Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-01-26
False Alarm epidemic" Is City's Worst
Companies Travel "Routes" New Calls Come in Before
Fighters Return to Station Houses.
ISTRICT FIRE fighters last night
\ were shaking their heads q
little dazedly and pinching
themselves to see II they were

were shaking their heads q
little dazedly and pinching
- themselves to see II they were
awake after a 60-hour nightmare In
which IRE alarms in groups Of three
and four q minute, the worst "epi-
demic" of false alarms in history, Icy
streets, bowling Arctic gales and 'mul-
tiple" runs were jumbled into one Of
the dizziest records for any similar
period in local fire fighting annals.
During the 60-hour period, ending
yesterday afternoon, the local truck
and engine companies responded to
1913 alarms, "a of which came within
period of less than two hours. Only
the providential fact that none OF
the fires proved to be serious saved the
city from possible disaster during a
period which found fire houses all over
the city emptied Of equipment, it is
believed.
The real trouble began at 10:4l
pm. Friday when the big alarm board
in Room 526 of the District Building
lighted up like Christmas tree" and
the wailing Of fire sirens began to fill
the city. During the next few min
utes the alarms came in so fast that
no effort was made to list them sepa-
rately on the master book. The entry
for 1889 pm. Friday shows four
alarms, all within space Of less than
so seconds and all of which proved to
be false.
What the records do not show,
however, was the master chess game
the flrehghters played with engine
and truck companies all over town
as they fought to keep pace with the
mounting tide of alarms. Numbers OF
companies, started out in response to
one alarm, would take care of four and,
in some cases. five alarms in different
neighborhoods before they got back
home.
Multiple Runs Made.
Within a space Of hour ~ min
utes, Is engine companies, truck
companies and battalion chiefs were
called into action. virtually all of them
making multiple runs to cover from
two to five alarms each. OF the "a
alarms rung up on the master board
during these LOT minutes, 80 were
false alarms. The four actual fires
were minor chimney or automobile
blazes and were speedily disposed of.
All through the icy spell which was
ushered in Wednesday night by howl
ing gales which reached a velocity OF
more than so miles per hour. the fire
department has been necessarily on
the o in response to alarms which
averaged two an hour. day and night,
up to yesterday afternoon.
Chimney and roof fires and burn
ing automobiles predominated. as they
always do during these extremely cold
spells" officials of the Fire Board
explained.
Six automobile fires were extin-
guished yesterday ard there was one
fire in . street car. Ignition troubles
and the backf1ring Of ice-choked car
buretors are responsible for most Of
the cold-weather automobile fires, 1t
was pointed out.
So complicated became the "rout-
ing" of fire-f1ghtine companies that
all territorial divisions broke down
and individual companies were apt to
be called out in response to alarms
anywhere in the city. At one time ell
the companies in Northeast Washing
ton were out on alarms, and No. "a
Truck Company was sent all the way
from Fourteenth street and Park road
4. i m
to handle q little blaze near the rail-
road yards.
Yesterday fire broke out in Wards