The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-02-28
ANOTHER HORROR.
Sixteen School Children Smother
ed to Death.
Another Death-Trap-Breaking OF
Stairway and Deadly Crash.
Details Of Sad Affair That Hap
pe2ed in a New York
School House.
A EERRIBLE CALAMITY.


House-N-arfy Score Of ChiIdx-er
| SmothereG TO Death.
New YORK, Feb 20.-The outbreak of ire
under the stairs of the second floor of the
school house attached to the German Roman
Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeem
er, -Four h stree.s between Avenue A and
First avenue, at aSquarter past 3 this after.
1 noon. was the cause cs terrible c1&amity
No less than fourteen children lost their
lives. Over scholars, mostly chill 3ren of
the poorer classes. ranging from six TO
eleven years of age, attended school and
j were in their class rooms ~herl the alarm of
fire was RAISED. a fearful panic soon followed.
The removal of the CHILDREN from the fourth
gressiDg rapidly, when Sister of Charity
I in charge of the class OF girls tainted. The
I Glass became panic stricken, and q rush vas
made for the hallway. On the stairs al
I ready crowded, a.deadiY crash took place.
The railing OF the staiEt broke, and g mass
of struggling children were precipitated to
The floor below, falling in a packed mass
one upon another from four 70 five deep.
The police and lfremen, already summoned,
arrived, but their worx of rescue was
much hempered by the heightened children,
whc continued 10 fail or leap from the
s:airvay. Those in froat were crowded
over the balustraae by Shildren behind.
1 WHO 5tTuHRlcU " TSden the GAllS. DIX Clll-
! oYea were taken out dead from the bottom [,
eight more died Immediately after the res =
cue. making a total OF fourteen. a
| laTgs number Of Others who
were carried 10 leigh5oring houses,
were reported dying The excitement when
the news of the catastrophe spread
was fearful and great throngs of peo-
| pie shocked the strests. surrounding the
schools. Many children were lost in the ex
citsraent. The following is o list of the dead
as fsr as police returns now show: Minnie
lister; nine years; Mary Ha6ernecht, seven; /;
Mary Ann Happ, eight years Minnie Truke,
ten y osephine Marx, seven; Mary Brect, eight /;
Lena. Becker. nine Lizzie Mapetyck, six I;
Theresa Katzner, eleven; Barbara Pregenzer,
nine; Louisa florence, nine;.a girl apparent
" about seven, unidentified; a girl about
nine, unidentified. Sister Apromla, who
had charge of the fifth class Of girls, said: 81
was in charge of my class. when the fire first
brokSr out in the hallway adjoining my
room. | heard q commotio1 outside and a
great confusion and huEslb of voices. AT
once 3turned to the ward room and then for
the first time discovered smoke coming in
through the wainscotiDg! I immediately
went . the door, and as i'o2ened il to learn
the cause the flames rushed at me. l at
once closed the door and 7Vns about to wern
the Shildren to keep calm when
some men came bursting into
the room. In moment
the children ran out at the bidding of the
men, and 1 followed, seeing all were es-
Gaping. Many of them, however, went to
the stSirs at the west side of the building
and were injured by falling over the stairs
where boys had broken down the banisters
before them. There were about 100 girls in
my class"
Ths.Sister in charge OF Che first division of
the girls department of the fourth floor
said III was not aware what was going on
until looked out and saw the boys on my
floor ranning over to the'west side of the
stairs and going wildly Gown. heard the
balus1ers give way and then was about TO
turn 20 look to my charges when they all
arose, and, as if seize3a with one fright,
dashed past me recklessly and ran down the
stairs and Railways. / cav some of my girll
in janed, and they disappeared go quickly
fromaTny sight hoped they had escaped in
satisfy"
The Sister appeared calm aad composed
and seemed to have retained her self-posses-
sion during the trying moments of her sur
rounding experience.
Another account says the fire from which
smoke spread through she building, bringing
such terrible results TO innocent people, was
o. q most trivial character. II started
among mass of sweepings in the closet be
meath the stairs leading from the second an6
third floors on the east side of the building
IL had been smoul6sFiDg Tor some time, and
had eaten its way through to the cent1r oi
the partition wall dividing the hall from
the class room in froat, and creeping toward
the third floor ere it was discovered. Al
this moment visitor called at the school to
see. one of the pupils in. the fifth class, which
! is,o1 the second floor, and the door of which
l opens almost opposite and within five fee
of She closet in which the sweepings were
burning. The visitor knocked at the door
; which was opene6Iby one of the Sisters o,
i N9tre Dame, by. whom the school is con
d1cted. Scarcely had the door swJDg bach
on its hinges wien the flames burs5 Outfron
Under the stairway. The Sister hastily shu
the door, but not until some of tEs children
1 IN her care ha&scaught sight of ths fire. Al
1 lefforts to epiet them were in vain
I land they rushed Inadly from. the class
: room. Smoke now 5olled out OF the close
0tin great volumes, and in ew second
E sspread to al parts of the building, and /,
p scene of the widest confusion o0sued. Ths
> school building is i've stories high and ha
nine class rooms seven for girls and two 70
boys. The. rear of the school abuts at th
rear of Church of the Holy RedeemeE
y which fronts on Third street. There az
1 two staiswags one on tie east and tn
n other oH the west end oS the bOildins
G These stsirwayS were abOCt three and Gas
e half feat wide, and opened almost at ah
J, doors OF the caass rooms, bat FROM the pay
t room il, the center of tbs building were sI
e preached by a narrow, dark passage'way
/ When the g1rls of the-second sOor OF th
Y school rushed from their class rooms the,
!, had hardly reached tse head of the stair
n when. the boys and girls from the uppe
g floors were upon them. All fra,sticall
l. fought 10 get dova the narrow stsirwa
e aud, the first were thrown headloDg to III
n bottom. Then, as the crush came fror
ir AuHdFsds of chill 2ren trying TO get dow
d from the upper hOors on the east side of th
d building, the bseustrade gave way, the ba
u ustsys going with it, and July ffty childre
D. were thrown to the floor beneath. On the:
os others fell until they were piled five fe.
ID high on top Of each other. Officer Lambsr
n of the Society for the Prevention of Cruslt
1t, to Children, happened to be in East Foart
street nearly opposite the school when ii
m alarm was given. He says: II rushed in
ct the building and a horrible sight met N
st eyes, Packed into the hallway on the fir
i'll floor were from fifty to seventy five lit
girls. The poor things were screaming IN
en- struggling with all their might. By th
ey time other police and citizens had arrive
ke and we began pulling the poor children O
Of the hallway. The cries Of some of u