Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-08-29
FOUR PERISH.
Fire Sweeps Shrough St. Agnes
Convent, SparkiII, N. Y.
miraculous Escapes Of the 400 In
mates--0nIy Four Lives Lost.
Nine OF 10 Buildings Destroyed Many Oar :
ing and Heroic Rescues.

OF ~. Agnes convent, this morning, and
| ieft In its wake the bodies Of four vic
tlms. 1t destroyed nine of the II
buildings in the group and that il did
not claim more victims is due to the
| bravery Of the Sisters of Charity who
conducted the convent and orphanage
ana OF some of the older inmates. The
IRE started about l o'clock and found
the 400 tenants of the institution
asleep. hundreds We're gotten out in
almost perfect order but a score who
risked their lives to save others were
finally forced 10 either jump from the
upper stories or make desperate dashes
through stairways and corridors filled
with flame and smoke. 1t is charged
that the buildings were fired by an in
ceniiary, but it seems hardly credible
for there is apparently an entire alb
sence of motive
The known dead are: Helen Brown.
years old. Emma Maskin. aged 4.
Jane --, aged 20 years, Mary Kate
Mccarthy. aged 28 years.
The missing and unaccounted for are:
Theresa Murphy. aged Is years, Mary
Brown, aged 1 years.
The seriously injured are: Sister
Sienna. shock and collapse. serious:
Sister Marie, burns ana conclusion.
moderate; Sister Bertrand, conclusion
Of spine and shock, serious: Sister
Katherine, broken arm: Sister Igna-
thus, slightly injured by fall: Sister Lii
guri, shock and hurt by fall. slight:
Hanna Shea, leg broken
Twenty-Five inmates We're Injured by
falls. jumps and burns. none yery seri-
ously.
The fire was discovered in the lavo-
ratory separate building which stood
IN a corner of the square formed by
the ten buildings. The laboratory adj
joined the No. ! dormitory in which
over 200 boys slept and was connected
with it and with the other buildings
by an enclosed archway or corridor
that ran clear across the grounds and
tapped the rear of every structure.
the clang Of the electric gong and the
cries Of the Waterman had hardly be-
gun TO ring through the convent before
the fire had attacked the archway and
was eating its way into the first dor
mitory. The archway acted as a great
Hue that gave a furious draught that
grew in intensity at every corridor
that opened into it. Flames shot down
this horizontal chimney and in the con-
vent proper and chapel at the extreme
eastern end of the grounds were afire
before the first dormitory was fairly
ablaze.
The boys in the first dormitory got
the first warning. Sister Reginald.
who had trained the lads in the fire
drill Sha1
beds and Grousng the s!eepers clapped
her hands. The boys turned out with
a rush and While some waited to hustle
into clothes. the majority FASTENED to
the front Of the building and gained
the lawn in their night clothes. Nv
that time the second dormitory where
the little boys slept. was ablaze. The
older lads made a dash for the build
ing and were soon carrying the small
or fellows out. The buildings We're all
with Georgia pine, which
rapidly burned.
Forks Of flame gained the roof of the
second dormitory and great blasts
swept through the windows, doors and
halls. But the Sisters stood at their
posts and little squads Of heroes rush
ed In. bundled up the sleepy waits and
dashed out with them. The convent
ana chapel made a great stack Of
flame and between them and the sec
ond dormitory the girls dormitory !
hlazed and cracked as the fire leaned |
up its wooden walls.
a dozen Sisters were cut off in the !
upper stories of the convent building. |
They were forced to the windows and |
while some climbed out to the sills
others knelt in prayer. There were |
rtleS Tor aid. Engineer Otto placed a |
long ladder against the outer wall and |
by speedy and heroic work managed to
rescue half a dozen. The Sisters were
forced to jump for their lives. but with
one exception. Sister Bertrand. all es-
capped without serious injuries. The
Escape of Sister Agnes seemed almost
4 mer2cle. She was cut off on the
fourth floor. Climbing out upon the
window sill she seized the shutter and
swung out clear of the building. Then
she loosed her hold and shot down.
ward. She struck the ground squarely
lpon her feet and then fell over on her
side. Immediately she got up and
walked quickly away from the burning
vail. She had escaped unhurt
The fire reached the girls dormitory
asst, but once it took hold of the build
ng it burned fiercely. Most of the
iris We're on the upper floor and it was
With the greatest difficulty that they
we're gotten out. The Sisters were the
asst to leave the building. Shortly after
he last of the rescuers left the second
Iormitory it was discovered that two
f the baby boys We're missing-John
'ody, a 15-year-old boy, ran into the
in spite of warnings. Nobody
expected to see him alive again. but a
minute later Cody came dashing out of /,
he building and under each arm he
2rried one of th~ missing boys His I
rends embraced him in their Joy. :
The fire was seven minutes in speed .
1g down the length of the archway
hat connected the buildings and II
linutes in reaching the convent. Fire
len hurried from Piermont and Nyack.
ut the best they could do was to save
ne hospital. large frame buildings.
vo stories high, that stood in the rear
Continued on page % 5