Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-25
Braves Flames
to Enter His
Office.
GRANT PUTS
LOSS AT $4,000
Hot Fireplace Chin
ney Blamed for
Blaze.

The White House was taking
stock today of the worst fire since
1914 which practically destroyed
the west wing and sent President
Hoover and his son Allan rushing
from cheerful Christmas eve
party last night to brave smoke
and flames to rescue personal
papers from the Presidents desk.
Arriving just as the first company of
firemen ran into the building, the Presi-
dent climbed into the window of his
Office from the rear of the grounds
and began to help Lawrence Richey,
one of his secretaries, in pulling out
his desk drawers and handing them to
other guests of the party who carried
them to safety.
At the insistence of Allan and
Richey the President soon withdrew to
the west terrace, where he watched the
fire at intervals until it was put under
control at 10:3o o'clock.
The damage was estimated at $4,000
by Lieut.. Col. U. S. Grant Sd. director
of Public Buildings and Public Parks,
who made an inspection while the fire.
men we're still fighting the flames last
night.
Band Continues to Play.
While the male guests of the Presi-
dents party rushed to the executive
offices to rescue the papers in the
Presidents desk, Mrs. Hoover remained
with the women and children to carry
on the Christmas party. Members of
the Marine Band continued to play
and the party went on while the west
wing was being surrounded by fire.
men responding to i've alarms. The
blaze which burned furiously in the
attic Of the building was stubborn
one and firenen were forced to chop
through the roof in. dozen places
before they succeeded IN getting 1t
under control. Tons of water were
poured through the iron gratings on
! the outside and water was running a
foot deep in the Presidents Office below.
The cause of the fire was definitely
traced to an overheated fireplace
chimney in the Office of Secretary wal
ter /. Newton, Fire Marshal Achstetter
said today. The firemen found the
snoldering embers of a log in the
fireplace. The wall beside the fire
place was burned through in such a
way as TO plainly indicate the source
It was about 8 o'clock when Charlie
Williamson, one of the White House
messengers, Smelled smoke in the exec
i utive offices and notified Richard Trice,
policeman, on duty in the offices, and
/ Russell Wood, secret service man.
Fight Blaze With Chemical.
Trice and Wood started to investi-
I'VE started down to the basement
and saw smoke coming from between
the walls" Trice said "Then we ran
up the circular stairway that leads to
the loft above the executive offices and
saw flames.
1.-The whole loft is burning upp
Wood called, and we ran down the steps
and got fire extinguisher~ and started
to squirt the chemical on the blaze.
At about the same time we pushed the
electric button that turns on the lights
in the loft, but the lights were dead"
When the two men found the blaze
far beyond their control, one of them
turned on the alarm that rings in the
Office Of Irwin Hoover, White House
chief usher. The other telephoned for
the Fire Department.
Irwin Hoover was in his Office when
the alarm sounded and Immediately
went to the dining room, where the
President and Mrs. Hoover were enter
tanning the children of the secretaries.
Tells President First.
MIR. Hoover walked into the room
and first told the President, bending low
and whispering, in order not to alarm
the women and children:
THE executive Office is on fire. !
want to take the Secretaries away
from the table"
I'm go. too," said the President.
Notified. the men left the table and
started for the executive Offices. The
women were told of the fire, but the
children were not, and, while the
President, Irwin Hoover, the Secre-
taries, Comdr. Boone, Allan Hoover and
Midshipman Newton, Mr.. Newton's son
left the table, the women and children
remained seated.
Irwin Hoover had told the Marine
Band Orchestra, that had been play
ing during the dinner, to strike ur
a tune, and it kept up the music
as the dinner continued undisturbed.
Meanwhile the President and his
guests hurried over to the executive
Offices. Mr.. Richey was the first in the
Presidents Office, but he was followed
Immediately by the President and the
others, who entered by the window just
to the left and little to the rear OF
the Presidents desk.
Papers Are Removed.
The men removed the papers from
the Presidents desk and took out all
the drawers, which likewise contained
papers and memoranda, carrying them
into the main building. The Presidents
flags were also carried out, and later
the steel cabinets from the Presidents
Office, containing files.
Mr.. Richey, Mr.. Newton, George
AkerSon and French Strother made ar
attempt to enter their Offices and re-
move papers and files. They were moi
wholly successful, although Mr.. Aker.
son got the flag that hung in his ofice
The rescue work was quick, but die
not last long. The arrival of the Pres.
ident and his guests from the dinner
table was almost simultaneous with the
arrival of the first company Of firemen
When they had entered the executive
Offices the place was already filling with
smoke and within a few minutes II
was impossible to breathe. But during
the short period that the rescue wori
went forward the most important fllei
were removed. while White House at.
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