Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-23

Leonore kerwin, One of the Stars In
 "The Three Twins" That Was Being
 Performed at the Herald Square,
 Gives a Vivid Description of the Ex-
 periences of Herself and Other Ac-
 treases While Flames Attacked the
 Building.
 New York. Dec =! From lnveStiga- that official is satisfied that the fire that so nearly destroyed the Herald Square theater at Thirty-lfth street and Broadway was started by boy who dropped a blazing box of matches in the first balcony.
 The Three Twins" was being per formed. and the last act was ending when the blaze was first seen, and q cry of Fire" was raised.
 MT. and Mrs. Reginald Vanderbilt occnpfs,l a box with party of friends. They 1aw the flames. Mir. Vanderbilt gr&sped his wife's arm and told her of the danger They escaped to the street just if time.
 Mr. Vanderbilt when seen today at the home of his mother, West Fifty seventh street. and asked to tell how he managed to escape said:
 Don't ask me don't know All l do know is that we managed to get out in some manner, and am very thankful we did. Was there any one burned"
 Told that there was not. he said
 Well, that is a blessing. It did not look to me as if all those on the back of the stage would get out. Miss I.eon0re kerwin. one of the stars in "The Three Twins company. gave vivid description today of the experience of herself and her compan- ions Miss Kerwin has made hit singing Little Miss Up-to-Date." She said:
 Up in the balcony l saw little filter of smoke. Before the curtain reached the stage the smoke had be- come big fellow, and, remembering fires that had started in just such d simple way. I guess I must have screamed. Anyhow. I know that all around me the girls were making fran tic rushes to the back of the stage, and I joined the crowd
 We had absolutely no time to change our attire-that is, we thought we hadn't. Out into the street we ran, all of us screaming. leaving whatever jewelry and attire we had in the dress ing rooms behind us.
 The audience and the company were in panic 1 remember we were literal. ly falling over one another trying to reach the street It was showing. and the wind was blowing cold. and we stood there shivering for a few min utes until some of us either got cabs or raced to our home near by. Behind the scenes, where the com pany was jumbled up in mass, I saw several of the girls drop to the floor as if they had been shot. They had tainted.
 Il noticed among the throng Miss Bessie Mccoy, the dancer. She seem ed cool, l think, when the cries start ! ed, but she soon became just as eXcit ed as we were, and as she rushed to. ward the stage entrance she staggered gave an incoherent cry and fell fiat on her face. Miss Mccoy had tainted.
 But, although it seemed as if we were all in grave danger, stage hands and even several girls in the company raced to Miss McCoy's side, and she was quickly carried to the street where she was placed on the sidewalk for a few moments so that the cold ail might revive her. Miss Mccoy re gained consciousness and proceeded tC her apartments in cab She seemed to be in very bad shape
 The other girls who fainted were i taken care of by the stage hands, who displayed remarkable coolness in this emergency. IL was the finest eXhhi ton of courage l ever saw on the part of men, for not one of us women could 1 complain of a man blocking our way to safety"
 Manager Lee Shubert said today that ! the fire loss is about S20,0OO The the ater is closed for repairs