Evening star., 1947-10-15
0fficiaIsSeek
Cause Of Kann
4-AIarm Fire
Store Estimates Loss
At $100, 900; Blaze
Destroys Warehouse

Destroys Warehouse
Fire Marshal Raymond c. Roberts
today was attempting to determine
the cause Of four-alarm fire which
destroyed a warehouse of the S.
kann Sons Co. at $40 Eighth street
NV. yesterday.
Store officials estimated the total
loss at 100000 They said. how
ever, that inventories are still being
checked and it is possible the loss
WILL be even greater. The building
was filled with expensive merchan-
disc, including rugs and electrical
fixtures.
The five-story brick building was
barely a shell today. The front and
rear walls had collapsed during the
hre as had the second and third
floors, leaving the interior a great
mound of debris.
Four Hurt, Two Overcome.
-Four firemen were injured in fight
ing the blaze, and two others were
overcome by smoke.
Pvt. Joseph p. Anthony. 80. Of
No. 16 Engine Co., a former Catholic
University football player, was cut
on the left wrist by falling slate
and was taken to Emergency Hos
pital for treatment.
Slate also hit Firemen N. P. Peter
son OF No. l Truck Co. and William
E. Schaffner of No. Rescue SQUAD.
while 1t. w. E. Harris of No. 2 En-
CINE Co. was struck by a falling brick.
The three were treated on the scene
oy DR.. William D. Claudy, Fire De-
partment physician.
Firemen D. G. Howard and G.. L.
Larrick, of No. Engine Co. were
overcome by smoke while battling
the fire on the third floor.
Chief Engineer Clement Murphy
narrowly escaped injury, when the
front wall of the building fell. He
was standing in front of it, di-
recting operations.
Fire Discovered in Rugs.
Five persons were working in the
warehouse when the fire was dis
covered by Robert Murphy of Sandy
Spring, Md, merchandise checker.
He said he found it in pile of rugs
on the third floor.
Mr.. Murphy said he sent a CO.
worker, George Matthews, to turn
in the alarm while he grabbed a
hand extinguisher and directed 1t
toward the blaze until firemen ar
rived.
All five store employees escaped
The first alarm was logged at the
fire board at 3:14 pm. The others
followed at 3:16, 3:1S and 3:24.
Sixteen engine companies and
six truck companies responded to
the Tour alarms, and three addition
al engine companies were summoned
by a special" it ws stated. The
water tower, the two rescue squads
and auxiliary equipment also were
on hand.
Chief Murphy was assisted by .
deputy chief and three battalion
chiefs IN supervising the fire-fight-
ing.
Fire Spreads Rapidly.
The fire spread rapidly through
the building. Flames spouted from \
the windows, particularly on the
third floor. Dense clouds of smoke
hampered f1remen and cast q haze
over the neighborhood.
Firemen succeeded in confining
the blaze to the warehouse, but
Scorching and water damage was
reported in adjacent structures. The
lire fighters feared for a time stocks
of highly inflammable Photographic
material in an adjoining photo
graphic supply store would be ig-
aited.
The tons of water poured on the
IRE flooded number of nearby
cellars.
Commissioner John Russell Young
arrived at the fire at about $50 pm.
from his District Building office.
Police Supt. Robert j. Barrett also
was among the officials present.
Hose Lines Span Traffic.
Inspector Arthur E. Miller, in
charge of traffic, said relatively little
dlfhculty was experienced In han
ding the rush-hour flow in the vi
cinity.
He explained jams were minim-
lzed by use of bridges which carried
nose lines over streetcar tracks and
permitted the cars to continue run
ming. Inspector Miller said he or
dered these when he arrived on the
scene, and the equipment was de-
llvered promptly by the Capital
Transit Co.
Inspector Miller said it was neces-
sary to halt westbound traffic on
pennsylvania avenue for a short
time because of the concentration
of fire apparatus.
Market space, Eighth street and
D street were closed to the traf-
f1c IN the area, and motor vehicles
were diverted from Seventh and
Ninth streets in the vicinity, while
streetcars continued moving after
the hose bridges arrived.
All police motorcycle men in the
city were ordered to the scene when
the magnitude of the fire became
known.
Thousands View Battle.
Several thousand persons gath.
cred opposite Eighth street on Penn
sylvania avenue, where they were
held by special police details.
Other hundreds f1ocked to the win
dows Of the National Archives
Building and the S. Kann Sons Co.
department store, across Eighth
street from the warehouse.
Scores Of spectators watched from
the roofs Of nearby buildings.
Shortly after 4 pm, the fire was
considered to be under control and
fireman with a megaphone an.
"All third-alarm companies re-
turned to quarters. by orders Of
the fire chief"
The store suffered similar major
fire loss IN January, 1925, when its
dve-story warehouse building burned
at Eighth and D streets NV. on a
Saturday night. The entire District
fire-fighting force was called out