Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1918-01-09
NORFOLK HAS $4,000, 900 FIRE.
Explosions Lead to Belief In Incenda-
rfes Being ut Work.

were killed and a score more injured
in a series OF explosions and fires
to-day which both the police and
naval authorities believe were inccn-
diary. The fire had been checked to-
night, but still was burning tiercely
in the ruins The loss is roughly es-
timated at more than $2,000,000.
Three distinct explosions in as
many buildings, one after the fire
once virtually had been brought un-
der control, led to the general belief
that enemy agents were at work
Mayor Mayo placed the city under
martial law and some $500 marines
and bluejackets from nearby naval
stations assisted the police and home
guards In maintaining order and pre-
vomiting looting.
Naval patrols rounded up suspi-
cio"s persons throughout tho after
noon, while five men were arrested
IS suspects. TWO OF these, Hugo
Schmidt and II. x. Lessing, said to
be Germans, were turned over to De-
partment of Justice agents
The fire started before dawn in the
Old CRANKY Theatre, and gained rapid
headway, as tho nremen were handi-
capped by frozen fire hydrants, low
water pressure and near zero temper
ature. 1t quickly spread to the Mon
ticello Hotel and other nearby build
ings in the block. 1t was brought
under control late In the day, but
broke out anew early tonight, leaped
across CRANKY street and leveled half
Of tho block there before being
checked.
Failing floors and walls took toll
OF firemen and naval guards. One
fireman, Chas. Mccoy, was killed and
seven others hurt In the collapse of
an upper floor Of the Monticello Hotel
in the day, and tonight two firemen
and several sailors were caught In n
falling wall Of tho LenoX building.
Three were brought out badly burn
ed, but two others were left in the
debris.
Firemen Of Norfolk, Portsmouth
and Suffolk, with organized sailor
fire brigades. fought heroically amid
ice and binding smoke, and blue
jackets led the resc,tA work when the
fighters were trapped. Several of the
ffremen caught in the hotel were
hron"h' out -''va through BE IUrtuE
oI Z "CorG OF too jarEct tare
N"islfs Vary.
Reports ~ 10 the nunNor Of eHplo~
pi1nH vary = was flrst sAid hat the
fire in the CRANKY Theatre had fol-
lowed an explosion, but Fire Chief
Mclaughlin and naval investigators
announced tonight that this was not
the case. They said, however, there
had been three distinct explosions.
The first was in Il cloak and hat shop
near the Monticello. The second was
on the sixth flooriof that hotel after
the first fire was practically under
control, and the third in the Lenox
building, which later was destroyed.
Guests from the Monticello, who
were forced to flee In the biting cold
of the dawn after they had watched
the theatre burn, were taken care of
In nearby homes and hotels. AS
building after building went down,
with them an apartment house, scores |
were made homeless and the national
guard armory on City Hall avenue
was thrown open to them.
IIydrants Frozen.
When the tlremen responded to the
alarm for the theatre IRE, they found
all hydrants in the vicinity frozen.
Fires had to be built to thaw them
out. In the meantime the firemen
looked on helpless while the big
theatre building burned. When wa
ter finally came the pressure was so
low that streams would not reach the |
upper stories Of the burning building
and the fire was soon beyond control |
Portsmouth, across the Elizabeth |
river, was called upon for aid and the |
fire was checked until fall sparks |
fired the Monticello, where many of
the guests had gone back to bod in
the belief that the fire was controlled.
They were soon forced to turn out
again.
The combined departments were
making good headway against the
flames when the explosion occurred
in the cloak shop and another blaze
started. Suffolk was then asked FOR
aid and rushed apparatus to the city
by train. In the meantime the naval