The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-05-26
GASOLINE EXPLOSION.
Il Results in the Loss Of Four
Lives at Chicago.
OTTO MAIN AND CHILDREN BURNED

The Wife and Mother Arises In the Morn
ing to Get Breakfast and When She Ap-
plies a Match To the Gasoline Stove a
Terrific Explosion Follows, the Burning
Fluid Being Thrown About the House
Father and Three Children Cremated.
CHICAGO, May 26-By the explosion Of
= gasoline stove In little frame house in
the rear of 14S Townsend street early
Sunday morning a family of six persons
was almost wiped out of existence. -Four
are dead and fifth is so badly burned
that death is almost certain. The names
of the dead are: Otto Malm, &c years old;
Sima Malm, 8 years; Hilya Malm,
yearsr Otto Malm, Jr., years. The in
jured are Mrs. Ella Malm, 80 years old,
burned about the hands, arms and face,
will recover; Ellen Maln, years, severely
burned about the head and body, will
probably die.
Otto MalIn, who was carpenter, lived
with his wife and five children in three
rooms on the top floor of tenement
building The accident which was follow
ed by such dire results occurred a few min-
utes before o'clock. Mrs Malm. the
WHO anu iuOt0tT, diinCi w PANPs'N
breakfast, and her husband and children
wero still in bed and asleep.
Shut in by Flames.
She lighted gasoline stove, when the
tank or reservoir which holds the supply
of oil exploded, throwing the burning
fluid about the little tenement Before
the sleeping members of the family could
be taken out or even warned they were
shut in by flames and burned almost TO
crisp. When the explosion occurred Mrs.
Malm ran out upon little porch and
| screamed for help She was seen and
| heard by many of the neighbors, who also
heard the explosion.
| The woman, after calling number OF
| times, returned to the house and in min
| ute appeared again on the porch carrying
| her 3-year-old child, blackened and
| burned and too badly injured TO make
any outcry She laid the child upon the
porch, pieces of burning clothing still ad-
herring to the burned flesh, and ran again
| into the house She hardly succeeded in
getting inside the door this time, for the
place was filed with flames. She was
| pulled out upon the porch by neighbors
who had arrived on the scene, and futile
| attempts were made To rescue the MEM
bers of the family still in the house.
Arrival of the Firemen.
In a few minutes the firemen responded
to an alarm which had been sent in from
box No. s57 at Locust and Townsend
streets by boy, Charles Erickson, who
lives next door to the q, I'm house. The
first thing the fircmen did was to rush
into the rooms and remove the inmates
while water was thrown upon the flames
| The elder Malm was carried out, with al
l ho1u Hi,
| flesh from head to foot was charred, ant
| few minutes after he had been carries
upon the porch he died. S.
In the room in which the father hat
been sleeping were two of the children
Sima and Hilya. They were terribl.
burned and were n mass almost OF cooke'
| flesh. In the third room was Allen tn
s-year-old girl. She was unconscious, anc
| almost suffocated, and she was ais
| badly burned about the head and limbs
Sima and Hilya were taken to the Passa
| want hospital in the East Chicago avenu
station ambulance and the mother wa
| mother was removed 90 the same hos
pital.
Death of the Boy Otto.
The boy. Otto and Ellen were taken &
the Alexian Brothers hospital by the am
bulance of the North Avenue Police sta
ton. The body of the father was taken Z
Rolston's morgue, IL Adams street. Ih
boy Otto lived only until 10:45 O'Clock
when death ended his suffcrings. Littl
Sima lived until II 80 In terrible agony
| and her death was followed half an hou
| later by the death of Hilya at the Pass
, | want hospital The physicians at tn
, | Alexian Brothers hospital said the gir
! | Ellen would also die.
! Mrs. Malm remained at the hospital bu
> | a short time. Her burns were attende
to by the doctors. and IL was found the
: We're comparatively slight. Her hand
and arms were blistcred, her fac
: scorchcd and the eyebrows singcd. Sh
was removed to the home of Mrs. Linz
gren, 142 Sedgwick street.
L
Cousecratiou of the Standards.