Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-28

Continued from First PageD
continued brave battle in aid Of
stra nded motorists. and all day long
the tow ropes of the city did valiant
duty in hauling stalled cars To shops
or battery stations.
Business also was brisk in plumb
ing and heating circles today. and
in virtually every case the plumber
carried the correct tools with him.
He knew in advance the nature
Of the breakdown he had been called
upon to reCtifY. In many instances
pipes We're tina we'd out. but frequently
ii was necessary to replace cracked
fittings and pipes. \ ma jority. OF these
hrea kdownS had occurred while house
holders we're away over Christmas
day at the homes of relatives more
or less far from this city.
Fire Alarms
Twenty eight fire calls were answer
ed from s a m. Yesterday IN To noon
today. almost all due To overheatcd
furnaces, although approximately half
a dozen We're automobiles The cold
wave is held partially responsible
The most threatening fire took
place early this morning when rub.
hish ignited in the basement of
three story apartment house at 1909
Thirty-first street. sending pillows Of
smoke through the building Occu-
pants. smelling the smoke. oonned
whatever clothing was al hand and
raced out of their apartments only
10 find that no serious danger threat
ened. The damage was S25
Care in the use of soft coal again
was urged today While this coal is
not dangerous when properly andled.
1t is pointed out by tire-prevention an
thorltieS that care must he taken in
having the chimneys as free as pos
sible from SCOT. since soft CCai heats
them up to a far greater degree than
does hard coal. Attention was Drawn
to this point some weeks ago by w.
r.. Malialieu of the National Boa rd of
Fire | Underwriters, expert on fire pre-
Vention. who issued a number of pre-
cautions to guard against loss of
property due TO the greater use of
soft coal, wood. Kerosene and other
substitutes for hard coal
Cleaning Of F'Iues.
"One of the important safety meas
ures.'' he sal i'd lis to see that smoke
pipes and f1ueS are thoroughly
cleaned before the furnace is started
Soft coal burns more rapidlythan
anthra cite and gives off considera blv
creases the proba bility of chimney
fire. where f1ues are not attended to.
The radiated heat from the smoke
pipe leading to the chimney is also
greater than when anthrac ite Is
burned and this increa ses the chances
of ignitins woodwork and other com.
bustibe material nearby.
Fires from defective chimneys and
1ues are fairly certain to increa Sc
because of the greater heat gen
Grated by the substituted fuel men,
toned, the larger amount of SCOT
created and the embers given Off"
Fire Chief George Watson, who re-
viewed these suggestions, gave his
Endorsement to them. stating that
he felt Neutrality-suspicious. would exert
all the care and diligence required to
safeguard themselves against fire
perils when their attention was
brought to necessity for SUCH action
one of the fires dast night rendered
a family homeless when the residence
of Mrs. Minnie Thompson, on the
Eastern Branch. was annihilated by
a blaze caused by sparks from the
chimney. The house, valued at $500
was insured.