The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-11-17
THE HALIFAX HORROR.
Detailed Account Of the Burning OF tie
Poor-Asylum at HalMhx.x N. s.-Thirty.
one Persons Known I'd Have Perished In
the Flames. p

Detailed Account Of the Burning Of the
Poor-Asylum at BaiNhx.|N. s.-Thirty.
one Persons Known to Have Perished In
the Flames.
HALIFAX, N. s., November I.
About twelve O'Clock last night, while all
hands were sleeping. fire broke out in the
bake-house in the basement of the immense
Po0rAsylum building. Exactly how it orig
mated is not very clear. but the smoke Of
smoldering wood spread through the building
into the dormitories, and caused the utmost
terror among the 400 or 900 inmates of the i'm
stitution. There was no Immediate danger,
so the officials of the asylum did not take
steps to remove the inmates. An alarm was
sounded, and the stroke bell had hardly COM
menced when reels were run out of the en-
gine-houses, as one or two men happened to
be about A few people who had not re-
tired, and others who lived in the neigh
borhood, ran to the building. They found
smoke issuing from the windows all
over the building, but no flames were to be
seen. In the west wing old women and chill
dren were seen at the windows, crying to be
let out and, as they began breaking glass, it
was feared they would throw themselves to
the ground. A sturdy AMMAN dashed at the
door leading from this wing into the yard, and
with few vigorous blows of his Ak knocked
it in. The stairways were crowded, and out
came a procession of women nursing infants
old, gray-headed -grandmas, and feeble old
men. All were screaming, and as they reached
the fresh air without they calculated their
thanks, and then began calling for this one and
that one until all was babel of confusion.
Then it became known that those in the upper
wards of that wing were helpless. Some of
the firemen, and fire-wardens, and Aldermen,
nd oil md who
the early arrivals, fastened up. and willing
hands were soon getting the blind, halt and
lame down the long winding stairs. The work
was necessarily n slow one, but finally that
wing was emptied.
In the mean time the flames in the basement,
which the Superintendent, engineers and Off
cials were trying to keep under, spread to the
base of the long air shaft or elevator reaching
to the top of the main building. The draft
here swept the flames upwards with tremen-
dous force, and in a few seconds the heaviest
part of the conflagration was in the top of the
main building. The story just under the caves
in this building was used as hospital, and in
it were about seventy patients, most of them
perfectly helpless. The fire was now fiercely
burning rigAt in the hospital and above it.
The heat was SO intense that lead poured
down from the roof in streams of brilliant
showers, rendering any near approach to the
building almost certain death. Notwithstand-
ing this, there were hundreds standing out
side who would, willingly have entered the
building if they could have found their way
through the place. Indeed, several did go in,
but without guidance could do nothing in the
immense building, and had to return to the
yard An attempt was made to raise ladders
to the windows, but the lad iers were too short
and after a fireman was knocked down by fall
ing brick and it was seen that the ladders even
would be swept away in a few minutes, the at
tempt ceased.
The fire burst through the roof, and the
scene was one never to be forgotten. Far
above the roar of the flames and crack of
bursting states were heard the cries of the
wretched patients in the hospital, who were
roasting to death. Most of them, as before
stated. were helpless, and could not leave their
beds. and perhaps were stitted by smoke be-
fore the cruel flames reached them, but others
were seen TO dash themselves against the win
dows and cling to the saShes till their strength
was exhausted or their hands burned OFF and
they fell back into the seething caldron of
flames. woman was seen to drag herself TO
the corner window. and, forcing her body hall
out through the il on bars till she could breathe
cool ar. he remained in that position till her
head burned Off.
1t is known that there were about seventy
patients in the hospital, and as far as could be
asccrtained only half dozen were carried out
before the flames cut OF further approach to
the place. A medical man who is i'm posi-
ton to know estimates the loss of life at not
less than fifty, and these were all patients in
the hospital.
The poor old people and little children res
cued from other parts of the building were
huddled together in q barn some little distance
away, and were there packed away with straw
and blankets to keep them comfortable till
morning.
The Commissioners have gone carefully
those in the hospital persisted. The removal
of the cd people resulted shortly after
wards i'm the death of many. Some fragments
tensive search has been or can with safety be
made among the ruins in their present
dangerous condition.