The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-14
: \ I I r 4 |! |!
A BRAVE WOMAN
After Throwing Her Chill
dren From the Window
Of a Blazing House Mrs.
Kilmurray Leaps.
STRIKES AND IS BADLY HURT
Her Children Caught by a
Policeman and Their
Father.
AN ENGINE STUCK.
AN ENGINE STUCK.

An overheated stove in the rear of
saloon kept by James O'Connor, on
the ground floor of the four-story brick
tenement house on the northwest corner
of Fourth and Henderson streets, short
ly after / o'clock this afternoon, caused
a fire which Quilted the building in short
order.
The inmates narrowly escaped with
their lives, so rapidly did the flames
spread.
Mrs Lille Kilmurray jumped from
the third story window and sustained
painful and probably fatal injuries Be
fore jumping she threw three OF ner
children from the window. Two were
caught in the arms of Policeman lam
othy Murphy of the Second precinct
and one by her husband.
The occupants of the upper floors es-
capped by climbing through the skyllght
to the roof. They then made their way
to the roof of No. 419 Henderson street
by climbing across the step-ladder. The
first warning of the fire was given by
engines in the Pennsylvania Railroad
wards. Their shrill whistles attracted
a thousand people to the scene in short
order
There was an apparent delay in the
response of engines to an alarm which
had been sent. No. engine f1om Mercer
street was very late. 1t was explained
that the horses started before the mar
ness was fastened The result was that
the engine was jammed between tree
and frame shanty adjoining the engine
house.
When engines arrived on the scene the
flames had burst through the plate glass
windows of the saloon and We're leaping
far out into the street.
THERE WAS AN EXPLOSION.
There was an explosion of some sort
apparently in the saloon, as several OF
the inmates heard the noise and rushed
down stairs.
John Kilmurray, upon hearing the
noise ran into the saloon, believing
fight was in progress. He tried 10 get
back to his apartments but found the
halls so filled with smoke that he sought
the street for safety. Running afouhu
to the Henderson street side OF the nat
he was terror-stricken to see smoke
pouring from the windows OF ms apart
ments Suddenly his wife appeared at
an open window with an eighteen months
old baby in her arms.
''I1rOW Ql1n QOWns AC oAAONNNN,
The woman hesitated a moment ana
then dropped the child. Kilmurray caught
If and removed it to a place of safety.
Charles, four year old son, was next
carried to the window by the brave wo-
man. Policeman Murphy was in the lit
tie enclosure under the window by this
time and he called to her to drop the
child. She did SO and he caught the
lad The next member of the family to
be rescued was Louis, an eight year old
bow He, too, was caught by the police
man and removed to a place of safety
Mrs. Kilmurray disappeared for mo-
nen+ hundred men called her as the
flames were shooting out of the win
dow.
THE WOMAN LEAPS.
"She is looking for the other boy,
shouted Mr. Kilmurray, who was too
unnerved to be of any assistance. A mo-
ment later the woman reappeared and
sprang from the window.
In her descent her body struck
clothes line, and she was thrown on her
back across a high board fence. she
uttered one agonizing scream and dropped
head foremost on the fiagstones of the
front yard of No. 4l9 Henderson street.
She was removed to No. 42S Henderson
street. Fathers Mooney and Bahr Of
st. Mary's Church assisted the woman
upstairs and consoled her. She was
removed subsequently to st. Francis
Hospital.
The boy for whom Mrs. Kilmurray
was supposed to be looking before she
would Jump from the window was Al
bert. twelve years old. In some way he
had made his way to the upper hoof
burning tenement to the roof OF NO
of the house and when next seen was
climbing over step-ladder from the
A9 Henderson street.
ACROSS THE STEP LADDER.
William II. Sullivan and his entire
family, who occupied the top floor OF the
tenement. made their escape across the
step ladder. A cheer went UP from
the crowd when the four year old daugh-
ter of Sullivan was seen to climb in
safety over the ladder.
The second floor of the hose was oc-
cupied by William Mahon- His family
escaped through the main hall.
The house was almost completely gut
ted within twenty minutes after the fire
started.
James O'Connor. the owner of the sa-
loon. is said to be the owner of the
house. He was seen by a News re-
porter. but declined to say how the fire
started He also refused to state whether
the place was insured or not. Traffic
on the Henderson street trolley line had
to be abandoned, owing to the quantity
OF hose stretched across the tracks.
| Al FALSE ALARd-A BAD START.
| While the fire was Ia progress an