Evening star., 1940-10-30
Flames Sweep
WarDept.Wing;
|mperi| Codes
GeneruI-AIorm Fire
Destroys Addition;
Probe Started
pictures on Page BIZ

Fire roared through the War
Department Munitions Building
early today, destroying a newly
built fourth-foor addition and
doing extensive damage to secret
codes, records and equipment in
the building.
Army intelligence officers and the
District fire marshal began an i'm
mediate investigation of the cause
of the fire and the War Department
appointed a board of inquiry. In
vestigators said there was nothing
to indicate sabotage, but that the
possibility, of course, was being
studied.
Secretary of the Navy Knox,
whose department is War Depart
ment neighbor, said at his press
conference that Secretary of War
Stimson had expressed a belief the
fire "unquestionably" was caused
by a short circuit or cigarette.
The blaze caused a general alarm
to be sounded and called to the
scene practically all of the Dis
trict's flrefighting equipment. 1t
ragged for nearly two hours before
it was brought under control and
did damage to the building estimated
at 100000.
Troops Summoned.
Between 700 and 300 troops were
summoned from nearby Army posts
by Chief of Staff George c. Mar
shall, who arrived a short time after
the fire was discovered. The troops
were posted in a Gordon about the
building, and a number were sta
toned in front of Offices inside the
building.
About 7 am. firemen who had
been at the War Department were
rushed to the scene of another blaze
at the Lewis Hotel Training School,
Twenty third street and Washing
ton Circle NV. About "a firemen
were affected by escaping gas at this
fire and nine were hospitalized.
The War Department blaze was
discovered about am. by two
building guards. They said the
addition was burning furiously at
this time.
The first alarm was sounded at
400 am. and within a few seconds,
two more alarms came in. BY 4:20
am, a general alarm went out, fol-
lowed a short time later by a spe-
cial call for additional equipment.
Adjoining Wings Threatened.
When firemen reached the scene,
they found the top story of the en-
tire third wing a roaring inferno.
Flames were leaping high above the
roof and threatening adjoining
wings Of the building.
Pieces of blazing wreckage drifted
down and ignited a pile of waste
outside a f1rst-floor window. The
blaze spread into the quartermaster
generals mimeograph room on this
floor, cutting the room and destroy
ing half the machines.
The old structure, which was a
temporary building erected during
World War days but never aban-
doned, is located on Constitution
avenue, running from Nineteenth
to Twenty-flrst streets. 1t is built
grldlron fashion with eight wings
separated by wide courts-running
back from the street.
| Some months ago work was be-
| gun to put an additional floor on
the roof of the three-story structure.
This work was nearly finished, but
the roof was cluttered with lumber,
tar-paper and other materials.
The fire ate rapidly through the
construction in the third wing and
smoke filled the building. In the
wing adjoining is the Army Message
Center-nerve center of the vast
Army radio net which reaches over
the world.
Tries to Rescue Documents.
As the fire spread, it was feared
that secret codes, messages and
equipment in this wing would be
destroyed. Maj. Edward French, in
command of the message center and
the first officer to reach the scene,
plunged into the smoke-choked
building in an effort to reach the
valuable documents.
He was driven out by the smoke
and heat, however, and firemen
concentrated water on the wing to
keep it from catching fire. They
were successful, but it was feared
that water and smoke had done
extensive damage to the material.
The red glow of the fire could be
seen for miles. A newsreel pho
tographer reported he had seen the
blaze from his home the other side
of Alexandria.
Gen. Marshall arrived from his
home at Fort Myer within half an