Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-12-28
An EXPLODING LAMP
Causes One Death, Possibly Two More and
Several lnjuredat Boston.

Boston, Dec. 27.-One poor unfortu-
nate man was suffocated by the ex-
plosion of lamp in the upper room OF
a tenement in Oak street. tonight, an
other was so fearfully burned that he
will die, two women and a little boy
escaped down the narrow stairs, with
smarting wounds which will not prove
fatal, while another lodger on a lower
floor scarcely recovered from the birth
of her child. lies in a critical condition
by reason of the turmoil. The fire
caused a monetary loss of scarcely $500.
The dead: Man, age unknown, but
thought to be Coleman. The injured
Mrs. Trowbridge. Charles Trowbridga
(will die). Harold Trowbridge. Mrs.
Kersey. Mrs. Mahoney, probably die
from exposure.
The lamp exploded in little room
occupied by Mr.. Trowbridge and his
family, consisting of his son Harold
and sister-in-law named Kersey. The
room was small one. in the front part
Of the building, directly under the roof,
while the room back of it was occupied
by man whose name although
strangely enough is unknown to the
other dodgers in the house, is thought
to be that of Coleman.
The rest of the tenement is occupied
by a number of families, all of whom
are in meagre circumstances, while in
the room directly beneath that in
which the fire took place lived a woman
who. only Saturday, had given birth to
a child, and whose little dead body lay
beside her on her bed of squalor.
AT the time of the explosion, which oc-
Cured about O'Clock. the Trowbridge
family were seated about the supper table
and the burning oil was not only scat
tered all over the room. setting fire to the
furniture. but also reached the clothing
of the unfortunate lodger.
Mrs. Kersey ran shrieking down the
stairs. followed by Mrs. TrOwbridge and
little Harold, leaving the father to fight
the flames and save what he could of
their slender belongings. In this he was
successful, but In doing so received fear
full burns about the head and chest and
was just dragged out alive from the
burning room by the firemen.
In the meantime the smoke and flames
had swept over the thin partition into
the back room. where the man Coleman
apparently succumbed in a few moments,
for when his body was discovered 1t was
some distance from the door, the face
burned beyond recognition.
While the Trowbridge family were rush.
ing from the fiames arousing the rest of
the tenants by their shrieks, the poor,
childless woman lay in her room on the
second floor, apparently without hope of
being saved from the flames, smoke al
ready drifting down and threatening ev-
cry moment to SURROGATE her. SummOning
what little strength she had. the woman
dragged herself from the bed and stag
gered after the Trowbridge family into
the street.
1t was the matter Of but a few minutes
for the firemen to extinguish the flames,
while there was so little property to be-
destroyed that the total loss will scarcely
reach $500.
The body of Coleman was removed to
the morgue. Trowbridge was taken to !
the City hospital and the rest of the fam
ly were cared for by the neighbors The
woman was also taken to the hospital, |
where she is not expected to survive the
excitement Of the dre.