The sun., 1908-03-05
TEACHERS DIE At POSTS
The Building a Mass of Flame
Before Pupils Fire Drill
Could Be Executed.

wedEed So Tight Thst Men Pun Flesh
From chIldren's Arms Try1nE % Drag
Them 10 saTety-P1re. DiScovered In
Basement Under stairway. Quickly
Spreads 20 Upper Floors NO clue 20
Cause. but Hints OF IncendlArtsm
CLEVELAND. March t.-one hundred and
hfty-nins children lost their lives this morn
ing when Lake View school in Colling-
wood burned.
Two teachers in a vain effort to save the
pupils perished.
Tonight half the families in the httls
suburb are mourning the loss Of one or
more members.
What caused the nre is not known. To-
night there are hints that 1t was incendiAry.
There were no wires to cross and ignite the
woodwork. There was no rubbish to
| create spontaneous CONFUSION All that
now seems to be known is that three little
girls coming from the basement saw
smoke and gave the alarm Before the
janitor could sound the fire signal a uaAas
OF fame was sweeping up the doorway
! from the basement and before the children
from the upper floors could reach the ground
egress was cut OF. It was all over with
1 most OF the victims before the mothers
| who gathered with the sounding OF the
fire bells realized that their children were
| In danger
With the call for fire engines calls foe
ambuIances were sent in. Every am
bulance from the eastern end Of Cleveland
was put 10 Use and wagons were pressed
into service to remove the dead
BEscUERs HELPLFsE.
Rescuers were present by the hundred.
but they could not save the life Of one Of
the children iammed in a solid mass At
the foot Of the stairs.
The Lake View school was three story
structure. Under the stairway in the
basement, in front Of the Building. was the
furnace. Owing to the mild weather
there was less Arc than usual and IL Ia GER
tain that the FIRE did not start there.
On the first floor four rooms were in uss
when the FIRE broke out. The children
on this floor escaped with few exceptions
They believed the ringing Of the fire gong
was the usual fire drill signal and they
marched out in order. The pupils Of the
second and third floors became panic
stricken and rushed to death.
or more than 100 bodies In the temporary
morgue at the Lake Shore Railroad stock.
house none has been Identified Dark.
mess ended the work Of taking bodies from
| the ruins tonight Tho work will be TO
sumed in the morning.
Every part OF the official machinery a
the county and 81 ate win be put to work
TO Ak the blame for the disaster. Gov
Harris has promised that the State viii
do its share. Coroner Burk viii begin his
official investigation 10 the morning Fire
marshAls will also get to work
MEssAaEs OF SYMPATHY.
Tonight messages Of sympathy are con.
! ing to Cleveland from all o vsr the country
They are addressed 10 the Clevelsnd Doard
Of Education mistaken idea having arissp
that the disaster occurred 10 this city
ThIs afternoon the State Republican CON.
yention At Columbus stopped work long
enough TO adopt q resolution of sympathy
The House Of Representative In Washing
ton sent sympathy and adopted . rssoIu-
ton intI oduced by Representative Harding
Of the Third Ohio district
Miss Laura BOrter. teacher Of the Afth
grade, on the third door. said:
when the gong sounded I thought at
onca ~ kho Ara drill I didn't think aA nvsaA
It was a real frs. but formed my pupils
Just Is We have often done In practice. We
had no morn than formed Ia line than smoke
began Oresping into the room. Our prActics
taught the children 10 60 down the ars
escape. but when the smoke began com.
ing In G0me OF the pupils cried % tha oeherp
TO 90 down the rear stairs. Seven or OiGks
broke from the line and started for tho
stairs. Ths rest were instructed 10 koep
Oool and managed 10 esE them 10 the nrN
escape and 10 the ground In safety. Ths
poor children who rushed down the back
stairway must have porished. for hnow
they never came back 10 thu room again.
was tho last to leave and watched for
Z hem to return until the heat and hamee
drove me down the Are escape. had about
ffty pupils In my room and all escaped
but the few who left the line and PUSHES
foT the s.si=s.'
JANrroR LOST THREE
Fred Hirter. ianitoT Of the school, lost
three children In the disaster. Hlroer
vas badly burned about the head AUD
hands trying TO save tho little ones he
declares that there was less dre than usual
in the furnace. because Of the mild weather
Shortly before the recess hour" saId