The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-02-21 00:00:00

FEARFUL SCENE AT A FIRE IN
LONDON!

Early on Sunday morning a fire occurred at a house
in Carnaby-street, Regent-street, by which the lives
of two persons were sacrificed. The ground flour
was occupied by a foreigner named Monaco and
used an a frierlsash shop; the upper part of the
premise., consisting of ten rooms, being let out in
tenements. Monaco did not sleep in the house. A
Mr. and Ma. Lord, with their eon, twelve years
of age, lived on the second flop., and had a visitor
named Bridget Holl, staying with them at the time
of the calamity. The thud fl or was in the occupa-
tion of a Mr. and Mrs. Fitz"inions. A frantic
scream from an upper window a few minute,' before four
o'clock in the morning wan the first intimation of the
fire and the alarm was carried to the nearest Fire
Brigade station—that in It.gent-street, a very short
distance from the burning home. At the corner of
Aigyle-place, between 300 and 400 yards from the fire,
there is a fire-escape station, and another in Golden.
square, about 500 yards distant. The man in charge
01 the escape at the entrance to Argylesplace and the
firemen at the Regent-street station are said to have
receivwl the alarm almost aimoltaneeu-ly and were 8008
on the spot. A woman was then seen hanging in her
nightdress from the window sill of • second floor
window by the hands, in the last stage of exhalation
and was encouraged by tile cries of the excited specie
torn to "hold on." An escape-man was in the
act of raising his ladder to the inflow when she
lost her hold and fell, but f irtunately she alighted
on the man and no broke the falL She proved to be
Bridget Hall, who had been staying with the Lords.
Eiizsbeth Lord, 30 years of sate, bad leapt from a
second floor window, re hail slim her husband, ag, d 36,
and their little son. The tnotber, unhappily, was killed
in the desperate attsmpt she made to rione her life;
but the father and eon, though both seriously injured,
may istibly recover. Tney were removed to the
Charing crom HospitaL The two Fitzamons, husland
sod site (and who had only recently been married)
hal recourse to ti%e B,l'l more daring alternative
of attempting to ..hVe ttitif Bees 14 throwi,.; them-
selves from • wicdow of the third story. That, too
was before either eh the tire escapes arrived. A.
may well be suppoied, they both Imstalned very severe
injury— with what result time will show. The worst incl.
dent, perhaps, connected with the calamity remains to
be mentioned. The body of a man named Mahler
wee found in the basement burnt to death. He was
27 ot oho. WAbass anistod )41. Monaco, who

occupied the ground fl( or. in his busing& It is at
present a mystery bow Mighler got into the barnement,
for he slept on the top floor of all; and, strange to say,
the body was rotted standing head downwards against
cropper in the basement. The house WAS very old
and ricketty, with narrow stairs leading to upper floors
and without Tanding places. Some of the firemen be-
lieve that • door had been left open at the foot of the
stairs leading to the basement, and to that circum-
stance the rapidity with whicllthe home was destroyed
is said to be due.