory. Capt.
Lanahan claims the time the men were
discovered was when he came. The
chief engineer says that he discovered the
hose going into the building. Now 1t
stands to reason that II he did, why
is IL that Mr.. Seib and / found the hose
going in and gave the alarm? The alarm
was not given until Mr.. Seib and I had
given it in that back alley"
Later in the course Of his examination
Nicholson stated that 1T always ap-
responsible for the men and looked after
their interest" He also testified that 1t
| had seemed to MIN "a case of every man
for himself. I supposed No. had a
good position and were killing this fire."
he concluded.
Chief Wagner Testihes.
Chief Wagner. when asked by Com
missioner Siddons whether. when he
arrived on the scene, about a minute
and a half after the second alarm.
Number was there, answered.:
That / don't know. OF course. II
must have been there"
Continuing. the fire chief testified
that Immediately after the third
alarm he said to Deputy Chief Sulli-
van: Chief, you get into the build
ing. and keep 1t from getting there"
He stated that he had remarked to
his chauffeur, upon arriving at the
blaze, that "the building was doomed"
Chief Wagner further said that
quite a long time after the collapse"
he stumbled over the hose that led
to the five trapped firemen. and that
this was the first notice on his part
that there was something wrong"
Upon calling "Hello!" three times. he
said. he heard groans from within. and
then remarked: There is some life
in there" Then, he said. the rescue
work was begun.
Asked IL effective fire direction and
handling of such a fire required that
any of the men should be sent into
the fire to fight II. Chief Wagner re-
piled:
Not at the time that arrived But
I don't know what the conditions were
before I arrived"
Q.-"Is 1t considered good direction
and management of a fire to hazard
the lives and limbs of firemen to save.
not other human lives. but a building
onlyy'
At don't think SO. I never do"
Upon questioning. the chief stated
that he would not commend as good.
sensible management and direction of
fighting such fire the sending of q
company of men into the lower part
of the building when the IRE was rag
ing above, and that he could not sug-
gest any substantial reason for SO,
doing.
Q-"Then to send them IN Is at least
an exhibition Of bad Judgment. 10 tr'
Al would consider 1t so.''
Chief Wagner testified further that no
report Of the firemen being in the build
ing was made to him upon his arrival at
the blaze and that there was no way for