Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1883-02-22
IELEd Il APhIC.
ANOTHER SCHOOL HOUSE
BURNS IN NEW YORK.
SICKENING DETAILS OF
THE AFFAIR.
SOMETHING OF t II E
CAREER OF "NO. t."
TERRIBLE DOM ES TIC
TRAGEDY IN BAL
TIMORE.
The school House Tragedy

| The school House Tragedy.
New YORK, Feb. 20. A fire under
the stairs on the floor of the school.
house attached to the German Roman
| Catholic Church Of the Most Holy Re.
deemer, on Fourth stress, between Av.
enue 4 and First avenue. at 3:l5 this
afternoon, was the cause of a terrible
calamity. No less than fourteen child
rem lost their lives Over 700 scholars,
mostly children Of the poorer classes,
ranging from six to eleven years of age.
| attended the schoel, and were in the
class room when the alarm of fire was
raised. A fearful panic soon followed.
The removal Of the children on the
fourth floor oegan quietly enough, and
was progressing rapidly, when the
Sister Of Charity in charge of the class
| of girls tainted immediately the
large class became panic stricken, and a
rush was made for the hallway. On
the stairs, which were already crowded.
deadly crush took place. The rail-
| ing of the stairs was covered with a
mass OF struggling children, who were
| precipisated to the floor below, falling
| in a packed mass, one upon another,
| from four to five deep. The police and
tiremen. already summoned, arrived,
but their work Of rescue was hampered
by the frightened children continuing to
fall or leap from the stairway, those in
front being crowded over the broken
| balust,ade by the children behind, still
struggling to escape. SIX were taken
out dead from the bottom. Eight
/ more died Immediately after being res
cued, making a total OF fourteen. A
large number of others, who were car
RED to the neighhoring tenements, are
reported dying. The excitement. when
the news spread, was fearful, and great
throngs of people blocked the streets
surrounding the school. Many OF the
children are missing.
Sister Apromia, who had charge OF
the fifth class OF girls, said: Il was
in charge of my class when the fire first
broke ont in the hail adjoining my
room. | heard great commotion out
side and great confusion. | turned to-
ward the door, and then for the first
tiue discovered snake coming through
the wainscoting. ! Immediately went
down, and as opened the door to lea, n
the cause of the excitement, the flames
rushed at me. [ at once closed the
door, and wss about TO warn the chill
dren to keep calm, when some men
came rus!iing into the room. In a mo.
ment the children ran out at the bid.
ding of the men and | followed, seeing
all escaping. Many OF them, however,
went to the stairs on the west side of
the building, and were injured by fall
ing over the stairs where the boys had
broken the baiusirads before them.
There were about 100 girls in my ciass. "
The Sister IL charge OF the first d.
vision of the girls Department on the
fourth floor said: - was nos aware
what was going on until | looked out
and saw the boys OF my floor running
over to the west side stairs and going
down. l heard the ba.ustrade give way,
and then was about 10 turn to look TO
my charges, when they all rose, and, as
if seized with some fright, dashed past
ne and ran down the stairs and hall.
way. | ssw none of my girls injured.
They disappeared SO quickly from my
sight. ] hoped they ali had escaped in
safety"
The fire started in mass OF sweep
iugs in the closet beneath the stairs,
leading from the second to the third
floor on the east side of the building.
Il had been smoldering for some time
and eaten its way through to the center
of the PARTITION, and crept up toward
the third floor before it was discovered.
At this moment visitor called at the
school to see one Of the pupils in the
fifth class, which is on the second ,ioor,
and the door OF which opens almost
opposite and within FIVE feet of the
c.oset where the sweepiugs were burn
ipg. The visitor knocked at the door,
which was opened by one of the Sisters.
Scarcely had the door swung back on
its hinges when the flames burst out
from under the stairs. The Sister
hastily shut the door, but not until
some Of the children III her care had
caught sight Of the fire. All efforts t,
calm them we're IN vain, and they
rushed ulad!y from the classroom. The
smoke now rolled out of the closet In
great black volumes, and in few
seconds spread to all parts of the build
ing. 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. When
the girls on the second floor rushed
from their class-rooms they had hardly
reached the head of the stairs when the
boys and girls from the upper floors
reached them. All fought frantically to
get down the stairs, and the first were
thrown headiong to the bottom. Then
crush came from the hundreds of
children trying to get down from the
upper floors on the east side, and the
balustrade gave way aud fully fifty chill
dren were thrown to the floor beneath.
On them others fell until they were
piled five feet high on top of each other.
Officer Lambert happened to be on
East Fourth street, nearly opposite the
school, " hen the alarm was given. He
says: Il rushed into the building, and
a terrible sight met my eyes. Packed
in the narrow hallway, on the first floor,
were from fifty to seventy five little
girls. The poor things were screaming
nd STRUGGLING with all their mipht Rv