The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-04-12
SERIES Of FIRES;
SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS
Fireman gill Overheard In Dock and
Chemical Wagon wen-Nigh Fol-
lows ut Warner Moore q Co.'s
Stable Fire.
NEGRO CHILDREN RESCUED
Five Frame Houses Burned-Sergcant
johnson Takes Little Coiored Girls
From Burning Home-Truck Com
pany Near Collision and Chief
Joynes' Gar Is Struck.

IoF lIlS IRE uSi1AFtdnNH III
there being a series Of unusual fires
following each other so closely that
many were under the belief that the
dreaded three skies were being tapped.
Between 1890 o'clock and shortly
after midday, four Alarms were given,
and while none of the fires entailed
any great loss, all of them we're oc-
casions of much excitement and at
tended with many perilous and sensa-
tional incidents
The fire which damaged the stables
| of Warner Moore 4 Co.. to the estf-
mated damage of $4,000. turned out
to be the most exciting and near
gic of the busy day. The large
II .000-pound automobile hose and
chemical wagon, connected with No.
8 Company became unmanageable
and plunged down an embankment at
Seventeenth and Dock Streets, hurting
Fireman w. C. Gin into the dock
Quick work on the part of DR., NJ. c.
Sycie and Traffic Sergeant Bradley
brought Gill from the muddy water
He WAS carried into the offices of
Stephen A. EIlyson g. Co, where DR..
Sycle treated him for various cuts
and bruises. Examination showed
that his head suffered a deep cash
from coming In contact with a nail
protruding from a discarded board.
His hand was also bruised from strill
Ing a board. Eye witness stated that
the fireman had a narrow escape from
being killed.
The fire was confined to the COM
pany's stables. There were MANY
horses In the building. but all were
safely removed before the fire had
gained much headway. The great
iAsy4t oue x,yift r. to-, -
grain and hay stored in the structure.
Recovering Automobile Truck.
The work of recovering the disabled
automobile wagon followed the fire.
The machine had struck a breakN alter
being constructed by the city, and
came TO a stop with its front wheels
at the edge of the water. Had 1t
followed the wounded man In the
water there is little doubt. hut that 1T
would have crushed the life out of
him. According to Gills statement,
he saw the machine rolling towards
the open water at the same time that
train of cars was approaching on a
siding. To avoid the cars and to keep
the machine out of the water, he
leaped to the drivers seat Unable to
reach the seat he rushed around in
front of the car just in time to be
daSn 60 into bne water.
With the assistance of steam
crane, which was working in the
neighborhood, the broken car was re-
stored to It's normal position, and with
little damage to show for the acci-
dent.
As yet, the origin OF the fire has not
been determined. For some time 1t
appeared that the blaze would spread
to adjoining structures, as the Occasion
of the burning building made ii diff
f1cult to fight
Another fire that was not without its
perils and excitement was the one
which consumed five frame houses on
Broad Street, between Twentieth and
Twenty The aiarmy, which was
turned in about IL o'clock, sent five
companies to the scene, and for q
short while the department. had g. stiff
fight in keeping the flames In check
lOld Trinity Methodist Church. which
rs in the block, appeared doomed for
while. as we'll as other property on
the square. However. by steady work
the fire was held to the frame houses.
But for the heroic work of Police Ser
geant c. NJ. Johnson, two little girls
Lillian and Catherine Staples, aged
six and eight years, respectively.
would have met their death in one of
| the upper rooms of their home. No
ticing the frightened face of a child
at one of the upstairs windows, Ser
geant Johnson pushed through the
smoke and succeeded in reaching the
room OF the children, where one of
them was confined with measles, Just
in time to bring them out of the house,
which had by this time become mass
of flames. The mother of the chill
dren was away Mt the hour. being en-
ployed at the Gordon cigarette fac
tory.
| Truck Narrowly Ayerts Collision.
Truck Company No. s, while on the
way to this fire, narrowly averted y
serious accident at the corner of
Seventh and Broad Streets Rushing
down Broad Street. the driver OF the
truck was met at this busy corner
10y a Clay Street car which WAS COM
ing across Broad Street right in it's
path The GOODNESS of the driver
showed itself when he whiried his ma
chine sharply to the right and sent
| II down Seventh Street TO Grace,
where ne again turned eastward to
the scene of the fire. But for this dis
/ play of nerve. lives would probably
have been Tossed In the smashup.
| W. n. Highfield. AN insurance agent.
6 North Tenth Street. was arrested
fter the fire on the charge Of reek-
less driving after Highfeld's car and
Fire Chief Joynes' car collided at
Twentieth and BROAD Streets. High
field furnished bail before Magistrate
Connolly for his appearance today in
Police Court
Third FYre Believed Tncendiary.
The third fire of the morning, be-
lieved TO be of incendiary origin, was
discovered in the tobacco warehouse
OF tho United State Tobacco Conn
pany. at the corner of Nineteenth and
Franklin Streets. The alarm was
sounded while the second fire of the
day Yves being handled. The firemen
were able to extinguish the warehouse
fire without any great damage.
! And still Another.
| But for the cool heads of some OF
the teachers and students of the Vir-
ginia Union University, located on
Lombardy Street. near Brook Ave-
uue, a panic would have resulted when
an explosion of an oil tank of small
.heating stove set fire to the flooring
and wainscoting OF the room. The
flaming oil was spreading and but for
the effort of some of the occupants
of the room in smothering the flames,
the fire company would have found
in~ua,- ara ,aVahat q ~ yya q