Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-09
Bire Bell Rings Out.

"tlanG. cianS. clanS.
Every little head in Miss McKee's room
bobbed up. The fire bell in the corridor
was making the din. Eyes shifted from
writing pad TO teacher.
Fire drill. children said Miss Mckee,
in even tone. Get your coats quickly
A few seconds sufficed for the children
10 get into their coats. Hats were carried
in hands
Then. in single file, under the eye of
Miss Mckee, they marched from the
cloakroom into the corridor. Going down
stairs clouds of smoke rolled into their
faces. Miss Mckee walked sedately with
them. putting her arm around one who
had begun to cry and gently voicing re-
assurances for all.
When the forty children of her class had
reached the second-floor corridor Miss Nc
Nee saw the dense volume of smoke
choking the Stairways TO the first floor.
Inc IRE escape was remembered in a
flash, although it had never been used by
4 the children in fire drill
Ih1s way, Children, she called head
ing the procession into one of the second
moor classrooms, from which the fire es-
cape leads. Miss Lackey seventh grade
teacher. who had directed her pupils safe
~ down the stairwayS to the exit door,
mad remained on the second floor In
haste. but unfiustered. she opened the
window leading to the fire escape
Morr1tz Moser all the time had been
busy. He had helped playmates INTO
coats in the cloakroom on the third floor
He was near the head of the line when it
reachef the window. There die stopped.
Boy Stays to Help.
Il want to help You. teacher, he burst
out.
And he remained in the smoke on the
inside of the window assisting his little
girl companions over the window sill and
on to the platform of the fire escape out
side. Not until the last member of his
class was outside did he finally crawl
through the window from the smoke filled
room into the fresh air Following him
Miss Mckee and Miss Stoneroad anothe
teacher. made their way down the fire
escape. last out of the building.
Despite the smoke in the corridors. thick
ening every moment all the teachers
directed pupils carefully and quickly
downstairs to safety, reassuring those few
children who showed sign of fright.
Jantor May about the busiest he
ever has been for about three minutes
after the fire was discovered. While work
ing on the third floor he detected the odor
of smoke He looked over the banister to
see clouds of it pouring " from the lower
floors.
He dropped his tools. seized the fire ex-
tinguisher on the third floor and FASTENED
down to fight fire On the second and
first floors We're other fire extinguishers.
He picked up all three and ran. five steps
at time, to the basement
May Puts Out Fire.
The smoke was dense now, but May
soon located the flames. Playing the
chemicals on it. he was soon able to stamp
1t out. His quickness in getting the fire
extinguishers into action. all the teachers
declared. prevented a much larger and
more dangerous blaze.
The fire was confined to a quantity Of
cornstalks and dried grasses that had
been used in the kindergarten. While
being carried by pupils from the kinder
garten room on the first floor to the base
inent some of the long stalks caught fire
from burning gas jet against which they
accidentally struck.
Not knowing that they were afire, the
boy who was helping the teacher in the
work placed them against a wooden par
tition and went back upstairs for more.
a few minutes later the blaze was dis
covered by some workmen in the base
rnent. They began to shout. Miss Collins.
the principal. heard the cries, discovered
the smoke and sounded the fire alarm.
The damage was slight.