Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-02
BURNED TO DEA
Sad Accident At Daybreak This
 Morning.
FAMILY AFFLICTED BY DEATH


 and Burned-The Father Tried to
 Save His Wife and Finally Escaped
 By a Window After Being Badly
 Burned-Do Funeral Tomorrow
 Morning.
 One of the saddest accidents that has occurred in Waterbury for many years past took place shortly before U o'clock this morning at the residence of John Stack. ' Pemberton street. which resulted ill the burning to death of Mrs Stack and the almost fatal scorching of her husband. Yesterday one of their children, Thomas, aged seven years, a bright boy, who attend ed the Merriman school, died of spinal meningitis, making the fourth chId belonging to them to succumb to that disease during the past few years. The burial was to have taken place this afternoon and many relatives of the family sat around the bier until close onto , o'clock this morning, when all left to prepare for work. An hour or so later, Michael Dillon, young man who tends bar for Patrick shan nahan on the opposite side of the street, noticed smoke issuing from the Stack tenement and hurriedly alarmed the other four tenants in the block. One of the occupants, William Connor, rush. ed to the door leading to MT Stacks kitchen and opened it. He tried to enter but was driven back by fire and smoke. Before retreating he got glimpse of the prostrate form of Mrs Stack lying on the floor near table. her clothes in flames, and made an effort to reach her, but found it m- possible. At this time. AIr Stack was clinging to the blinds of one of the windows, and finally succeeded in dropping to the ground. His hands and face were badly burned and his mustache and the hair on his head were singed almost to the skin. He was removed to the residence of his sister, Mrs Patrick Shea on Ridge street, where he was attended by Dr McLarney.
 No time was lost i'll sending in an alarm and the firemen responded promptly and fought their way into the kitchen and extinguished the flames and found the charred body of Mrs Stack near the window. The damage to furniture was considerable and the walls and shelves were scorched and discolored. Fortunately the flames did not reach the spot where the remains of the little boy whose life went out on the previous day, lay in the casker and beside whom. the faithful mother who so quickly followed him had wcpr but an hour or two before. Dr Me Larney and Dr Hayes were called, but of course they could do nothing for the woman Medical Examiner AXtclle viewed the body and stated that death was due to inhaling fire and smoke l Ill the building
 So far as can be ascertained. Mrs Stack was changing q lamp, from one shelf to another, when it exploded and set her clothes on fire Her husband went to her assistance and fought the | flames until the place got so hot tha u he was forced out and not being ableJ to get to the door he made his escape1 through one of the windows. He hae2 close call and it will be some timey before he will be able to do anything. Mrs Stack was burned black. Her hair was singed to the scalp and por- tions of her face badly burned. Under taker Mulyille was called to prepare the body for burial. The funeral or the boy, which was to have been held this | afternoon. has been postponed and mother and son will be buried to-I morrow morning at 9 o'clock with ser vice at the Immaculate ConceptionI church and interment in St Joseph cemetery.
 1 Mrs Stack, whose maiden name " Hannah Sullivan, was born i'll the | lage of Knocknaugh, about mile fir | IA. ,1xf Ax.s1f fr.tf l. I~nf Ireland. and. came to this cour eighteen or twenty years ago. was large, handsome woman, bh with a disposition that made frien 1 for her where ever she was known was one of the most popular and h | Iy respected persons in her neighl hood. Everybody speaks of her as 3ns, exemplary wife and mother and q veryI agreeable neighbor Besides her hus-| band. she leaves son, Michael, a boy about fourteen years old, three sisters and one brother, Mrs Patrick Griffin and the Misses Bridget and Katie Sul- liyan of this city, and John Sullivan, who lives at the old homestead in Ire land.
 ssThat was the saddest sight that ever came to my notice during nly GODlttllOlf " lti tiiC 1ht eae pe'i 'A@.~ ~--f said Chief Snagg to Democrat report CT. "We have had cases where human life was sacrificed, but have no recol- lection of anything like that happening before while there was a corpse in the house. Capt Heitman worked his way I in through the blinding smoke and silc- ceeded in raising one of the windows and as soon as he looked down to the floor he noticed the body of the woman, The clothes were off one of her arms and the skin was peeled off down 70 the fingers. It looked as if some one had been endeavoring to pull her out l and had to let go. The lounge ill the rooms where the boy was laid out had l just started to burn and in few minutes everything in the place would l have been ablaze so that it might have been difficult to get the corpse out. We got the lounge out of the way before much of it was burned. The damage to the building will not amount to much over $50"
 The block belongs to David Iawlor.
 ARCHDEACON SHAW DEAD.
 Victoria, B. C., April 2.-Venerable