Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-22
WORKERS ROUTED
IN S15Q,0lO BLAZE
Five Alarms Sounded and
Two Hours Required to
Control Flames.

Three fourths of the city's fire ap-
paratus fought and conquered a spec
tacular S15U,000 blaze in a four-Story
brick building at 228 First street yes
terday afternoon that routed 80 young
women and 10 men from their work and
threatened for time to destroy the
entire structure and spread to houses
nearby.
A panic among the 40 employees of the
Columbia Speciality Paper Box Co.,
which occupied the three upper floors
of the building, was narrowly averted
when the dense smoke began to Seep
through the ceiling and doors to the
second floor, where they were working.
No one was injured, however either by
the rush or the fire.
AS soon as the flames began to spread,
men from the crowd, which quickly
gathered were impressed into service
to remove Is large trucks, each contain
ing supply of gasoline, stored on the
first floor, which was occupied by the
National Motors, Inc. This source of
danger was removed from the building
without mishap.
Paper Boxes Burn.
Employees of the paper box company
told firemen that they thought the fire
had its origin in short circuit on the
1UuTbEl llUOI. i lie TWO upper SbOIl6S WSlt
packed with paper boxes, comprising
capacity stock for the holiday trade, and
consequently the interior burned like
finder.
Soon after firemen arrived flames
forced their ladders away from the
windows and broke through the roof,
shooting as high as so feet into the
air. A huge crowd gathered and
large detail of police headed by In
spector Thaddeus Bean, and working
under the supervision of Commissioner
Sidney F. Taliaferro, had considerable
trouble in maintaining order.
Five alarms in all we're sounded and 1t
was two hours before the blaze was
subdued. The Bladensburg and Claren-
don Volunteer Fire Companies also re-
sponded, but their services were not
required
Forced back from the building itself
by the flames and dense clouds of
smoke, the fire fighters, from the street
and points of vantage on low roofs of
adjoining buildings, poured heavy
streams of water on the blaze.
Use Water Tower.
Chief Engineer George S. Watson
arrived on the scene at the second
alarm and seeing the proportions of the
fire turned in the additional alarms in
quick succession. The water tower
reached the place few minutes after
o'clock and Immediately swung into
action When the fire was at its height
there were three streams of water play
ing on it from the front and five from
each side.
George Altman, a printer employed
by the paper box company, discovered
the fire. It was then confined to
comparatively small space on the fourth
floor He summoned Ruben Aaronson
of 1900 Elsinor avenue, Baltimore, Md,
who, with H. Jeffrey, 1928 Sixteenth
street, is the proprietor of the firm.
Aaronson took charge and sent Alt
man and several other men to the
fourth floor with fire extinguishers.
About that time few little puffs
of smoke came through the door into
the second floor, where the girls and
other men were working on a big Gov
eminent rush order we had" Aaronson
declared.
"a few moments later a couple of the
men ran back and told me they had
used up the extinguiShers and the fire
was spreading fast. I cautioned the
girls to stay quiet and that I'd get
them out safely"
He said that one of the employees
turned in the alarm and the women
started out. Some of them were slightly
hysterical, but no concerted rush oc-
Cured.
Threatened 10 Spread.
The fire threatened for time to Jump
narrow alley to building occupied
by division of the General Accounting
Offices, where valuable records of In
dian claims are kept. A stretch of small
stores, houses and garages on the other
side WAS also nenacnd Although SnarkS
few in all directions, the firemen saw
to 1t that they set nothing ablaze.
The only near accident occurred after