A Fire Story

Enough about gold and silver for a while.  You should protect yourself and get it, and it’s as simple as it can get.  I wrote a column about earthworms a couple of years ago, so I am not bound to write about economics all the time.

I am a fire buff.  Not an arsonist.  They should be shot.  I love to hear real sirens, as in Philly, not the electronic ones so common now.  I was a member of the ’Second Alarmers Association’ in Philly, and we brought out the donuts and coffee for extra alarms.  I was also a volunteer fireman in Silverton, Colorado. Watching firemen and their equipment perform, always gives me a big thrill.  When there are large fire casualties, parades with coffins on top of a shiny pumpers, and firemen marching with black arm bands, it makes tears come to my eyes.  Fireman are among the bravest of all.  What is so sad, is that companies with the most calls, are in the poorest neighborhoods, whose residents are always careless, cause the fires, and don’t give a hoot about the brave firemen who are saving their lives and property.  Many firemen in big cities, are greeted with bottles and garbage raining down on them, when they arrive to fight a fire.  I know lots of fire stories and have great slides of huge fires, but I ran across the following, and this is it.

It was Christmas Eve, 1929.   A big Christmas party was going on at the White House.  In the West Wing, where the Oval Office is, (built in 1903), The President’s secretary smelled smoke at 8 PM.  Secret Service was summoned, and agent Russell Wood began investigating.  It seemed to come from the attic.  He mounted the stairs, opened the door, and was hit by a wall of searing heat.  President Hoover was quietly told of the fire.  He left the party, and decided to observe.  Box 157 was pulled, which was the White House Box.  (A “box” is an alarm, usually on a street corner, which is used to summon the fire department.  They are rarely seen now, thanks to cell phones and far too many false alarms).  “Box 157- The White House!” screamed the telegrapher.  Seconds later, every company in D.C. with their polished gongs and brass poles, received the message. 1-5-7, 1-5-7.

Engine One had a brand new Seagrave pumper, and was first due.  It rushed through the gates, and Captain O’Connor could see flames through the small attic windows.  Battalion Chief Gill was speeding to the fire scene, and as he raced down Pennsylvania Ave, he could see the flames also.  Gill led his hose crew up to the attic, and when the door was opened, a dreaded back draft occurred, throwing the chief and his men back down the stairs to the main floor. As Gill and his men staggered to their feet, Gill ordered a second alarm at 8:15.

 Engines 16, 23, and truck 3 (hook and ladder) had arrived, and the 85 foot aerial ladder on truck 3, could have reached the roof, but the massive iron gates on the sides and rear of the White House were locked.  All chiefs were given keys to the gates, but the Secret Service had changed the locks without telling anyone. Deputy Chief Nicholson arrived at the rear, saw the equipment locked outside, and ordered a third alarm at 8:16.

Commissioner Watson was rushing to the fire scene in his red Cadillac touring car.  He made 35 blocks, through Washington’s heavy Christmas Eve traffic, in eight minutes flat, reaching the fire scene at 8:18. Seeing flames breaking through the roof, Watson ordered a fourth alarm, which would bring four more engine companies, and off shift men to activate reserve pieces.  The fifth and final alarm was sounded at 9:24.  Some pumpers were taking water from hydrants as far as five blocks away.  Here was a government office on fire, loaded with combustible papers by the ton, and virtually no access.  The first idea was to get through the roof, but most of the skylights led into partitioned air shafts, so that was of no use.  Finally, the roof gave way, and truck 3, which had finally gotten through the gates, was able to wet the fire from above.  When the roof collapsed, there were men below, frantically trying to save valuable papers.  None were hurt when the ceiling gave way.

Huge calcium lights had been set up, so the fire scene was brilliantly lit.  The President was on the roof of the White House, watching the whole show, while the Christmas party went on, totally unaware of the commotion that was going on outside, with the West Wing being destroyed.  The White House was saved of course, but was uninsured, as it is now.  Across the river at Ft. Meyer, a troop of the Third Cavalry stood by, in case they were needed.  150 soldiers from what is now Ft. McNair, formed a ’human wall’ around the scene, to keep the public out, because the fire had drawn a huge audience.  One hundred D.C. police aided the soldiers’  ’human wall.’

At 7:27 AM, Christmas Morning, the fire was officially out, although Engine One, which was first in, remained all day, in case of re-ignition from all the smoldering paper residue.  Fifteen firemen were injured, and the West Wing was destroyed, but the White House was saved.  The cause of the fire was discovered to be  an overheated flue in an open fireplace in the secretary’s office.

This all happened in 1929, 81 years ago.  Fire fighting equipment since 1929, has become more and more sophisticated as each year has passed.  “Scott Packs,” allow firemen to breathe in smoke filled areas, and “Squirts” are the equivalent of a large fire hose, remotely directed from high in the air.  Engines are dieselized, and pump pressure and engine capacity is far higher than in 1929.  Ladders are hydraulically raised and lowered, and can go well over a hundred feet in the air.  Turnout coats, boots, and helmets, are far superior to those of 1929.   Radios allow instant communication between firefighters and their chiefs.  Then, as now, fire departments, and the brave firemen who man them, deserve our greatest praise. I strongly feel that no woman is brave nor strong enough to be a firefighter, and 99% of firemen agree with me.  There are some things that women should not be employed as, and two of them are in the police and fire departments.