The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-09
TNENTY-E EIGHT ARE DEAD
SAD TALE OF Loss OF LIFE AT
ROCHESTER, ORPHAN ASY-
LUM FIRE
FIRE ESCAPES INADEQUATE
Blaze Started From an Explosion In
the Engine Room and Spread
With Frightful
RapfGity.

ROCHESTER, Jan 8.-Twenty-eight
dead bodies lie at the morgue and twelve
others more or less seriously injured lay
at the different hospitals tonight as a
result of the terrible holocaust which oc-
Cured early this morning at the Roch-
ester orphan asylum. OF the dead twen-
ty-six were children of both sexes, rang
ing in age from two to fourteen years,
while the remaining two were adults.
The first which was discovered at Ito
a. m. and was doubtless caused by an ex.
plosion of gas in the boiler room adjo.n-
ing the west wing of the asylum, spread
SO rapidly that many of the 109 inmates
of the institution were overcome by the
flames and smoke almost without warn
ing,
In all the long and dismal record OF
fatal fires in Rochester, none can be
found which can equal this one in It's
great horror in the pathetic scenes in
which SO many lives werV blotted out, in
the gallant sacrifice of lMes OF the at
tendents, in whose care the children were
and in the sad scenes at the hospitals and
morgue.
That so many children were saved from
the burned wing of the building seems
little short of miraculous and one mar
Veled today that the death roll was not
even larger.
SCENE AT THE FIRE.
The scene Immediately after the alarm
and the accompanying explosion was one
that turned the stoutest hearts. Firemen,
attendants and policemen sought to re-
lease the children from their perilous
position. The dormitories were filed
with smoke from the fire and the little
ones were being slowly suffocated. Most
of those saved were lowered to the
ground by means of ladders from the
second and third floors. The ambulance
of every hospital in the city reached
the scene almost as soon as the fire de-
partment, but they proved totally made
Quate in providing for those rescued.
Many sufferers and the dead were re-
moved TO houses in the immediate neigh
borhood. There were awful scenes
around the asylum at this time. Most Of
those rescued from the burned building
were unconscious from the effects of the
smoke 1t soon became apparent that
the building was doomed. A general
alarm was sent in and the entire fire
department was soon on the scene. The
fire was stubbornly fought from every
available point, but it was over an hour
after its discovery before 1t was under
control.
WHOSE THE BLAME.
There was a joint meeting of the board
Of managers and the, trustees of the
asylum i'll City Assessor Pord's office to-
day The meeting was hurriedly called,
but the assessors large. room was filled
to the doors with members of the board
and those interested in the institution
While all sorts of excuses were put for
ward for the disaster there was unan-
unity in conceding that the managers
had been derelict in that there had not
been a better and more complete system
of fire escapes provided. One Thomas
c. Montgomery frankly expressed the
opinion that the managers had been
negligent in that they did not employ a
night watchman at the asylum and that
they had not had the building patroIled
nightly