The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-04-18
HE WAS TOO SELFISH.
Haste Get Out Fire Department Re
sponsible for Many Deaths.

Horrible Disaster in Turner Falls Yes
terday-Five Little Children suffocated
to Death-Heroic Efforts of a Father
to Effect Rescue,
Turner's Falls, Mass, April T.-This
morning five children were suffocated In
tenement house on L street.
The names of the dead are Anne Du-
bois, years, Lenea Dubois, years. both
children of Joseph Dubois; Rosie
Roumier, his step daughter girl Of 10
and Josephine CoumHrtine generally
known as Nellie a girl of IL, and Edward
Coumartine 10 years, the children of
CHARLES Coumartine baker. Ali are of
French nationality.
The fire broke out in the basement of
market occupied by Roberts & Son in o
four story brick tenement house owned
by the older Roberts. 1t was first dis
covered by Henry Roberts in his tene-
ment above the market Instead Of
awakening the people in the house he ran
into the street shouting fire and then to
the engine house where ne gave general
alarm. His brother Frank Roberts also
ran W DuG uOuSo.
In the tenements above were twenty
people, several of them helpless little
ones. The fire was feeding on grease be-
low and sent up dense volume of
moke.
Above the tenement occupied by Henry
Roberts and his family were Joseph Du-
bois, his wife and children, his stsp-
daughter named above and a crippled
young man, Mrs. Dubois's brother,
Theodore Dion. Above this double tene-
ment was an attic containing several
sleeping rooms occupied by the older
children.
The older Coumartine was awakened
by the shouts. Getting into his clothing
he told his wife to take their infant child
to place of safety, which she did. He
than ran into the attic and took Il little
girl and boy on each arm and ran with
them down stairs. Down one flight he
found the smoke had made great progress.
He had no time to take the children to
the street and dropped the two on to
landing ten feet below. They were taken
by the spectators to place OF safety. He
then ran back into the attic. He
managed to get his boy Edward on one
arm and Nellie on the other. The chill
dren were daZed and helpless. He
grouped his way with his load to the
stairs, partly lost consciousness and oil
rolled down the attic stairs to the Kitchen
1
his head.
The blow of the stove partly aroused
him and with spirit of self preservation
he rushed for the front window and
jumped 1t was only then that he realized
that the two children were back on the
floor. 1t was impossible to get back and
the two children were suffocated by the
smoke.
Dubois was aroused more slowly. When
he became awake he says that twice he
tried to get into the attic but each time
was driven back by the flames and
smoke. His children were found on the
floor. They had evidently got out of bed
and attempted to reach the window. In
another room Rosie Roumier was found
in bed with the clothing partly pulled
over her face. There is reason to believe
that she never awakened. Dion, in an
other room in the attic. had heard the
shouts Of fire. Smoke had cut off his
passage by stairs and he clipped out of a
window and down clothes line. People
helped him reach the ground. The
money loss is about $1,000.