The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-02-22
TELEGRAPHIC VIEWS.
ANOrHER HORROR.
Fire In q School HOu.e-T r.
FibIe Panic and Man
Fatalities,

FRfRIifies.;
New York, 2O.-The fire under the
stairs Of the second floor of The school
house attached to the German Roman
Catholic Church OF the Most Holy Re-
deemer. Fourth street, between Avenue
A and First Avenue, at 3. Is this after.
noon, was the cause of a terrible calsm-
lty. No less than fourteen children lost
their lives. Oyer seven hundred schol-
srs, mostly children of the poorer classes,
ranging from 6 to IL years Of age, at
tended the school, and were in iheir class
rooms when the alarm of fire was raised.
A fearful y mic so. followed The re
moVsl OF children from the fourth floor
began quietly enough, ard was progress
ing rapidly. wnen sister of charity in
charge of class of girls faintcd. I'm.
medistely he alarmed class became
panic-stricken. AID rush was made fol
| the hallway. On the stairs, already
croWded, deadly crush took place, the
railing of The stairs broke, and a mass o!
struggling children was precipitated ia
the floor below, falling in a packed mass
one upon another, from four to five deep.
The police and fremen, already sum.
/
Was hsmpered by the frightened children
continuing to fall or leap from the stair,
way, those IN the front being crowded
over the broken bslustrade by children
behind still! struggling to reach the exit
Six children we're taken out dead from
the bottom, and eight more died imme.
diately after their rescue, making total
OF fourteen. A large number of others
who were carried to neighboring tene-
ments are reported dying The excite
ment when the news spread was fear
iul, aid great throngs Of people blocked
the streets surrounding the school. Many
children were lost in the excitement and
are reported missing. Following is the
list OF the dead from returns: Minnie
lister, 8 years; Mary Haberntcht, 7;
Mary Ann Hspp, 8; Minnie Tauhe, 10;
Josephine Mari, 7; Mary Brecht, 8;
Lena Becker, 8; LIZZIE Mshticky, 6;
Theresa Kitzner, II; Barbara PIeyenzer,
9; Louise Florence, 9. Aba was taken
out alive and died in St. Francis Hos
pital; a girl, apparently 7, uDident fed ;
a girl about 9 unidentified sister Apro-
mia, who had charge of the 9th class of
girls said, ] was in charge of my Glass
when the fire first broke out in the hall
adjoining my room. I heard commo-
ZION outside and great confusion and
hubbub Of voices. At once | turf ed
toward the room door and then for the
first time discovered smoke coming
through the walnscotting. i'm medjately
went down and as l opened it to learn
the cause Of the excitement flames rushed
at me. at once closed the door and
was about to warn The children 10 keep
calm when SONS men came bursting into
the room In q moment the children
ran GU: at the bidding of the men ana |
followed, seeing all escaping. Many Of
them, however, went to tne stairs at the
west side Of the building an were Injured
by falling over the stairs, where the bows
had broken down the ballustrade before
them. The were about 100 girls In my
class.
A sister in charge OF the first division
Of the girls department, fourth floor.
said: II was not aware what was going
on until [ looked out and saw the boys
on my floor running ever TO the west
side stairs AID going wildly down. /
heard the balustra give away, and
then was about TO turn to look to nv
charge when they all rose, and as if
seized with the same fright, dashed
past me and recklessly ran down stairs.
| saw none Of my girls Injured, and they
disappeared so quickly from my sight,
that hoped they hal all escaped in
safety. The sister appeared calm and
composed, aud seemed to retain her self
possession during the tryi: moments OF
her narrowing experience.
ADOthnr QppouOE sava Tho 60 fr0,,,
which smoke spread through the build
| ing, bringing such terrible results to the
innocent pupils, was of q most terrible
character. 1t started among a mass OF
weepings in q closet beneath tie stairs
p. ling from the second to the third
t s. on the esst side of the building. Il
IoS'i smouldering for some time, anC
10y ai oesN g way through 10 the center 9!
i ~ es.Gt !. vail dividing the hall from
~ 10 g ni in font, aud crept "
sne eiSss IooA floor ere it was dis.
oo wn,G Ina Al 10 va, moment q visitol
ooTetT1 - a. tIH e one ofthe pupil
called at the sc9oolt0A second floor
IN tle NTH eiase, on u, IS almost Cd
snd the door 70 which oBe. re closet il
posite and within FIVE feet OF y % TIL
which the sWeepiDgs were buTSh wa
visitor knocked ST the door, wfie. otr
opened By one CT the sisters of n \
Dame. By whom the school was CO..
Quoted. Scarcely had the door swups
back on its hinges, when the flames
burst out from under the stairs. The sis
ter hastily shut the door, but not until
some of the children in her care had
caught sight of the fire. All efforts TO
calm them were in vain, sD d they rushed
nadly from the class room. The smoke
now rolled out of the closet in great vol
umes, and 10 a few seconds spread to all
parts of the building. A scene of the
widest confusion ensued. The school
building is FIVE stories high, and has nine
class rooms, seven for girls and two for
boys, The rear Of the school abuts at The
rear of the Church of the Holy Re
deemer, which fronts on Third streets.
There are two stairWsys en- the east and
another on the west end Of the building.
These stsirWays we're about three and
half feet wide, and opened almost at the
doors Ct the class rooms, hut from the
plsyroom in tho centre of. the building
we're approached by narrow dark pas
sageway. When the girls on the second
floor Of the school rushed from their class
rooms, they had hardly reached the head
of the stairs when the boys and girls from
the upper hoUrs reached them. All frantic
ally fought to get down stsirs, and the first
we're thrown headlong 10 the bottom.
Then ss the crush cane from hundreds
Of children trying to get down from the
upper floors on the east side of the build
ing, the balustrade gave way, and fully
fifty children were thrown 10 the floor
beneath. On tkem others fell until they
we're piled five feet high on top of eVch
other, officer Lambert, Of the society for