Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-06
Four Teachers Bundle 40 Pu-
pills in Wheel Chairs as Jan
itor Fights Blaze.
OLD HEATING SYSTEM
is SOURCE OF FLAMES
140 Others on Second Floor March
From Weightman Building
in Order.

Forty crippled children. pupils of the
Weightman School for CrippleS, at
Twenty-third and M streets, we're car
ried bodily or helped to safety from
the building at IL o'clock this morning
when the iron-grilled register which Is
part of the schools Anticipated hot-air
heating system suddenly burst into
flames that shot three feet into the
air in the central corridor.
None was hurt, although half of the
youngsters, terrified at sight of the
flames within a dozen feet of their
class room doors, became hysterical and
were not quieted for nearly an hour
after they were returned safely to their
rooms.
The flames, caused by the ignition
of accumulated Sweepings which had
settled in the pipe vent under the floor,
were discovered by Fred j. Courtney,
janitor, and while he fought them with
hand extinguiSher, the four woman
teachers bundled the cripples into the
wheel chairs and rushed them to safety.
Some Unable to Walk.
Some of the children, unable to walk
themselves, were picked up by the
teachers who worked furiously to get
the handicapped youngsters to the
safety of the out-of-doors. Others were
able to toddle along themselves and
with eyes wildly upon the fire, attempt
ed to quit the building alone These
were gathered into the teachers arms
and half led and half pushed to the
open doors.
Some lao normal children, occupying
the second floor of the old school build
| ing, walked to safety with the precision
and order which marks their regulation
! fire drills.
This school buildings heating plant
was roundly condemned in the con-
/ Guiding article Of The Stars series on
| the school system survey yesterday.
Speaking of the Weightman Building,
the article pointed out:
| 1T Is heated by four old-fashioned
hot-air furnaces. The heat is very I'M
even. Sometimes parts of the build
ing are too hot or too cold. FREE
blue with smoke and the teachers and
pupils md difficulty in breathing"
Couldn't Move Register.
Today, when efforts were being made
to force adequate heat into all the rooms
through the old iron registers, the
sweepings, lint and floor debris accu-
mutation OF years caught fire. The OIL
soaked wood floor surrounding the iron
OF the register was endangered and Mr..
Courtnay'S efforts to reach the source
OF the flames, after he had sounded the
school alarm and telephoned the Fire
Department, were handicapped by the
absence OF sufficiently large enough
| Screwdriver with which to remove the
grill top. AS soon as firemen reached
the building they were able to wrench
the grill from its position and the
actual extinguishing of the flames was
but few moments work.
Meanwhile. Mrs. B. j. Drake, teacher
In charge of the school for cripples,
which is quartered on the first floor Of
the old structure, and her associates,
Mrs. j. M. Drysdale, substitute teacher:
Miss Helen Moore, physiotherapist, and
Mrs. Helen Davis, matron, worked
heroically to get the physically handi-
capped pupils out of the threatened
school. Within three minutes all of the
youngsters we're huddled in the chill air
OF the playyard and the four women
were returning to the deserted and
Smoke-nlled rooms to fetch blankets
pupils.
After firemen had given permission
for the children to return to their
rooms, the normal children of the sec
ond floor, to whom the blaze was little
more than lark. marched cheerfully
| upstairs. Then the task of carving.
rolling and helping the cripples indoors
was begun.
Children Break Down.
Reaction by this time had set in and
more than half of the helpless or par
TALLY helpless boys and girls were
weeping Historically. Mrs. M Joseph
Hanley of 1888 Twenty-fourth street,
vice president of the Weightman Par
ent-Teacher Association, dropped her
work, flung a coat about her shoulders
at the first sign of trouble, and went
into the school, hugging sobbing chill
dren to her in her efforts to help quiet
them. Many of the little cripples cried
out to her as they saw her coming and
CONTINUED on Page 2, Column S.