Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-19
THE BIJOU
THEATER FIRE
Continued From First Page,

was Seethlng mass of flames. he
went to the big window in the centre
of their apartments. and loosened the
catch and attempted to swing il in on
its hinges. He had it open about
foot when it seemed as if somebody
came up behind him and forced it out
Of his hand and slammed it shut again.
He realizes now that it was the terrific
draught of hot air seeking an outlet,
and to save his life, he could not open
the window again.
He then went at it with his fist and
smashed out several panes of glass. This
gave him place to grab the frame, and
with a Superhuman effort, he gave a
mighty pull and the big structure Of
glass was pulled clear out of its socket
and fell to the floor behind him He at
once shouted fire at the top of his voice
and saw somebody running toward the
box at the city hall. He then thought
of his wife, and called to her. Although
nearly stified by the smoke and hot air
she managed to reach her husbands
side, and he forced her through the
window on to the narrow cornice, fol-
lowing her as quickly as possible. He
turned once, however, and called to their
little dog, Snowflake, but she made no
response, and ,by that time the flames
were crowding them further and further
away from the window
The receipts of the house for the past
few days, amounting to about $500. were
IN box in the sleeping room, and Mr..
Offner remarked to his wife that he
must return for the money, She thought
he was referring to their private savings
and she told llim that she had the
money. 1t was a fortunate misunder-
standing for them because if Mr.. Offner
had gone back for the theatre money
he would never have returned.
They stood on the narrow stone ledge
at the window, shouting for help at the
top of their voices. In fact their screams
were so loud that they attracted the at
tention of Patrolmanl John Reardon
near the railroad crossing on Green
street, and he came through the COM
mon on the run. Mrs. others heart
rending cries for help awoke some of the
guests at Hotel Langdon on Front
street and they too rushed into the
street. The couple had scarcely gained
footing on the narrow ledge when they
were followed by a burst of flames and
smoke through the open window.
This caused them to separate, Mrs.
Offner going to the west and Mr. Offner
to the east along the ledge. That they
were able to swing themselves around
the projections in the front wall of the
theatre, which gave them absolutelyI
nothing to get a hold of, is nothing short
of miracle. To the score of people in
the street below. it was most wonder
full performance, and was done only
with the greatest nerve and GOODNESS.
The narrow mouldings on the window
frames gave them something to catch
hold of, but only by the tips of their
fingers.
All this time Mrs. Offner chung to the
wallet that contained her savings and it
Is wonderful how She managed to re-
tain it and make progress along the cor
nice, as every faculty was needed to-
keep her footing on the ledge, which
sloped at an angle of about 10 degrees in
addition to being narrow As she pulled
away from the middle window, an
angry burst of flame darted after her
and set fire to her flowing hair and her
nightdress. Mr.. Offner shouted to her
that her hair was on fire and she made
a sweep at the blazing locks with her
left hand and pulled them out. In doing
this she pressed her back and shoulders
against the front wall of the theatre and
this eXtinguished the fire in her night
dress.
A mighty shout of relief from the
crowd below greeted this eXhi bition Of
pluck and nerve, and the couple worked
toward the ends of the cornice at oppo-
site sides of the building. When they
got to the ends, they crouched down.
The alternating shouts from the crowd
Of Jump" and Don't jump; wait for
and the anxious crowd in the street
waited with bated breath to see one or
the other to fall into the street, as the
flames were following them up so close
~ that escape seemed impossible,
jump into the street being almost sure
death, as the windows were about so
feet from the sidewalk
1t took only a minute or two for all
this to happen, and by this time the
pieces of apparatus were beginning to
arrive. The Fire Patrol vas the first
10 reach the scene, and the boys at once
spread a tarpaulin beneath Mrs. Offner,
so that they might catch her if she fell
or jumped She acted once as If she
meant to throw herself into the net
that was held by a score Of strong
hands, but she held back and waited for
the ladders, which were being put up
by this time. The men from Ladder
Company No. / tried to raise one of
their life savers to Mr.. Offner, but there
were so many outsiders eager to help
that they made a mess of it, and Mr..
Offner shouted directions from his lofty
perch where to get the ladder through
the wires.
He was finally reached, in about five
minutes by actual time, but it seemed
an age to him and the men who were
trying to get him. He came down the
ladder himself and anXiously asked for
his wife, and when he saw her still on
the cornice, he nearly went wild and
tried to get to her himself but he was
held back, and in a few seconds Ladder.
3 men had a ladder up to Mrs. Offner,
and as it neared her she made a grab
for 1T, and was on the second rung from
the top when Lieut.. Jones of Truck g
reached her, having started from the
sidewalk before the ladder was against
the building. He was followed up the
ladder by Patroln1an John Dunn, and
the two got Mrs. Offner to the sidewalk
in hurry.
The first question she asked when
she was safely lying over Lieut.. Jones'
shoulder, was regarding the safety of
her husband and she was not inclined
to believe that ne was all right until
she reached the street and saw him.
Their meeting was very affecting, but
they were Immediately wrapped in over
coats and blankets by e. J. Park and
John F. J. Herbert, the Spy reporter,
and taken to the Bay State House in a
carriage. They had been clad only in
their night dresses all the time they
were hanging on the cornice, and were
chilled to the bone, but they did not
seem to mind the cold, although both
were shfvering.
When they arrived at the Bay State
House they were taken to room Is by
the newspaper men and placed in bed,
Dr.. Thomas A. OCallaghan being sum
moned Landlord Douglass did every
thing in his power for the comfort of
his unfortunate guests until the arrival
of DR.. O'Callaghan, and he dressed their
wounds Mrs. others right hand was
badly burned, and it was also cut Sc
verely, the blood from the cut flowing
over her night dress and making things
look worse than they were She was
also cut in the bottom of the foot by
the glass from the broken windnu hut