The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-01-17
PYR0MANIACS
SUSPECTED OF
SETTING FIRES
Five Major Blazes Interspersed
With Many Smaller Ones
and False Alarms
FIREMEN SEND FOR HELP
Large Industrial Plants and
Lumber Yards Placed Un-
der Guard Today
FIREMEN SEND FOR HELP

SSessSA9
Five extra alarm fires, interspersed
with several minor ones and q few
false ones, threw the national capi-
tai into q state Of turmoil last night
and early today and | d the police
10 believe fire bugs were at work
in the national capital.
The conflagrations, the first Of
which began shortly before mid.
night, continued until after 9 o'clock
this morning, bringing apparatus
from many nearby Virginia and
Maryland cities and towns to aid an
exhausted Washington crew, and
starting q wide search for suspects
believed to have deliberately set fire
to the places and to have turned in
false alarms to divert the fire
fighters.
The first man tal;tn in the hunt
was temporary rsychopathic pa
tient at Walter Reed hospital. He
gave the name of John Jacob
Fisher, % years old. On his per-
son was found a fire badge of the
town Of Fallsburgh, N. Y. He was
held for Investigation
Fisher was arrested after three
men said they mad observed him
acting suspiciously at a fire box in
the lexington section, why're grain
elevator was burned.
No Casualties Reported
So far as officials knew this morn
ing, there were no casualties during
the night, although score Of fire
may, vs,owo r.,nSsOnv~rn = h~, cv.n okn Eiucr
estimates of damage ran into num-
dreds Of thousands of dollars.
The first fire was in the four
story building occupied by the city's
second largest F. w. Woolworth
company store, on Pennsylvania
avenlc between Ninth .and Tesath
streets. The second was st Tenth
and B streets, where q cluster of
produce stores burned. Two others
were in the northeast Washington,
one near North Capitol and H
streets, a grain store near the capi-
tol and the other. in the lexington
district near Fourth and @ streets
where a grain elevator burned.
The fifth major blaze was in a
lumber yard at Fourteenth and w
streets, northwest. Police said they
hal no information indicating that
the lumber yard blaze was of in
cendiary origin, as they believed the
others to have been.
Fire Bugs Responsible
Hurried investigations by Fire
Marshal Seib and Assistant Police
Superintendent William Shelby led
them to the belief that one or more
fire bugs started four Of the major
fires. They were not certain about
half a dozen others, nor could they
explain the numerous false alarms
that disorganized the fire fighting
machine and kept firemen on q con-
stant procession during the night.
Two men, reported to have fled
from the SCENE of one Of the fires
in an automobile, were sought today
by the police. Other policemen were
placed on guard at large industrial
plants, lumber yards and other es-
adjustments that might lend them
selves easily to destruction by
flames.
From before midnight until nearly
daybreak, fire companies rushed
about the capital with the greatest
activity since the KnickerbOcker
theatre collapsed some years ago.
Residential sections were in q con-
stant hubbub of excitement and hum
dreds of telephone calls swamped
newspaper and city government Of
fices seeking information.
Many Firemen Overcome
Firemen fell so rapidly under the
sitting smoke at the Woolworth
sore and at the produce stores, where
scores of live chickens burned, that
ambulances were not able to carry
them all to the hospital. An emer-
gency first aid station was estab-
lished close to the fires and MANY
(Continued on nana fwoA