Star.
London, England, 1830-04-01 00:00:00

CORONER'S INQUEST.

THE CALAMITOUS FIRE AT OLD BROMPTON.-..
Yesterday afternoon an Inquest was held at the Swan Tavern, Oic,
Brompton, before TUOMAS STIRLING, Esq. Coroner, and am.
spectable Jury, to inquire touching the death of Charles Reading,
aged seven years, Thomas Reading, aged five years, and
Reading, aged three years, the three unfortunate children who pe.
rished in the above fire.

The Jury having been sworn viewed the bodies, which laid in
house near the scene of the catastrophe. The utmost sympathy w 4
evinced for the ill-fated innocents, who were extremely interesting
children.
The following was the evidence adduced touching the lamentable
occurrence :—William Barnes : I live at No. 7, Prospect-row,
Old Brompton, and am a gardener. On Monday night last, about
nine o'clock, I was at home in bed, when I heard an alarm of fire.
—I instantly got up, and on entering the street discovered that
the fire was at the house of Mr. Reading, a paper-stainer,
a few doors off; I was informed by a number of persons who were
assembled that all the inmates were out of the house • I then par.
' ticularly inquired if the children were safe ; I was told that they
were ; at this time the fire was burning in one of the rooms on the
first floor; I waisted in removing some of the furniture from the
lower part of the house which the fire had not yet reached ; at this
time it was ascertained that Mr. Reading's three children ware still
in the house, the error arising from the unfortunate mother having
been severely burnt and rendered insensible; every effort %las now
exerted to snatch the helpless beings from destruction. A ladder
was placed against one of the first floor front windows, and several
persons ascended and endeavoured to enter the room, but from the
quantity of flame and smoke were unable ; at length 1 effected an
entrance, and, groping about the room, discovered one of the chit.
dren, which I took in my arms and hastily descended the ladder,
but became senseless before I reached the ground; on recovering
found myself supported by some persons and the child taken from
me; I cannot say whether the child was dead when I took it from
the room ; I think it was one of the little boys ; I am not aware of
the cause of the fire ' • several engines arrived on the spot soon after
the fire broke out, but little or no water could be obtained.
John Brymer, of Prompton, sworn—l heard the alann of fire,
and hastened to the spot; there was a cry among the people to save
the children; I entered the house through the back first floor win.
dow, accompanied by a sweep; after throwing out a quantity of the
furniture, we discovered one of the children, who was lying at the
corner of the room ; I took it up, and reached the ground with it;
the poor child, who appeared Helms, was a boy ; it was taken to the
house of a neighbour, and a doctor attended to it ; the third and
last child was taken out about twenty minutes afterwards, appa.
rently quite dead ; the house soon after hecame an entire mass of
flame, and communicated to the two adjoining, which were also
destroyed.
Mrs. Illary Willoughby, a lodger in the house, deposed—On
Monday night last I had put my two children to bed in one of the
rooms on the ground, and was engaged at needle work in our sitting
room on the f est floor front, when I was alarmed by screams from
Airs. Reading; I opened the door, and was shocked at discovering
a vast quantity of flaniesoind smoke issuing from the room where
Mrs. Reading seas, a passage being between ; I was incapable of
proceeding, and throwing up the window, called for assistance, and
Mr. Lloyd, a neighbour, brought a sack, upon which 1 jumped.
and received no injury; subsequent to this the shutters of the room
in which my two children slept were burst open, and they were
fortunately and providentially preserved; I did not ste Mrs. Read.
ing after I heard her scream : she must have ran out of the house.
By the jury—At the time the fire broke out the only persons in
the house were myself and two children, Mrs. Reading, and the
three unfortunate Innocents who have perished, and who had been
put to bed previously in a room on the first floor ; Mrs. Reading is
an excellent character, and remarkably fond of her family ; the
room in which the Inc broke out Mr. Reading does his business in,
and I observed a quantity cf glazed paper about it on the Monday
evening. He uses a quantity of turpentine in his business.
Mr. Chinnock, surgeon, of alichaers.place, Brompton—l was
attending a patient ntar this house on Monday evening when I
heard the alarm of fire, and on running to the spot, I saw the
unfortunate Mrs. Reading run out of the house in a blaze; several
of the neighbours extinguished her apparel, but not before she was
severely burnt ; I accompanied her to her sister's, and, having in
some degree alleviated her sufferings, immediately returned to the
scene of the catastrophe, when the witness Barnes brought out of
the house one of the children, which was the little girl ; 1 caused
its removal to a house close by, and adopted every means to bring
animation, but ineffectually; the other two children were brought
out successively in an apparently lifeless state ; I had recourse to the
same mode of treatment with them for a considerable time, but with
the same success, the vital spark being quite extinct. The deaths
were unquestionably produced by suffocation.
By the request of the jury the turncock was examined, from whose
evidence it appeared that he did not receive intelligence of the tire
until 20 minutes before eleven o'clock, and it was s considerable
time after that the water was set on, when the three houses were
consumed and all the mischief done.
The unfortunate Mrs. Reading, who is far advanced in pregnancy,
continues in a pitiable and fluctuating state. Shc is severely and
extensively burnt. She continually raves about her lost offspring,
and has not been considered prudent to question her ns to the cause
of the sad calamity.
The jury observed that there could not be a doubt but that the
fire originated from some of the inflammable paper in the room
where Mrs. Reading was becoming ignited, and spreading so rapidly
as to cause the injury to the poor woman's person, and the subse-
quent sad results.
After some consultation the jury returned a verdict, " That the
deceased children were suffocated by the house accidentally catching
fire ; and the jury were of opinion that a great proportion of the
property, it not the lives of the children might have bail saved had
it not keen for the great deficiency of the water after the arrival of
the en§inea."