Evening star., 1952-05-09
Fire
AT Scates Store
Laid 10 Wiring
Furniture Dealer .
Says Loss May
Reach 81 Million

NCOSu ~ NiItltOII
A spectacular flash-fire which
burned out the Malcolm Scates
furniture store, 4121 Thirteenth
street NV. last night, was still
being probed today.
Fire Chief Roy A. Warfield said
preliminary Investigations had
placed the blame on a short cir
cuited extension cord. The cord
connected time clock with sew
Iefal display lamps, he declared.
When the clock automatically
turned the current on at z o'clock
a short circuit set nearby window
draperies on fire, Chief Warfield
said. The blaze quickly raced
through the entire building.
Mr.. ScateS, the owner, who suf-
Tered a slight hand injury try
ing to save records, estimated
damage at between $5OO,OOO
ana 81 Million" in addition to
uneStimated damage to the build
ing. Everything was covered by
insurance. he said. Two of his
statesmen also suffered minor
burns.
The two-alarm blaze broke out
Just after two customers had left
the big brick building with its
modernistic front. 1t was first
seen by Albert S. Donovan, As, q
salesman. and Immediately after
ward by Vincent Raubaugh, an
other salesman.
Mr.. Donovan said he had Just
waited on the customers in the
rear of the store when he saw
flames shooting out near some
drapes in the northwest show
window on Thirteenth street.
Flames Spread Rapidly.
1T went up like a fash" he
said. THE front window broke
out and then the ceiling started to
cave in. was in a hotel fire once.
and have seen other fires, but I
never saw anything like this"
Within a few minutes, he saii.
the flames raced through the en-
tire store. Mr.. Donovan and an
other salesman, Winfield johnson,
suffered slight burns. On being
warned of the blaze, Mr.. Johnson
and Bill White. also a salesman,
had grabbed fire extinguishers to
fight the flames.
Mr.. ScateS was cut on the right
hand when he broke in a window
in an attempt to open a rear door
to try to save records. He was
treated by a private physician.
On each side of the building are
/, gasoline stations, which were not
damaged. The operator of one
of them. William Allen, said that,
when the fire was called to his
attention, he ran to the front Of
| the store, but all he could see was
a small flicker of flame.
0uuuCHly nUdTS Up.
; "Then," he said, "it suddenly
roared up. The big window blew
out. A ball of flame mushroomed
out, too. 1t looked like an atom
bomb had gne Off"
Firemen said the blaze did its
damage within 10 minutes and
was brought under control in that
time. A pail of smoke covered a
Ithree-block area for some time.
however, and drew hunders of per-
sons to the scene.
!, The building had one story in
front and two in the rear. A part
. of it, used for storing furniture,
located under the rear part of
the showroom, suffered water
!, damage. A large wing, contain
ing administrative Offices and
|, stored furniture, was undamaged.
i Mr.. Scates said several thou
sands of dollars in cash, repre-
senting the days receipts, were
destroyed. Paul c. Greening, the
credit manager, saved the records
of accounts receivable.
Furniture Burns on Lawn.
After the fire, hundreds Of
pieces of charred furniture were
piled on the grass lawn in front
of the 18-year-old building, which
had been improved within the last
five years. Most of the pieces
again caught fire on the grass
and firemen had to quench these
small blazes with high-pressure
, hand hoses.
+ Mr.. Scates said that, earlier in
st the day. some workmen were
hanging drapes in display win
dows. He said electrical wiring
!. circuits might have been dis
iturbed, resulting in a short circuit.
The lighting circuits in the win
!. dows were not on at the time the
!, fire occurred, but were due to
light up shortly afterward by
Itimeclock mechanisms. The store
: was to remain open until 8 pm.
for Thursday evening shoppers.
The blaze snarled traffic on
!. Thirteenth street. A local alarm
was called in at 7:07 pm, a fire.
J box was sounded at 1909 and the
; second alarm came 2 minutes
later. Responding were eight
engine companies, three trucks.
three battalion chiefs, a deputy
chief, a rescue squad and its am
; bulance and a gasoline-reserve
truck, all under the direction Of
Fire Chief Millard Sutton. Fire
Inspector Anthony Mileo also was
ION the scene.