The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1896-01-04
SHOCKING CALAMITY.
Six Persons Burned to Death at
Columbus, q.
THE RESULT OF A MYSTERIOUS FIRE
That Broke Out in the Residences Of
John Hlbbar--Fiye Others Of the
Family Escaped with vari-
Gus Injuries.

CotuMBus, O., Jan. s.--Six deaths are
the result Of mysterious fire that oe-
curred at 4:s0 a. m. at the residence TT
John II. Hibbard. at 1898 East L0fig
street. The dead are:
John II. Hibbard.
Mrs. John II. Hibbard.
Mrs. Charles Lee, aged 20, Browns
vile. o.
Miss Fay Hibbard, aged 10, Browns
vile, o.
Dorothy Hibbard, aged three years.
Allen Hibbard, aged Ave years.
Mrs. Lee and Miss Iiibbard, OF
Brownsville, are nieces OF Mrs. Hib-
bard, and We're spending the holidays
with their brother.
Besides these unfortunate people
there were in the house at the time
Annie Bell, colored servant, and four
other children OF the lIibbard family,
viz. Webster, Walter, John and Hin.
ton, whose ages ranged from to IA
years. They all escaped by jumping
from a second-story window. Annie
Bell suffered a fracture Of one
ankle, and Walter Hibbard sprained
one of his ankles. The others
are not injured. The house is large
modern frame, two stories and an attic
in height, and was heated with natural
gas, by means Of furnace. The tife
probably resulted from an explosion OF
natural gas, though the facts. as to the
origin will probably never be known.
Annie Bell Is the only one who es-
capped who can give anything like a
rational account Of the terrible en-
lamity.
The house Is not badly burned, but
the interior woodwork Is all badly
scorched. Probably the gas in the
furnace, which was turned low, flick
cred out and then the whole house was
gradually filed with gas When the
air was sufficiently charged with 1t, II
was ignited from a burning gas jet.
There does not. seem to have been
much explosive force however, rs the
walls are not shattered in the least.
Annie Bell says she was awakened by
sense Of choking, and found her room
full of smoke. She tried to run over tc
the part OF the house the family was
sleeping In, but found the hall so full
. Oh smoke she could not do IL, and, re-
turning to her room, raised the win
dow, jumped to the ground, about
twenty feet, and broke her ankle in sc
doing. Then she saw Mr.. Hibbard at
the window of the room where
some of his children were sleeping
lie dropped the four boys out and
then fell, evidently overcome by
the smoke. His body was found with
arms stretched across the window sill
just as he fell after dropping Webster
Hibbard to the ground.
All the six bodies were found in the
same room. They had evidently been
awakened and ran there to escape, and
were suffocated there. The bodies are
all burned beyond recognition.
A neighbor, who was awakened BY
the screams OF Annie Bell, called tn,
fire department, and 1t was the work o.
but a few minutes to extinguish thu
flames
The unfortunate family was exten
= sively related here, and the sad calam
i ity follows the New Years festivities
as cruel shock to the whole city.
e Coroner Herbst began an investiga
tiou of the accident at once.
+ Several plumbers who have examined
G the premises deny that the fire re
suited from a natural gas explosion
but there seems to be no other ex
planation to It.