The San Francisco call., 1905-08-06
MOTHER SEES
LITTLE ONES
DIE BY FIRE
Three Children Are
Lost in Flames
at Home.
Exploding Lamp De-
strOys House and OFF,
spring Of Ferreiras.
Holocaust Rages so FierCely
That Rescue Work Is
impossible.

OAKLAND, Aug. 5.-Hemmed in on
all sides by the flames and smoke of
their burning home, with every avenue
of escape cut of, three children, the
sons and daughter of Antoine Ferreira,
a bricklayer. living at $50 Valdez street
in East Oakland, were burned to death
tonight before the eyes of their frantic
parents, who were unable to fight their
way through the flames to rescue their
little ones.
The fatal fire was caused by the ex-
plosion of an oil lamp, which was
standing on table in the kitchen.
where Mrs. Ferreira had just finished
bathing her months old boy, who
was the only one of the children saved
from the flames. Mrs. Ferreira had
laid the baby on a couch in the kitchen
and had gone into the yard for a mo-
ment when she was startled by a loud
report in the house, and, rushing back
INTO the dwelling, she found the in
terror mass of flames from the blaz-
ing oil, which had ben scattered broad
cast The mother caught up her
youngest child and ran into the yard.
where she handed the baby to a neigh
bor who had been attracted by the
glare of the fire and the screams Of the
frantic mother. She then started TO
re-enter the house to rescue the other
cundren. BY this time, however. the
entire dwelling was burning fercely.
and other neighbors who had arrived.
not knowing that the children were
still in the house, held the mother.
fearing that she would sacrifice her
own life if she again entered the house.
When the fire broke out the two boys,
Antoine, aged years, and Alfred. aged
years, we're in bed, and the daughter,
Ialvina, aged years, was playing on
the dining-room floor. After the fire
had been eXtinguished the body Of the
latter was found face down on the floor
near one of the dining room windows
and the bodies of the boys were found
clasped in each others arms on the
floor Of the bedroom, having evidently
left bed in vain attempt to escape
The fire was first discovered by j. F.
Figeroid, who lives at 96S East Twenti-
eth street, who turned in an alarm from
box 149. Almost at the same time an
alarm was turned in from another box
by Special Policeman D. G. Murdock,
who had seen the fire from a corner a
block away. Murdock, after turning in
the alarm, hurried to the burning house.
being Joined on the way by Deputy
Sheriff Manuel Dameral, and the two
officers tried twice to enter the dwell
ing to rescue the children, but were
driven back by the flames and smoke.
In the second attempt both were burned,
but neither was seriously injured By
this time the Fire Department has ar
rived and the fire was soon under con-
troll.
The heart broken parents were taken
TO the home Of Frank Costa, the father
OF MRS. Ferreira, who lives at 656h
Kennedy street whore n docfor uyaS
called to attend the mother as it was
feared for a time that her mind would
give way under the strain of her awful
experience The bodies of the three
children, burned beyond recognition,
were moved to the Oakland Morgue.
The house and its contents were de-
stroyed.