New-York tribune., 1907-01-27
FOUR KILLED In FIRE
Big Cotton Mill Burned at DoUer,
n. III.

Dover N H jan 26-Dover's most disastrous
fire. which occurred to-day. cost the lives or FOUR
and probably five. young mill operatives. ana
property loss of half million dollars. The nre
destroyed the largest factory building here'
known as Mill No 1 OF the Cocheco Manufactur-
ing Company The bodies OF four boys. charred
beyond all hope of Identification. were found this
afternoon in the smoking ruins. and as five
boys are known to be missing IT is believed that
another body will be discovered
The missing boys are:
CosGRovE. Charles sixteen years old.
ELOPULOs. Constantine. sixteen years cid.
HESTER -, fifteen years old
NICHoLOPULoS. John. fifteen years old
REDDEN. -. fifteen years old
The operatives injured were as follows:
ASHTON James, forty-ve old: both legs fractured
by jumping.
BLANos rheodor. twsuty-fOur Old hands burned
and lacerated
FRANCIS Anthony twenty-five years old; burned and
HESTER John forty years Old ankle breaking
of rope which he Vas descending
PAPAS. twenty-five years old: burned and bruised
TURNER. William. fifty years old; hip broken By jump
ing.
Several of the injured persons were hurt while
saving their lives by climbing down ropes which
they found near the windows. the ends of which
they tied to the machinery.
The fire broke out in the mill not long after
the five hundred or more operatives had assem-
bled for their days work. Friction from belt
generating sparks which lodged in mass of cot
ton quickly created sheets of fame on the third
floor from which the operatives ran to the stair
ways All those in the factory soon knew OF
the fire. and the exits became blocked by strug-
Cling masses. On the fifth, or top. floor the op-
eratives mostly boys. and it was there un-
doubtedly that those whose bodies were found
lost their lives On the first and second stories
the operatives were largely girls, and they
reached the ground by the stairways The men
were grouped on the third and fourth floors. and
it was on the fourth floor that many found their
way of escape by stairways cut off. They were
forced to reach safety by means OF the windows
The flames quickly spreading upward, threat
ened TO hem them in entirely, and several
jumped without hesitation from the windows.
among them Turner and Ashton. Others Sc
cured the ends OF ropes inside OF the windows
and descended to the ground In doing this.
however they were scorched by the fire and
their hands were lacerated and cut by the frtc-
ton from the ropes.
There were many daring rescues by the fire
men. Four imprisoned men on the fourth floor
were taken out OF window. although not until
they had climbed one by one down stout pole
which the fremen had made fast to the top OF
a ladder too short to reach the window sill
The city department was assisted by a hre
brigade with a steamer from Portsmouth but
not until ] o'clock IN the afternoon was the hre
under control. 1t was some time afterward be
fore the ruins could be examined The hLSieS
of the four boys were found together. The mill
is practically total loss. although the machin-
cry on the first and second stories is damaged
only by water. The loss is fully covered by In
suranCe.