The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-22
PANIC IN A SCHOOL
Children Jump from a Burning
Building at Evanston, I'LL.
Five Seriously and Perhaps Fatally In
jured-Fireman and Expressman Also
Hurt-Wild Rush for the Exits.

CHICAGO, March H.-F'ire in the South
Evanston public school to-day caused a
panic among the pupils. Lucy Hustabe
ten years old, was fatally burned being
unable to escape in time. Several of the
children Jumped from the fourth floor and
were injured, but only five OF them were
badly hurt. Those whose injuries may
prove fatal are:
NEWELL SIMMONS. head and shoul-
ders injured.
ELLA SARGENT. legs broken.
PERCY BRADLEY. internally injured.
ESTHER BURDEN, head injured.
CARRIE JOHNSON, burned.
Besides the children who were injured,
Frank Johnson, fireman, was cut by
broken glass, and Samuel Mack, an ex-
pressman. was crushed by falling debris.
The pupils on the second floor OF the build
ing were driven by the flames and smoke
to the upper story. whence they were res
cued by the flremen. Teachers and pupils
were panic-stricken, and many were
knocked down and trampled upon in the
rush for the exits. The building cost s50,-
G0. and Is a total loss.
During the fire the burning building was
surrounded by n crowd of agonized men
and women whose children were in dam
ger, and who added TO the intense excite
ment by striving to break through the po-
lice lines and rescue the imprisoned little
ones. Miss Foster teacher in a lower
grade, discovered the fire just as the chill
dren were preparing to go out for recess.
She had gone to q closet for her hat, and
had no sooner opened the door than the
flames burst into the room with roar. The
children were paralyzed with fear for an
instant and made no effort to escape. Then
they fell to screaming, and all rushed TO
the doors. Miss Foster ran hastily upstairs
ID the office of f. w. Nichols, the principal.
and the panic-strcken pupils followed her,
blind with fright. Principal Nichols warned
the teachers in the other rooms as soon as
he could and telephoned TO the fire depart
ment. Before the engines arrived, however,
the flames had made such headway that the
building was past saving.
In the meantime the greatest excitement
and confusion reigned in the schoolhOuse.
Five hundred children and a dozen teach
ers were trying to break through the front
door. The flames soon cut off the hall lead
ing to the main entrance, and a rush. was
made for the other exit. There were two
hundred pupils on the first floor. Most OF
them ran out TO the yard. Some of the last
to reach the door became terrorized at the
sight of the flames raging at their backs
and rushed upstairs. Those on the second
and third floors were coming down in
charge of the teachers, who tried to pre-
serve order. Some of the pupils ran to the
windows in the hallway of the third floor
and raised them. The people in the yard
shouted to them TO remain quiet, but sew
eral clambered out on the ledSes prepared
The scene about the burning building was
appalling. The firemen were endeaVoring to
nft ladders 10 the NlnuOWS WnlIe the par
ents in the yard and streets about the
schoolhouse were shouting to the children
clinging to the windows to hang on or so
back and descend the stairs. Finally, a boy
stood up In a third-story window and
jumped to the ground, forty feet below. II
was Newell Simmons He fell on his shoul-
der and was picked up senseless. Almost
Immediately afterward Esther Burden
leaped from an adjacent window on the
same floor. Another girl, Ella Sargent
jumped, striking squarely on her feet, and
sank to the ground with shrek OF pain
Physicians say that her right leg is bro
ken, and that she may have sustained seri-
Gus internal injuries. The firemen rescued
several children who were perched on the
window ledges ready to drop.