Evening star., 1940-04-01

phone call from headquarters prob
ably saved our lives
Mrs. Clara Bowser, who lived on
the second floor, told of being
aroused by smoke She awakened
her daughter, Barbara Ann, II, and
two women who share the apart
ment with her, Miss Irene Smith
and Mrs. Annie Rosner.
They f1ed to safety through the
front door, Mrs. Rosner, who came
to this county recently from Europe,
lost most of her worldly belongings
in the fire.
Awakened by Flames.
The sound of falling plaster and
of cracking flames had awakened
Mr.. Appelt, who discovered the fire.
Il called to my wife" he said,
"and then rushed down to the base
ment to see the janitor (James
Cyrus, colored).
He said he thought it was Just
some linoleum on fire and we opened
door next to the chimney down.
stairs. I could see the flames then
and ran back upstairs and called
the Fire Department.
Il waited couple of seconds for
the flremen and then I could see
that the place was going. We rushed
out and I broke the apartment
alarm. The smoke was thick and
black and before we could get off
the third floor our apartment was
on fire"
Mrs. Applet said that by the time
she had left her apartment a bed
was On fire.
The hall vas in flames" she said.
Il started down the back stairs, but
I ran into the fire. Then We started
down the front stairs. I called to Lee
Vincent in the apartment next to
ours and told him to get the baby
out.
Then 1 stopped on the first floor
to get my niece, Ruth Avery
Reach Street Safely.
Miss Avery lived in the same unit
as the resident manager, Mrs. Ella
Shade. They made their way to
the street safely.
Mr.. Vincent, in the meantime,
had seized the baby. awakened his
wife and started a dash for safety.
On reaching the street he discovered
that his wife had not followed him.
Handing the child. only S months
old, to bystander, he started to
rush back into the building.
Policemen. hearing his scream,
MY wife is in there" rushed to his
side. They restrained him from
entering the building.
Within a few seconds firemen had
raised a ladder to the Vincent apart
ment and carried Mrs. Vincent to
safety.
All the possessions of Harold
Goodman, 25, statistician with the
Social Security Board, and his wife,
Florence, Is, employe of the R. F. c.,
as we'll as those of a guest from
New York, Miss Annie Rubin, a.,
we're lost in the fire
Like big Red Dragon"
Describing the blaze, Mr.. Good
man said:
Il ran down the back stairs. All
of a sudden I saw what looked like
a big red dragon racing down the
stairs. I had thought I might 60
back and get my money. but I
took one look at that red glare, and
kept on going"
From the street, he said, the fire
seemed to be running across the
roof like the waves in the ocean"
They returned to the burned
apartment and searched for possess
sions, but all they found was the
metal initial "R" from Miss Rubin S
pocketbook. Burned up were their
clothes, jewelry and possessions and
about SIS in cash. They placed
their total loss at about IS 900, which
included Mrs. Goodman's diamond
wedding band, worth approx
mately $500.
When Mr.. Applet started down.
stairs on his first search for the
janitor he encountered Miss Martha
Herrin, another Internal Revenue
Bureau employe who occupied a
second-floor apartment. They made
their way to the janitors quarters
together. Then. Miss Herrin said:
Il saw how bad it was and ran
upstairs screaming fire BY the
time got back my apartment was
on fire. 1 grabbed my fur coat and
ran down the hall, knocking on
| doors and screaming to wake the
others up. The smoke was terrible
and the flames were lighting up the
whole place"
Those awakened by Miss Herrin
included Estelle Burke, Vet
Grams Administration employe, who