The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-01
NEARLY BURNED TO DEATH


Her Clothing Caught Fire as She WA
Attempting 10 Extinguish "a FIamin,
Lamp EnvoIoped in Flame She Ran
Out by Passers By-some Chance o
Her Recovery.
MRS Barney Connolly of No. 435 STATE
street was terribly and perhaps fatally
burned at her home about o'clock las
night. She was endeavoring to put on,
lamp which had blazed up, when hel
apron caught fire and her clothing was
soon in blaze. She rushed into the
street and there the flames which en-
Veloped her were extinguished by some
men whose attention was attracted to
her by her screams.
The Connollys live on the second floor
OF No. 435 State street. Mrs. Connolly's
husband is brass moulder employed at
Peck Brothers & Co.'S shop and she
kept boarders. One of these, John
WEIGH, who was in the room with her
when she caught fire related the cir
cumstances to Journal and Courier
reporter.
He said that he had returned from
work not long before and found Mrs
Connolly busy at some work and at the
same time trying to keep her baby
quiet WEIGH offered to take the baby
and hold it until she had finished her
work, and she put the child in his arms.
WEIGH then sat down on a lounge about
three feet from table on which a large
Rochester lamp was burning.
A few minutes after he sat down the
lamp tlared up and he called Mrs. Con-
nolly's attention TO it. She went to an
other room and brought in small hand
lamp, which she set on the table. She
then attempted to blow out the light of
the big lamp. but could not do so, and
set the big lamp on the floor and tried
to blow it out by blowing down upon
it. This did not extinguish the blaze,
and she gathered up her apron and at
tempted to put out the light by fam
ming it with the apron.
AS she swung the apron over the lamp
the cloth caught fire and quickly blazed
up. WEIGH, seeing that she was afire,
ran out into the hall and lay the baby
down on the floor so that it would not
get burned, and then ran back into the
room where Mrs. Connolly was. He
found two or three persons who room
in the house trying to put the fire out
by tanning, which only made the blaze
the fiercer
WEIGH says that as he entered the
door Mrs. Connolly ran out into the hall
and ran screaming down the stairs and
into the street. A trolley car had just
passed and Starter Judge, who happen
ed to be upon it, seeing the woman in
blazing clothing rush out of the house
to the street, jumped off the car and
fastened to her. About the same time
Patrolmen J. H. Moore, Hoffman and |
Cannon and William Wilson of 25 Rose
street reached her. Wilson pulled off |
his coat and wrapped it around her. |
This served to smother the flames, while |
Moore, Cannon, Judge and others tore
the burning clothing from her body.
Leopold Besser, whose store is near by,
rushed out with a pail of water and
threw this over her.
After the flames were eXtinguished
Mrs. Connolly sat on the curbstone until
a quilt was brought and wrapped about
her neither limbs from which the cloth
ing had been burned Assisted by Pa
Moore she walked into a store
under her own apartments and DIR. Nc
Cabe was sent for.
AT first after the flames were put out
she did not experience much pain, being
so excited. In a few moments, how
,ver, as the air began to strike the
ourns, her sufferings became terrible.
DR.. McCabe arrived in few minutes
TJ.1 | b,
,ulance was called, but when it arrived
she refused to go to the hospital and
he ambulance was sent back, Later
however, on the advice of the physician,
he consented to go to the hospital and
he New Haven hospital ambulance was
alled.
At the hospital it was stated at II !
}, clock last night that Mrs. Connolly
vas severely burned about the legs,
rms and body, but that her head and
ace were not burned. While her in
uries are apt to result fatally, it was |
bought that there was fair chance
f her recovery.
When the burning occurred Mr.. Con-
oily was in the back yard down stairs !
tending to some work, and the chill
rem were all asleep but the baby Mrs. !
screams as she ran down the
tairs and into the street were frightful
, hear. Her clothing was mass of
ames and the people for block and l.
alf up and down State street, hearing l.
er screams and looking out of windows II
, see what the disturbance was, saw o
hat appeared to be pillar of fire. A u
rowd of hundreds of people gathered
, q few moments.
Mrs. Connolly is about thirty-two n
ears of age and has six children, four p
oys and two girls. After she was help
/ into the store she was historical and l
llled for her children. They having ,
cen awakened by the noise and confu-
on, went down the back stairs and o.
oked in the back door of the store 81
.eing their mother there and the big
'owd around, they began to cry, but "
ere finally quoted by the father and al
ndly neighbors. 81
JOHN COLLINS HURT. az