Turning again to the daily papers, we can find many fire stories in which the location of the burned structure is important enough to take the first line of the lead. Here is one:
The Plaza Hotel had a few uncomfortable moments last night when flames from a building adjoining at 22 West Fifty-ninth street were shooting up as high as the tenth story of the hotel and the fire apparatus which responded to the delayed alarm was looking for the blaze several blocks away.—New York Sun.
3. When.—Sometimes the time of the fire is very interesting. John H. Jones's house may have caught fire from a very insignificant thing and its location may have been unimportant, but the fire may have come at an unusual time. Perhaps Mr. Jones's daughter was being married at a quiet home wedding in her father's house and in the midst of the ceremony the roof of the house burst into flames. The unusual time would be interesting; the answer to When? would be the feature. We might write the lead thus:
During the wedding of Miss Mary Jones at the home of her father, John H. Jones, 78 Liberty street, last night, the house suddenly burst into flames and the bridal party was compelled to flee into the street.
Or:
Fire interrupted the wedding of Miss Mary Jones at her father's home, 78 Liberty street, last night, when the house caught fire from a defective chimney during the ceremony.
The daily papers furnish many illustrations of fires at unusual times—here is one:
When the snowstorm was at its height early this morning, a three-story brick building at Nos. 4410-18 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, caught fire, and the flames spread rapidly to an adjoining tenement, sending a small crowd of shivering tenants into the icy street.—New York Post.
4. What.—(a) The Burned Building.—Many fire stories have their feature in the answer to the reader's What? Not infrequently the building itself is of great importance. Naturally "The residence of John H. Jones" would not make a good beginning, if John Jones is not well known, because people would be more interested in reading about a mere fire than in reading about the residence of John H. Jones, whom they do not know. For it must be remembered that it is the first line that catches the reader's eye and the interest or lack of interest in the first line determines whether or not the story is to be read. Now, suppose that a building that is very well known burns—the City Hall, the Albany State House, the Herald Square Theater—the mere mention of the building will attract the reader's attention. Therefore the reporter begins with the answer to What? the name of the building, as in the following cases:
GLENS FALLS, N. Y., Aug. 17.—The Kaatskill House, for many years a popular Lake George resort, was completely destroyed by fire this forenoon.—New York Times.