The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-03-05
SCORES OF CHILDREN
PERISH IN FLAMES
SCHOOL HOUSE AT coLLlNWoop,
O., is SCENE OF HOLOCAUST.
BUILDING WAS A FIRE TRAP.
More than 100 Children Were Burned
or Trampled to oeath--A Majority
Of the Victims Were Less
than t2 Years Of Age.

wood. causing the death Of 1853 boys
and girls and two teachers.
This calamity which has stricken
Collinwood surpasses I'm horror the
Ashtabula bridge disaster, and rivals
the recent theater holocaust at Boyer
town, Pa. II even approaches the lro
Quois theater fire In It's heartTending
circumstances.
Nothing in any way approaching this
disaster has ever happened In Ohio.
This fire, which began at 10 a. m
Wednesday In the basement OF a
school building that proves to have
been a fire trap, quickly shut off the
egress OF the children by the stair.
ways, and they were burned or tram
pied to death in the panic which en-
sued Even the cool-headedness of the
teachers failed to stem the panic, al.
though they succeeded IN directing
many of the children to the fire es-
capes, by means of which they left the
building in safety.
The school building is on Collamer
avenue, north of the Lake Shore rail.
road track
The flames shot up the stairways
and shut off that means of escape.
A panic ensued among the pupils
and all rushed for the doors. A large
number OF them became wedged in
the doorway at the steps leaving the
building
The pupils were mostly very young
children, ranging In age from 8 to u
years.
When the egress of the panic-strick-
en- little ones was blocked at the door,
most Of them fell in their efforts to
escape. Many of these were trampled
upon and many of them were killed in
that way. The others pressing on be-
hind walked over their dead bodies.
The halls were filled with smoke and
flames were bursting up from the base.
ment. The scared children poured
from their rooms into this great fur.
mace, where many Of them met terrible
deaths
The exits were soon jammed
Though the double doors were opened
the doorways were stopped by wedges
OF struggling children. Men who ran
up outside tried In vain to dislodge the
bodies
Flames poured out over the human
piles, scorching the faces of would.be
rescuers. Wallace Upton was one of
the early arrivals. He found his TO-
year-old daughter caught in the jam at
the west door He couldn't pull her
out, though he tried desperately.
The flames spread so rapidly that II
was impossible for anyone TO enter
the building Forty minutes after the
fire started mass of bodies was piled
up In the doorway and on the steps.
Fathers and mothers OF the children,
called to the school building by the
alarm of fire. were in the crowd that
surrounded the structure.
The scene was heartrending. Won.
en- whose children were in the building
wrung their hands in agony and
screamed.
Men from the Lake Shore shops
nearby and from the Kuhlmnn car
shops, a half mile from the fire. re,
sponded to the cries for help and went
TO the fire with picks and shovels
ready TO help dig the bodies from the
ruins.
A man named Dorm, recognizing his
daughters body in the jam, tried TO
pull II out, only TO have the little arm
tear loose in his hands.
Three children Mary Ridgway, Anna
Roth and Gertrude Davis, were among
those who jumped from third.story
WINDOWS and were killed.
The panic that had worked such
fearful results inside the building
spread 10 the crowd outside, but only ,
for brief time. Organized efforts at
rescue were soon under way. Fire. |
men played streams upon the piles OF |
bodies in the doorways and tried to |
drag out the bodies with rakes and |
other implements.
Ambulances and automobiles were |
soon available to take the injured 10 |
hospitals. DR.. .Allport's Glenyille |
hospital and an extemporized hospital |
at the Lake Shore railway shops In |
Collinwood received many children, |
living and dead
Grace Fiske, teacher, was burned |
to death. She was 26 years of age.
When safety lay within reach Miss /
Katherine Weller, third grade teacher.
turned back into the burning building
to save the lives Of others and lost her
own. Her mangled body was pulled I
out Of the smoking ruins at nightfall. |
Around her lay the corpses of many
OF the little ones who called her
teacher" and had looked to her not in
vain In the hour Of their extremity.
The Collinwood board of education
bSbah an luNNbllBdllOn Ol the Hft ll |
z o'clock last night. The investigation
was continued until after | o'clock |
this morning, but the cause of the dis
aster was not ascertained Several |
theories were advanced by the differ.
ent Witnesses, which will be investi- |
gated further. When the board finally |
broke up its meeting after the six |
hour session 1t had not accomplished |
anything tangible. although several i'm
portant facts were brought out
The testimony of all the witnesses |
who were examined last night showed |
conclusively that all the doors opened |
outward and that none were locked. !
Also the ianitor was in the building at |
the time OF the fire. that ne turned in |
the alarm and that he opened all the |
doors. The cause of the awful loss OF |
life was shown to be due TO the panic. |
and even II the building had been OF J
fireproCf construction the same terri /
BILE loss OF life would have resulted
The council had no difficulty getting |
the fact of the faulty fire drill The |
school had not held Gre drill since Jan.