Alexandria, Virginia
Stable Fires
August 3, 1904
Several Fire Fighters Injured by
Ungovernable Nozzle.
Excitement Attended Two Sunday Blazes in Barns –
Washington Post Bureau
631 King Street, Alexandria, Va.
The entire fire department was called out
twice yesterday, each time to quench burning
stables. The first blaze was discovered about 1
o’clock in the morning on the premises of
Councilman James McCuen,
600 and 602 South Alfred street The alarm was
given by locomotive whistles in the Southern
Railway yards nearby, and when the fire
apparatus reached the ground the loft of the
building was burning fiercely and the flames
were brightly illuminating the entire
southwestern section of the city. The fire was
extinguished before the building was consumed,
but only after a hard fight, in which several
firemen were more or less injured.
During the progress of the fire a hose nozzle
became unmanageable and knocked men right and
left. John Henderson,
a young man with only one arm, was struck on the
right leg and terribly cut and bruised. At the
direction of Chief
Engineer Pettey he was placed in a
hose wagon and sent to the hospital, where his
injuries will keep him confined for some days.
Kingston Ratcliffe,
a member of Engine Company No. 5, was struck in
the eye by a piece of timber or a brick and was
knocked from the top of a ladder into the
burning building, and it was in an effort to
rescue him that the others on the ladder lost
control of the nozzle. It is a curious fact that
the eye in which Mr. Ratcliffe is injured is
already sightless. He is painfully hurt,
however. Frank D.
Pollard, a member of Engine Company
No. 5, is suffering from a sprained ankle. The
entire second story and contents, consisting of
hay and feed, were destroyed. The loss will
amount to several hundred dollars, and there is
no insurance.
The second fire was in the loft of the stable
on the premises of
William B. Smoot, at the southwest
corner of Prince and Columbus streets, and
occurred about 2 o’clock in the afternoon,
starting in a quantity of hay. The department
responded promptly and soon had the flames under
control. The building is of brick, with shingle
roof. The roof and other woodwork on the second
story and the contents were consumed. The horses
and carriages on the ground floor were removed
uninjured. The damage is covered by insurance.
Another fireman was injured at this fire.
Assistant Foreman
George W. Pettey, of Engine Company
N. 5, while blinded by smoke, came in contact
with a lot of burning hay and was painfully
burned on both hands. The origin of neither
blaze is known.
The Washington Post, Washington DC 4 Aug
1904
Transcribed by
Jenni Lanham. Thank you,
Jenni!
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