Evening star., 1924-10-06
Hundreds on Way to Work
Watch Firemen Battle
Betty Way Shop Blaze.
$4,000 DAMAGE DONE;
ALL TRAFFIC STOPPED
Office Tenants Unable to Escape
Through Dense Clouds
of Smoke.

A $4,000 three-alarm fire originat-
ing in a pile of trash on the mezza-
nine balcony of the Betty Way shop
at 1110 f street, marked the opening
of Washingtons fire prevention week
today and caused hundreds of gov
ernment workers to report tardy at
their posts because of traffic tie-ups.
The blaze, which was discovered
about s:S5 by an employe in the
Charles M. Steiff piano shop next
door. generated clouds of smoke
which imprisoned numerous occu-
pants of the Loew Building. in which
the shop is located, and rendered
work of the firemen extremely diff
ficult.
Although next door to the Colum-
bia theater, the play house proper
suffered no damage, although portions
of the metal ceiling in the lobby were
torn out to check smouldering sparks.
The only injury reported was that
to Fireman l.. T. West of No. l Truck
Company, who cut his arm on plate
glass window and was treated at the
Emergency Hospital.
Proprietor ColIapses.
When Miss Betty Way. owner of the
shop, arrived. on the scehe, some time
after the blaze had gained headway,
she suffered a collapse while being
interviewed by attaches of the fire
marshals Office and was revived by
stimulantS at corner drug store.
She stated that the stock, including
women's wearing apparel and negli-
gee. was valued at approximately
$4,000. This, according to Fire De-
partment officials, will be a total loss.
since material not actually burned
up was damaged by water and smoke
Miss Way stated that insurance
covered the greater portion of the
stock.
The store was not open when the
fire was discovered, at about S:35
o'clock. The blaze was under control
within half an hbur and the firemen
were ready to leave in another hour.
Thousands See Blaze.
Fire Chief George Watson person
ally supervised the work sof the fire.
men. while Inspectors Evans and
Harrison and Capt. Brown of the
first precinct were in charge of police
reserves, who kept crowd of sew
eral thousand behind fire lines.
Street car traffic along F. street
was halted for about an hour and a
quarter. The early morning peak of
street car traffic consisting of Gov
offices had just been reached when
tracks barricading the cars. Hun
dreds had to walk to other street
car lines and to theF offices.
In the building, when the fire broke
out, were DR.. H. L. Shill and DIR.
H. L. Wood, who have offices in the
Loew Building, and Mrs. Shill. The
smoke trapped them, preventing exit
by stairways and they were forced
to remain with others on the fourth
floor until the blaze had been ex-
tinsuished.
Quick Work Cuts Loss.
Today marked the outset of Fire
prevention week. Crowds watching
the fire were standing on the little
printed legends on the sidewalk which
warn folks: prevent Fire" Efficient
and speedy work on the part of the
fire companies responding to the three
alarms undoubtedly prevented much
greater damage.
The lucky angles beaming through
the trouble, according to veteran fire.
men, were the facts that the fire did
not break out when the Columbia
Theater was filled with spectators
who could smell smoke seeping
through the walls and possibly start
a perilous stampede toward the exits
when the neighborhood was deserted
and that the fire did not break out
at a time when the neighborhood was
deserted, since, by gaining SUFFICIENT
Roadway before discovery, it is be-
lieved the flames could have wreaked
incalcuable damage.