The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-26 00:00:00

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.

o'clock
consternation, o n
alarm warning
ot this
housetown
a i
being :VE
.1.4)6 TWO LIVES.
sn
SEPT.g on 4
fire
. n o
n t Sb u
u n
wo
On arriving on the spot we found the
.thgreatest ti
o
Horse and Groom public-house in a blaze; the landlord (J. Keats),
o
his wife, and five children had escaped in their night clothes, as
thrown
2the
had Mr. Jones, firework-manufacturer, and his wife and son. Two
others of Keats' children, a girl, aged 13 years, and a boy, 8 years,
were still in their bed-room on the second floor. The fire corn.
menced in Jones's room, on the first floor. On awakening he
states that he found the bed-curtains on fire; he got up, and as-
sisted his wife out of the room, then all in flames, giving an alarm
to the rest of the inmates, some of whom escaped down stairs, the
others out of the back bed- room window. On going to bed Jones
says he lel a rushlight burning on the table, the window slightly
open, the wind was then to the westward, it changed to the north
in the night, which it is supposed blowed the curtain against the
light. Jones had, it appears, twelve skyrockets, a race of blue lights,
and a box of Roman candles in his bed room, which exploded soon
after he left it.

There was a quarter of an hour's delay before the first engine
was brought into play on the flames, and soon after the second ar-
rived lines were formed to the different pumps and wells in the
neighbourhood by about 200 men, and it was quite wonderful to
see the quantity of buckets they were supplied with, seeing there
were but twelve belonging to the two engines. Assistance and
water flowed from a'l quarters, and the fire was confined to the
house it commenced in, with the exception of the roof of the ad-
joining one being damaged by the fla nes running under it In
many instances here there is not a party.wall to the ridge in half a
dozen houses. All attempts to save the unfortunates on the
second floor were useless in :he house, the staircases being the first
parts devoured by the raging element, and no ladder could be found
long enough to reach the windows of the room for a long time.
When one was obtained, and an entry made, Sarah was found near
the window, the upper sash of which she had partly pulled
down, but being overcome by the smoke, died from suffocation.
Richard was afterwards found wrapped up in a blanket, under the
bed, where he had crawled, but, like his sister, died from suffo-
cation. The dreadful deaths of these two unfortunate young people
has caused a great sensation, and will, we have no doubt, cause
considerab!e additions to be made to the equipment of the fire es-
tablishment, as too much has always been left to the known daring
of the seamen of the port; they have always got everi, fire under
before it extended beyond the premises on which it broke out, and
often saved even them; the tires have been attacked and mas.
tered before they have got any very great hold, nor till now has
there been a life lost. Jones had thirty-two sovereigns and some
silver in his box ; the box was burnt, but the money recovered.
Keats had, in some drawers in his room, which joined Jones's,
300/. in notes, and some deeds : although the fronts of the drawers
were burnt nearly through, the notes and writings were not injured.
His furniture was not insured; the house, which• belongs to Mr.
Eames, was, in the Norwich Union—but, some say, the fireworks
being in it will vitiate the insurance. They did not cause the fire;
they were not placed there by Mr. Eames, nor by his tenant, but by
a lodger. Public.houses pay a higher rate of insurance for extra
risk; but, if they are to be damaged, and not be able to recover
their insurance, in consequence of something a casual guest may
have in his box, they are placed in rather au awkward situation.
The house was surrounded by extensive stabling, all wooden
buildings. Had the fire extended to them, they would, in all pro-
bability, have carried the fire to numerous other buildings, and half
the town might have been destroyed.