The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-05-27
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The three truck companies and
aix engine companies which respond
J ed to the first and second alarms,
together with nearly q hundred fire.
!. men, are fighting the remaining fire
under the direction Of Chief Sulli-
< van.
Il. The fire. which started in the
w. T. Galliher & Bro. lumber
yards about $3.50 last night, was
: one Of the most stubborn blazeS
the department has tackled for
years.
Damage to stock Of this company
! was placed at $40, 900, and damage
TO buildings 100000. About $4,000
j damage resulted when the blaze
!. spread to nearby buildings.
I Originated In Shed.
I The blaze originated in the main
shed where valuable dressed lumber
{ was stored. The fire had gained
considerable Roadway when Paul
2 Ward, of 1912 Wisconsin avenue
= northwest, and J. d. Thomas, night
watchmeh of the property, dis
Z covered 1t. Both turned in alarms.
The second alarm was sounded
Immediately after the arrival of
the first engines. Third, fourth and
!, fifth alarms followed in quick sue
cession and by o'clock trucks and
: engine companies from the down.
x town and suburban sections were
II rushing to- the scene.
b About thirty lines Of hose were
Il played on the blaze for more than
y five hours. From the first it was
!, evident. that the fire within the
< yard could not be extinguished for
many hours. Firemen concentrated
their efforts on preventing the
j blaze from spreading.
Spreads Despite Fight.
Despite their efforts, the fire
reached the B. & o. Lunch on X
street, next to the yard; the l.. E.
!: Smoot Wheelwright Company, No.
! 5000 K street, and the home Of
Y Andrew jenkins, No. 1011 Wiscon.
sin avenue. The greater part Of
Y the damage in these buildings was
Z done by water.
The fire reached the greatest pro-
portions about 8 o'clock and the
flames could be seen for miles
:. around.
1 The Fireboat. which played four
:. streams of water on the blaze,
I proved a great help. New fire
]. apparatus received by the depart
!. ment within the past several weeks
got q first real test.
The fire ragged throughout the
: night and it was not until about
o'clock this morning that George
s. Watson, chief Of the fire der srt.
!. ment, believed the fire was sniff.
= GENTLY under control to permit the
Y return Of trucks and engine COM
panies to their quarters.
Apparatus which responded to the
Z third, fourth and fifth alarms was
dispatched back to quarters around
I o'clock. Other companies re-
manned on the job, continuing to
Z fight the blaze, which was finally
confined to the center Of the yard.
Yard Is Flooded
Water in the lumber yarl in
: some points is two and three feet
deep. Despite this, there was con-
siderable fire in the yard up until
late hour this morning.
Washington in recent years has
had fires as large in this one, but
not in a decade has the department
fought a more stubborn fire. The
blaze up until noon today had been
S raging for nearly 16 hours.
A half dozen coal cars on
tracks IN rront Of the yard made
the fighting of the fire difficult,
and put obstacles in the way Of
firemen seeking q direct line into
the burning lumber.
Sparks from the fire jumped
across Jefferson avenue to the roof
: Of the store Of J. O'NeiIl, at No.
! S037 K street northwest. They
were quickly extinguished.
3. Caused Other Alarms.
The blaze frightened up the sky
s so much that in several parts Of
: the city alarms were turned in,
persons believing the blaze to be
8 nearby.
One PEDESTRIAN turned in an alarm
at Fourteenth and d streets south
west, believing the Bureau Of En-
! craving and Printing was on fire.
Other false alarms came in from
: New Hampshire avenue and G.
: streets northwest and Thirteenth
: and p streets northwest.
These alarms necessitated the
withdrawing of apparatus from the
lumber yard fire and dispatching
them to the boxes from which the
! alarms were sounded.
& While the fire was at it's height,
an alarm came in from Thirteenth
and X streets southwest. This fire
{ did S. damage in a tool shed in the
rear Of 1907 Potomac avenue.
Many Escape Injury.
No injuries were reported, al.
Z though many firemen narrowly es-
capped injury when roofs and side
walls of the lumber yard caved in.
Deputy Chief Sullivan was over.
come with smoke, and was given
Z first aid treatment. He remained
on the fire ground, the temporary
I sickness putting him out of com.
! mission for only q few minutes.
At one time In the evening every
bit Of fire apparatus in the city
! was out Of headquarters. The five
! alarms left only seven engine ana
I two truck companies In quarters
and the additional alarms from
d other sections turned this apparatus
out.
The origin Of the fire is unde-
B termined. Fire Marshal Seib IL
making an investigation today.
w. T. Galliher and Bro, Inc,
: owners OF the lumDer yard, made
the following statement today:
ITO our patrons and friends:
I'VE regret to announce that on
Monday night our lumber yard and
main office was practically destroy
! ed by fire.
This unfortunate occurrence win
not effect in any degree the usual
promptness of delivery of any or.
ders placed with us. The same win
be'promptly handled from our yards