Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-08-29
HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN Iy PERIL
AT sPARKILL, n. Y.
NUMEROUS ACTS OF HERoEsM
A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY RUsHEs INTO
FLAMES AFTER TWO BABIES.
Only One Person Was Burned to Death
but Three Others Died From
Fright-Many Sisters More
or Less Seriously
Injured.

SPARkILL, n. Y, Aug. 2s.-Fire that
broke out at l o'clock this morning de-
stroyed nine of the ten buildings of the
st. Agnes convent and orphanage, entail
ing Il loss of si50000, and caused the death
OF four persons. The dead are:
Helen Brown, aged 6.
Emma Mackin, aged Z
Jane" a pensioner, aged 20.
Mary Kate Mccarthy, aged %.
The missing are: Therese Murphy, aged
Ia. and Mary Brown, aged 4.
The seriously injured are: Sister Sienna
shock and collapse; Sister Marie, burns
and concussion; Sister Bertrand, concus-
sion of the spine and shock; Sister Kath-
crime, arm broken; Hannah Shea, leg brok-
ell.
twenty-five inmates were injured BY
rails, jumps and burns. none seriously
That more lives We're 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 a score who
risked their lives to save others were
finally forced either to jump from the up
per stories or to make desperate dashes
through stairways and corridors filed with
flames and smoke.
The fire was discovered in the lavatory
and soon spread to the adjoining build
ings, attacking first dormitory in which
200 of the older boys slept. Sister Regi-
maid. 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 fire signal followed in
the orphanage. The boys turned out with
rush and gained the lawn in their night
clothes.
By that time the second dormitory, where
| the smaller boys slept. was abaze. The
older lads made dash for the building
and were soon carrying the smaller ones
out.
| The buildings were ell finished with Geor-
| gia pine and the wood burned furiously.
| 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.
| A dozen sisters were cut off in the upper
stories of the convent building. They We're
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 rescued half dozen. Six were forced
| to jump for their lives, and fortunately all
but Sister Bertrand escaped without serious
| injury. The escape of Sister Agnes seemed
almost a 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 a stairway. She climbed
| out on the sill and then. selling the shut
| ter, swung out clear of the building Then
| she loosed her hold. She struck squarely
| on her feet and then fell over on her side
1 Before anyone could reach her, she got uI
and walked quickly away, unhurt.
The fire reached the girls dormitory
| last, but once it took hold of the build
ing, it burned fiercely. Most of the girls
were on the upper floors and it was will
the greatest difficulty that they were got
ten 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 miss
ing. John Cody, 15-year-old boy, made
straight for the door, paying no heed tc
the warnings of danger. A momont latel
Cody came dashing out of the building
under each arm carrying one of the miss
Firemen came from Piermont and Ny
ack, but the best they could do was tc
| save the hospital, d large two story
| building.
The sisters and children were conveyed
by. teams to the Blauveit convert.
ually perished in the fire itself. That wa!
Jane an old pensioner aged 30 years
who was asleep in the servants quarters
Helen Brown and Emma Mackin diet
from convulsiOns that resulted from fright
Kate Mccarthy was a servant in the con
vent and had organic heart trouble. Sh'
was badly frightened, collapsed in th
grounds and died later in the day. 1t i.
believed Therese Murphy and May Brow
both escaped from the fire, but that th'
former became demented and is leading thu
other girl through the woods.
There were 326 children in the orphan
age, sixty of whom were girls, and the
ages ranged from 2 to is years. Most o
them were from New York city and the!
were in most instances committed by th
Gerry safety and city courts. The orphan
age was conducted by sisters of the Do
minican order.