The Portland daily press., 1900-10-30
Occupant Ran Into
Burning Apartments.
Was Rescued With Some Diff
Guilty by Firemen.


OF Mrs. Elizabeth Bruce's house at the
corner of Quebec and Emerson streets last
night about half past eight did consider
able damage to the house and resulted in
the serious burning OF Mrs. Newman II.
TitcOmb
: Mrs. Titcomb was a tenant of Mrs.
Bruce and it was in her rooms where the
IRE broke out. Mrs. Titcomb was to
move out OF the house today to go to New
Gloucester where her husband has farm.
Most OF the furniture had been packed
up and everything was in rea illness for
moving, all of the family having already
gone. About eight O'Clock Mrs. Titoomb
went down stairs to make a farewell call
on Mrs. Bruce. She was sitting in the
kitchen with Mrs. Bruce and her two
sons when a nois5 similar to some one
tapping on the door was heard. The
younger boy went to the kitchen door
opening into the hall and when the door
was thrown open the cracking of flames
up stairs could be plainly heard and a
cloud of smoke rolled into the room. he
elder son of Mrs. Bruce took lamp a nd
started up stairs, followed by Mrs. Tit
comb. Half way up the stairs the light
was put out by the smoke and the man
ran down into the Kitchen for another
| lamp. When he returned Mrs, Titcomb
had struggled up stairs through the
smoke which filled the stairs and upper
rooms. The fire had evidently started in
the dining room OF Mrs. Titcombs tene-
ment and was blazing hercely. The
smoke WAS so dense and the heat so in
tense that Mrs. Titcomb was forced to
run down stairs and out into the street
to get her breath
In the meantime Mr.. Bruce had started
up stairs again with the second lamp but
this was put out by the smoke. Mr..
Bruce took the lamp down stairs and
then ran back again to get some things
from his room at the top of the stairs
He got some OF the valuables he was
after and took them down stairs, being
almost overcome By smoke in the short
time he remained upstairs.
Mrs TitcOmb must have followed Mr..
| Bruce upstairs the second time, her OBJ
lect being to get a stocking which con-
tained several hundred dollars SO it was
said which was in q bureau in the room
adjoining the one where the fire started.
That the woman did not lose her life in
this effort to save the money was due in
large measure to the heroic work of
Frank Smith, Capt. Robert Hardy OF
Engine 2, Assistant Engineer Al Hatch
and other hremen
When the fire was discovered Lester
Bruce, a young boy, had run to pull in
the alarm from box twelve az the corner
Of Quebec and Merrill streets The alarm
was ringing in the first round when
Mrs. Titcomb ran out onto the street for
air after her first attempt to 60 up the
smoke laden staircase. Some OF the
neighbOrs saw her there and also saw her
run into the house again and up the
stairway at the head of which the lurid
light of the fierce fire could be seen shoot
n n of fiQnoo fhroT1cyh fhc
smoke cloud. The people providing
about the doorway below saw the woman
disappear up this staircase and were
overcome with horror and paralyzed with
fear for few minutes. Mr.. Bruce was
gasping for breath after his trip into the
smoke above and for the minute was
too much overcome to go to the woman's
assistance. 1t was felt that Mrs. IitcOmb
would be a victim OF her reckless dash
into the burning building but there
seemed to be no one for the moment with
courage enough to go to her aid.
just then Frank Smith, well known to
all the residents OF ward one. arrived and
right behind him came Chemical No 2
and Engine 2 with the hremen. Smith
didn't waste any time in getting into the
house and up the staircase, and Captain
Hardy, Assistant Engineer Hatch and
others of Engine rs company, followed
Smith quickly. Smith CROPPED his way
through the sitting smoke in the upper
NALL ana was d1lQOBb OIlV6n DaoK Dy G00
terrific heat of the lire, but manfuIIy
stuck to the task he had set out to do
! He dropped on his hands and knees
craWled with his head close to the floor
CROPPED his way towards the ire and
found Mrs. TitcOmb. She was lying
with her hands almost in the fire and
part Of her clothing had already caught
Smith tried to pull her out, for the
woman was unconscious. Then came
Captain Hardy, Assistant Engineer
Hatch and the other fremen, forming a
strong line back down the stairway to
the door. Smith passed the unconscious
woman back to Capt. Hardy and he in
turn to Mr.. Hatch and the woman was
taken into the fresh air outside where
she soon recovered consciousness and be-
gan to CRY out from the pain of her
burned hands, face and neck.
The deed of Frank Smith, Captain
Hardy, Mr. Hatch and the others seems
in relating it one which any man might
perform but it was brave thing which
these men did and shows the kind CT stuff
the tlremen on Munjoy Hill are made Of
The fire had in this brief interval made
considerable Roadway butBasstream from
the chemical and little water soon put
1t out. The damage to the house Will
amount to several hundred dollars. The
building is owned by Mrs Bruce and is
insured for $1,000 in the agencies of Her.
bert A. Harmon and j. ii. and g. 4.
Webster. The furniture belonging to
Mrs Titcomb was damaged but was not
insured. 1t was thought that the fire
was caused by the explosion of a lamp In
the dining room of Mrs. Titcombs tene-
ment but this is not certain.
Mrs. Titcomb was taken to the house
Of one of the neighbOrs where the occu-
pants did all that was possible to relieve
her. Her face, neck, breast, hands and
arms were badly burned, more especially
her hands and arms. There were other
| hmm hon ~ fYor ho
heat OF the fire rather from direct con-
/ tact with the flames.
The surgeon who was summoned said
last night that Mrs. Yitcomb's burns
were Of a serious character but not nee
essariIy fatal. She is the mother of