Evening star., 1940-12-04
7Persons Saved,
II Routed in
Three Fires
Silver Spring Family
OF 5 Rescued After
Maid Gives Alarm

Two persons were rescued by fire.
men and ~ others fled for their
lives in two fires in Washington,
while a family of five in Silver
Spring, Md, was saved when COL
ored maid awakened to find the
house in flames early today.
Two alarms were sounded for both
local fires. One was at 1902 Four
teenth street NV and the other at
62l, 623 and 625 Morton street NV,
comprising single two-story frame
building, about so feet long, in which
% persons lived.
Firemen were hampered by the
intense cold which numbed their
hands and bodies and left a glaze Of
ice over their clothes, the buildings
and the nearby streets.
Girls Carried to Safety.
The Silver Spring fire occurred at
the home Of 1t. Gerald j. Sullivan,
U. S. A.. retired, at 811 Pershing
drive.
1t. and Mrs. Sullivan, aroused by
the maid, Elizabeth Grant, 27, car
ried their two daughters. Catherine,
10, and Louise, 9, downstairs to the
garage and 1t. Sullivan drove the
two children and the maid to the
safety of the street outside.
Mrs. Sullivan rushed back up
stairs to rescue her 4-year-old son,
Gerald, jr., but was trapped in the
bedroom and Edward White and
Harry Barrett. volunteer members
Of the Silver Spring Fire Depart
ment, raised ladders and removed
them from the burning building.
Firemen battled the flames for
nearly three hours. The kitchen
and basement were destroyed, while
the remainder of the house. a two
and half story brick structure, was
badly damaged. Firemen unoffi-
cially estimated the damage at ap-
proximately $4,000.
The Morton street building was
virtually destroyed, although the
floors and walls stood The blaze
on Fourteenth street, in a barber
shop, was confined mainly to the
first floor. Damage in the latter
place was estimated at about $4,000.
Woman and Girl Rescued.
Pvts. j. H. Mattare and j. w.
Grammar of No % Engine Company,
rescued Mary J. Deans, 33. and her
11-year-old daughter, Mary E.
Deans, both coIored, from their sec
ond-story room above the barber
shop.
Pvt. Mattare said he and his fell
low firemen experienced difficulty in
getting them down the ladder.
The room was filled with smoke" I"
he asserted, land the woman and
her daughter seemed stunned. I
don't think they knew whether to
come with us or not"
The husband. James L. Deans. A.
came down the ladder alone He
said his wife had smelled the smoke
first and awakened him. The blaze
is believed to have started in the
shoe repair room.
Yells Arouse Sleepers.
The Morton street blaze, which
started at about the same time, was
discovered by several occupants, all
colored. One of them, Leroy Jones,
at 623, leaped out of bed when
awakened by smoke and went out
side and yelled to awaken the
others.
Nora Daniels aroused her nine
brothers and sisters and carried her
10-month-old brother Edgar to a
neighbor's house. Theodore Brax-
ton saved his wife and 10 children,
the youngest of which is six months
old.
No one was injured, although
flames were licking up to the roof
by the time the occupants had
escaped.
Origin Unknown.
A preliminary investigation failed
to reveal the origin of the Silver
Spring fire, which was discovered
about 2:15 am.
Mrs. Sullivan, Catherine and Ger
aid, jr., were being cared for to-
day in the homes of friends. The
other child, Louise, was affected by
the smoke and was taken to Walter
Reed Hospital for treatment Her
condition was said to be not serious.
One volunteer fireman, Andrew
Xincaid, suffered a sprained hand
in fighting the flames.
1t. Sullivan is head of the Sulli-
van School, a preparatory institu-
tion for West Point and Annapolis,
at 2128 Wyoming avenue NV.