Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-06-17
Harry Wilson Dashes Into Blsz-
ing Kitchen in Effort TO Save
Mrs. Lucy Pearmon.
CAN OF KEROSENE lxpL0DfS
Unfortunate Woman Burns to Crisp
From Head to Foot, and Dies Few
Minutes After Being Removed From
the Burning Room-The Body Tn.
recognizable.
Especial To IN. Daily rrcs.,
recognizable

RICHMOND, VA, June lG.-By the
explosion of Il gallon can of kerosene
this morning Mrs Lucy Pcarman, wife
OF BraNton w. prarman, was burned
to death in her home, il5 North Tween.
ty-sccond street.
Harry Wilson, Il young man living
next door, at No. All, in an heroic at
tempt to save the burning woman had
both of his hands severely burned, his
hair, eyebrows and cyclashcs singcd
Wilson faced almost certain death
when he forced his way into the kitch.
en- of the Pcarman's. for the room was
one mass of flames, the chairs, the
woud-boX AMI the walls being aflrc.
He found Mrs. Pcariiian stretched on
the floor amid the fire, her body naked
save for Il few burning bits of cloth
on her body. Tearing away these strips
from the burned flesh he lifted the wo.
man To his shoulder ami staggered
into the next room through smoke and
fire
lie placed the body, from which life
was not then extinct, upon the floor in
this adjoining room and then, crying
aloud for assistance, went back into
the kitchen and fought the fire.
House Saved; Its Mistress Dead.
In few minutes other neighbors
had arrived and were supplying buck
cts of water. An alarm was turned in
and the iircmcn responded promptly.
The house was saved. but The poor wo.
man, almost burned to crisp, lay on
the floor Of her front room in the
shadow of the grave.
1t WAS thought ut first that the trag-
cdy came about in the usual way. the
use of oil in lighting kitchen fires.
The firemcn discovered, however, that
Mrs. Pearman had already cooked her
breakfast and that in the stove there
was brisk fire. II is believed that
either the oil can had been left close
enough To the stove to have its con
tents brought to Il pitch of heat suffi-
Gent to cause al Xplosion or that the
fire died down and Mrs Pcarman pour.
ed oil upon it,
She had ON only her nghtrobe at the
time and the flames from this slight
garment could not have burned her as
terribly as she was burned Dr. G. S.
Pitt. of the ambulance corps, believes
that the burning oil almost covered
her, for the only part of her body THAT
was not charred wero the feet So
fearful was the burning that it would
have been impossible to have rccogniz-
ed her.
The woman breathed for twenty
minutes after the arrival Of the sur
geon. There was nothing that could
have been done for her. She had in
hailed the flames, and the interior of
her mouth and her throat showed the
marks of the fire
Heard the Explosion.
Mr.. Wilson, who was suffering greatly
from his burns, as soon as he saw that
there was nothing more that he could
do, went for the physician of his fam
lily and had his hands dressed.
A Mrs. Young. who lived on the sec
ond floor of the house, said that she
heard a sound as if Of an explosion,
then scream. and when she rushed to
the head of the stairs found that Mrs.
Pcarman'S kitchen was Il mass of
smoke and flames. With her womcn's
clothes it would have been suicide for
her To rescue tho unfortunate woman
She could hear Mrs. Pcarman stamping
her feet to try and put out the fire en-
voloping her; she screamed again and
then Mr.. Wilson dashed into the house
from next door.
Mrs. Pearman's husband is employed
as carpenter in the constructing de-
partment of the Atlantic Coast Line
1t is supposed that he is in Rocky
Mount. but this is not positive Efforts
are being made to communicate with
him. He is Il native of Charles City
county, a young man of good rcputa.
ton and fine character. She was from
Pocahontas county. West Virginia.
They haul been married about four
years and have no children.
The condition of Mrs. Pearman's body
Is such that it may be necessary to
bury 1t before the husband returns to
the city