The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-08-29
Thl illing Scenes at Orphanage Fire
In New York Yesterday.
MANY NARROW ESCAPES
CHILDREN WERE MARCHED OUT
BY FIRE DRILL.
Heroic Conduct of the Sisters In
Charge of the Institution Saved
Scores of Lives-A Number Sus-
tanned Severe Injuries Which
May Yet Result Fatally.

Sparkill, N. Y. Aug. 2S.-Fire broke
out at o'clock this morning and de-
stroyed nine of the ten buildings of the
st. Agnes convent and orphanage. en-
failing loss of $4,000 and causing the
death Of four persons.
The dead are: Helen Brown. aged s.;
Emma Macllin. aged Z; Jane" PEN
sioner. aged 20; Mary Kate Mccarthy.
aged 2S.
The missing are: Therese Murphy.
aged II; Mary Brown. aged 4.
The seriously injured are: Sister ST.
emma. shock and collapse; Sister Marie,
burns and conclusions: Sister Bertrand.
conclusion of spine and shock; Sister
Katherine, arm broken; Hannah Shea,
leg broken
Twenty-Five inmates were injured by
falls, jumps and burns. none seriously.
Eeroism of the Sisters.
That more lives were not lost was
due TO the heroism of the sisters and
some of the older inmates. When the
fire broke out the 400 inmates of the
institution were asleep. Most of them
were gotten out in almost perfect order
but score who risked their lives to
save others were finally forced to either
jump from the upper stories or make
desperate dashes through stairways
and corridors filed with flames and
smoke.
The fire was discovered in the lava
tory and soon spread to the adjoining
buildings. attacking first a dormitory
in which 200 of the older boys slept.
Sister Peginald, who had trained the
lads in the fire drill, rushed down the
line of white beds and, arousing the
sleepers. clapped her hands, the simple
clio oil coll IN tf1a 7,
The boys turned out with a rush and
gained the lawn in their night clothes.
BY that time the second dormitory,
where the smaller boys slept, was
ablaze. The older lads made a dash
for the building and were soon carrying
the smaller ones out.
The buildings were all finished with
Georgia pine, and the wood burned flu
riously. The convent and chapel made
a great stack of flame. and between
them and the second dormitOry the
girls dOrmitory blazed and cracked as
the fire leaped up its wooden walls.
One Miraculous Escape
A dozen sisters were cut off in ths
upper stories of the convent building.
They were forced to the windows, and
while some climbed out to the sills,
others knelt at the easements in
prayer Engineer Otto placed a long
ladder against the outer wall and res
cued half a dozen. Six more were
forced to jump for their lives. and for
tunately all but Sister Bertrand es-
capped without serious injury.
The escape of Sister Agnes seemed
almost d miracle. She was cut off on
the fourth floor and elected to jump
from her window rather than plunge
into the furnace that had once been
stairway She climbed out on the sill
and then, Selling the shutter. swung
out clear of the building. Then she
loosed her hold. She struck the ground
squarely upon her feet and then fell
over on her side. Before anyone could
reach her she got up and walked quick
ly away. unhurt.
The fire reached the girls dormitory
last, but once il took hold CT the build
ing. it burned fiercely. Most of the
girls were on the upper floors and it
was with the greatest difficulty that
they were gotten out. Shortly after
the last of the rescuers left the second
dormitory there was counting of
heads and the discovery was made that
two baby boys were missing. John
Cody. a 15-year-old boy. made straight
for the door. paying no heed to the
warnings of danger. moment later
Cody came dashing out of the building.
under each arm carrying one of the
boys.