Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-04-11
ON A BURNING BED
A Dying Woman's Terrible
 Situation.
CUT OFF FROM ESCAPE BY FIRE
He Husband Made an Attempt to Rescue
 Her. but Failed

An Italian Grocer Accused of Setting Fire She Was shOOkInEIy Burned and Was Saved from Being Cremated by the Foreman of R Hook and Ladder Com Pany and Taken to a Hospital
 BROOKLYN, April 11.-A fire, supposed to have been of incendiary origin, broke out shortly before 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon in the three-story brick tene- ment, 160 Columbia street, this city.
 The flames did not burn more than twenty minutes, but the house was Rutted from cellar to roof.
 The ground floor was used as 8 grocery store by Joseph Barbara. On the first floor lived William Boyd with his wife Mary, each aged 49 years, and their five children.
 Every day during the past three months Mrs. Boyd's death has been ex- pected, as for years she had been grad ually wasting away with consumption. Rev. Father John J. Barry had been in constant attendance upon her, and so confident as he that the end was fast approaching that he had intended calling again yesterday to administer the last sacrament of the Church. Up to the time the fire broke out he had not arrived.
 The woman lay in bed in the front room and her husband sat by the window reading to her. While so engaged he smelled smoke. Running down the stairs he found dense volumes issuing from under and over the side door lead ing into the grocery store.
 He raised an outcry so as to alarm the other tenants. Then, as he heard the fafAes roaring and crackling inside, he tried to kick in the door, but without success. Within five minutes his five children ran down the stairs shouting that their fiat was in flames.
 Boyd rushed up the stairs and to his horror saw that the room in which his helpless wife was lying was completely her, but was driven back by the flames, which .were devouring everything. Down the stairs he ran again and out l into the street. In the meantime an alarm had been sent in and hook and | ladder company and several fire engines were coming up the street. With as lit tie delay as possible, Foreman John Lee | placed ladder at the second-story win dow. up which he ran himself. An in stant later he returned bearing in his arms the dying woman. --------..----,-s.- .- | An ambulance came from St. Peters Hospital, three blocks away, and into this the woman was lifted. She had been burned in 8 shocking manner, and the ambulance surgeon shook his heaC l when he saw the chRrred body.
 During all this time Mrs. Crimmins and her family were having a lively time Before they had made up their minds what to do escape was cut off by way o the stairs. All managed, however, tC get safely to the roof, and then down tt the street from one of tho other houses
 Boyd told Police Sergeant Slattery tha he thought the fire was of incendiar! origin. Barbara, he said, had only occu pied the store about four months, an( he claimed the whole stock was no worth more than $200 and it wRs insured in the London and Lancashire Insuranc Company for &1 ,60O.
 Fifteen minutes before smelled tn smoke" continued Boyd, 'I heard voice in the store. All seemed to be Italians yet when tried to break in the doc there was no one there.
 Barbara has not been seen since, bu the police are looking for him.