The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1884-12-23
ASYLUM BURNED.
The Catholic Male Orphan
Asylum Burned at Brook
Ign Yesterday.
Heroic Efforts of the Sisters
and Managers to Save
the Children.

New York. Dec. lS.-The Catholic Male
Orphan as lum al 81. MARKS aud Albany
avenues, Brooklyn, burned this afternoOn
and it is feared some Of The children per-
ished in the fl ,mes. The sisters In charge
think all escaped, bat cannot tell until the
roster If bows is called. The little fellows
are now sc stIered about In care OF the resi-
dents of the neishbOrhcod. The lire started
in the drying room, which adjOlned The
southern end OF the main building. THIS
driving room also contained boilers and
he ting apparatus, with dormI'
tory on the third floor, In
which there were sixty orphans
suffering from various complaiuis Sister
Mary Josephine, who was in the dormitory
al the time The fire broke out, made
HEROIC EFFORTS
to save the little ones She remained in
the room until absolutely driven cut by
the flames. She then rau 10 the window
where she stood upon cOrnice until Fore
man McGroariy, of engine IA, from The
roef Of the building, swung his coat 10 her.
She caught the coat, but when McGroarty
tried TO pull her from her
perilous position, she lost ber
grasp and fell to The ground
She struck upon her shoulder and head
She was conveyed To 81. Cathsrine's
hospit.l in IN unconscious condition. Jo-
seph Ryan, boy, tried TO descend by 9
ladder from the same story tthirl), and
got within eight feet of the ground when
the ladder parted. He received severe ill.,
juri,s. John McGrsih, eight years old,
jumped from the third story and was badly
injured. Mother Dechantel sud Sister
Anthony were in the Office when the fire
was discovered. They at oncs
GAVE THE ALARM
aud proceeded 10 get The youngsters out of
the building. There were 7S5 orphans in
the main building, which is also known
as st. Johns home. They were told u
leave home and SEEK shelter In any OF the
neighbOring houses until called Tor.
There was great excitement among the IT,
mates. Hundreds of little fellows ran ont
into the falling snow, haIless and coatlcss.
The flames spread with great rspidiIy and
tie buildings were almost completely de
stroyed. The asylum building vas 2l0x150
feet, three stories high, with man ard ROOF
and coustruced of blue stone
There were about thirty sisters in the
asylum and q number Of them went out
with the boys, but was impossible 10 kseG
the little fellows together. They sought
refuge in car stables, Dwellings and Stores
nesr by. Rev. Father BrOI son took near
ly enc hundred of them 10 bi. home and
the asylum attached TO the church charity
foundation Gloss by, receive. another COZ
siderable number.
FATHER BRONSON,
who was early at the scene, and did excel.
lent work in getting the inn At,s ont, hope.
10 lives have been lost. Edward h-ssle', a
city official, who reached the building soon
after the fire occurred, says ne never saw so
much excitement; children running out
al every entrance both on St Marks and
and Albany avenues. Many OF them were
thinly clad, bui were soon provided with
clothing of one kind or another
by neighbors. The second fire engine took
Is minutes. Had the fire departmsnr
came sooner he thinks the building would
not have been such loss. John Wat.
field, grocer, and George Irish PLACED q
ladder against the cond story window on
Albany avenue, and Irsh harded down
seven boys when the crowd callyd him tC
come down on account of proximity
flames which were bursting out of ihs
windows Just beneath him. Patrick
Corhill is confident that he saw the woman
fail back from the window into The FIRE. He
also believes all of the boys did not gel
out, though all except those in the boiler
wing escaped without trouble. One of boys
in the asylum sad that the FIRE was caused
by another boy who went into the drying
room
WITH LIGHTED CANDLE,
and accideptly set the clothes on FIRE. The
flames, the boy said, lesped up in a m,
mem, aud all who were In the room hei
Father Eugene p. Mahoney, who was in
charge of the building, thinks all the chill.
dren escaped. He gives credit to the fire.
men for their work. Some of the fremen
look greet risks on ladders they climbed.
The flames swept about them End timbers
of the building 81 emed eonstan " about 10
give away. Efforts were made TO save al
least the front building, but at s o'clock
the Il :mes about the cross and cupo!a we're
burning fercely and soon after their sup
por, gave way and they came down with a
crash. At 9 O'clock only charred walls
remain. Ii could not be definitely
learned TO night whether any lives were
lost. On the night of November 9th, 1862,
the former Catholic orphan ylum build
ing burned during a driving saow storm.
Three uf 24S children burned to deah.
Tie building Was valued at 100000; in
sured. Ii was announced Tonight that
Sister Mary Josephine, who fell from the
third story window, was dead.