The evening world., 1905-12-28
BRAVE NUNS SAVE
BLIND At A FIRE
Guide 4i inmates of Mt. Lo.
retto Asylum to Safety as
Flames Ragged Beneath.

There are forty-ons very nervous Mt
tie blind children at the Mission Of the
Immaculate Virgin, Mount kIetto,
Pleasant Plains,ts. l., to-day, for they
have been through the rerll Of q nre,
whose danger came to them Jnly by
the senses OF hearing and smelling when
six brave sisters guided them from
their burning dormttory las, night.
Not ono OF the little bjyB and girls
was hurt, but t was due to bravery
and cool heads " the sisters mat a
panic was averted--a panic In which the
blind children would have battered
| themselves against walls and fallen
down stsircsses like 40 many p,or lit
| tie moles,
The nrs started In a store-room on
the FIRST floor Of tho three story brick
building Of the asylum for the blind.
To the west OF the building Is the main
hah OF the big brick building used for
school rooms and meetings, Beyond
this hail Is the asylum dormItory, where
nearly 900 children not blind sleep.
Fortunately the location OF the FIRE
was such that the view OF II was cut
of from the big dormitory and the
children there knew nothing OF 1t.
They nrw knew OF II when the weep
lng, frightened blind children came
cropping inbo their quarters under the
guidance OF the Sisters.
Fire In Qtorsroonn
The cause OF tho nrs Is unknown and
Assistant Fire Marshal Estrange, Of
Richmond Borough, Is investigating. It
was discovered by Charley Murphy, a
watchman, and ae that time the flames
were leaping out Of the bdg windows OF
the storeroom, On the foor above the
blind children were abed and on the
third floor were the Sister Superior and
Ave other Sisters.
Murphy called Fred Spindler, a fire.
man detailed by the New York Fire
Department TO the asylum. He has
organized a fre company OF twelve en-
| ployees, and with them began to fight
the llre. Meanwhile an alarm was
turned In 10 The volunteer hose cart
companies OF Pleasant Plains. Anna
dale, Huguenot and Tottenville, all OF
which are from one to five miles away
While the asylum employees were 1ght-
| ing the fire, the Sister Superior, hear
ing the alarm, summoned her assistants
and together they went TO the blind
.hildrens dormltory The smoke was
already drifting in and the children who
had been awakened by the noise below,
were sitting in their BIDS snifing the air
arNfously.
To Avert q Panic.
The sisters, 70 avoid a panic told the
children to get up and dress, for II was
time TO go 70 breakfast OF course the
little ones could not see whether Il was
night or morning, but the acute hearing
OF the blind soon told them the story.
They heard the cracking OF the flames,
Then the smoke grew thicker and a
little g1rl shouted that the house was
afire. A dozen Of the children started
to run for the places where they thought
the doors might be, and In their excite
ment failed TO feel their way along the
familiar. walls They tumblcd over the
beds and upon one another and II looked
as II there would be a real panic
The sisters worked hard to calm
them, sAd at ast the youngsters,
trembling and frightened at the dan
ger they could not see, huddled In ons
| corner OF ths hall. The Sister Superior
told her Ave assistants to take as
| msny children as they could lead at
once out OF the building by the back
stairs and over TO tho recitation hall.
-Four or Ave children grasped hands
and q sister took the hands OF the
leader Thus they ware led out, with
the children gripping their small hands
very fast together, fCr they believed II
they should once let go they would
fall into that unseen nre
All Led Safely Out
The Sister Superior stayed behind
with the other children and talked 10
them until the other Sis, ers returned,
Then they were taken out in the same
way, and all Of them went from the
main hall over 10 the big dormitory,
where the children who are not blind
have quarters,
There was much excitement among
the children In the main dormitory when
they heard OF the danger OF their blind
playmates, but by this time the fire was
nearly out
me volunteer hose companies took
more than an hour In reaching the place,
owing to the bad and poorly lighted
roads. Before they arrived the employ
ees OF the asylum had put out the fire
with about 81 900 damage. 1t had been
confined almost entirely to the store
room.