Connecticut western news., 1908-03-12
Many Children Crushed and Burned In Ohio Horror.
FATAL BLOCK AT DOORS.
Panic Occurs When Victims Find
 Exits Barred.
DIE BEFORE EYESO OF HELPLESSPARE

Brick Building of Two Stories Burned
 to the Ground With Crowds of Tor
 TOT Stricken Youngsters, Caught Be-
 tween Blazing Furnace and Blocked
 Egress-Teachers Endeavor to Save
 Their Charges by Means of Useless
 "Fire DrilI"-ldentification of Many
 Charred Bodies Impossible.
 Cleveland, O., March 11.-Investiga- ton of the ruins of the burned school house at North Collinwood, ten miles east of this city, together with the re- ports of scores of missing children ren- dered by grief stricken parents, shows that the number of little victims of fire and panic is very large.
 Between 16O and 176 children lost their lives by fire, smoke and the crushing of their tender bodies under the feet of their panic stricken school mates. Many others were injured.
 All of the victims were between the ages of six and fourteen years. The school contained between BIO and 325 pupils, and of this entire number only about eighty are known to have left the building unhurt. It will be several days before the actual number of killed is known, as the ruins may still con- tain other bodies, and the list of fatali- ties may be increased by number of deaths among the children who are now lying in the hospitals lowering be- tween life and death. Two teachers met death trying to save their charges.
 The schoolhouse was of brick, two stories and an attic in height The number of pupils was more than nor mally large, and the smaller children had been placed in the upper part of the building. There was but one fire escape, and that was in the rear of the building. There were two stairways, one leading to door in front and the other to a door in the rear. Both of these doors opened inward, and it is said that the rear door was locked as we'll.
 Teachers Try to Save Little Ones.
 When the flames were discovered, the teachers, who throughout seem to have acted with courage and self pos session and to have struggled heroical- ly for the safety of their pupils, mar shaled the little ones into column for the fire .drill," which they had often practiced.
 Unfortunately the line of march in this exercise had always led to the front door, and the children had not been trained to seek any other exit. The fatal fire came from furnace sit uated directly under this part of the building. @H"
 When the children reached the foot of the stairs they found the flames close upon them and so swift a rush was made for the door that in an in stant tightly packed mass of chi!- dren was piled up against it. From that second none of those who were upon any portion of the first flight of stairs had a chance for their lives The children at the foot of the stairs attempted to fight their way back to the floor above, while those who were coming down showed them merciless- ly back into the flames below. In an instant there was a frightful panic, with POO of the pupils fighting for their lives. Most of those who were killed died here. The greater part of those who escaped managed to turn back and reached the fire escapes and the windows in the rear. 'a
 Only Heap of Bodies Left.
 What happened at the foot of that first flight of stairs will never be known, for all of those who were caught in the full fury of the panic were killed. After the flames had died away, however, a huge heap ol little bodies burned by the fire and trampled into things of horror told the tale as we'll as anybody need to know it.
 The suburb of Collingwood contains about 5000 people, and within half an hour after the outbreak of the fire nearly every one of them was gath cred around the blazing ruins of the schoolhouse, hundreds of parents fight ing frantically with the policemen and firemen who were busily engaged ir saving the lives of the children caught in the burning building and doing their best to extinguish the fire.
 The police were utterly unable through lack of numbers to keep away the crowd that pressed upon them and the situation soon became so seri ous that number of the more coo headed men in the throng took it upor themselves to aid in fighting back the crowd, while others worked to helI the firemen and the police.
 Among these latter men was Wallac. Upton, who reached the building short Iy after the front door had caved 1T and disclosed to the horror stricker crowd the awful scenes that had beer enacted there Just in front of Up toms eyes was his own ten-year-olt daughter, helpless in the crush, bad