The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-05
PANIC FELLOWS ALARM OF FIRE AND CHILDREN
 JAM THE STAIRWAY
SlckenIne Scenes Almost Render Help less the Rescuers, Who Try In Vain To Save the Lives of Those
 Trapped Like Rats.

\ Cleveland, O.. March 4-Crowded in narrow railways. damned up against doors that opened inward, between 160 and | TO children in the suburb of North Col + linwood today were killed by fire, by smoke and beneath the grinding heels of their panic stricken playmates.
 The awful tragedy occurred this morn l ing in the public school at North Col lnwood, a suburb of this city. At 10 I O clock tonight 165 corpses were in the morgue at Collinwood, six children were still unaccounted for, and all the hos pitals and houses for two miles around contained number of children some fatally and many more or less seriously injured.
 All of the victims were between the 5 ages of and r years The school con tained between 300 and 425 pupils and of \ this number only about so are known to have left the building unhurt. It will \ be several days before the exact number Moi killed is known, the ruins may flstil contain other bodies, and the list of flfatallties may be increased by number 4lof deaths among the children who are now lying in the hospitals, lowering be- Etween life and death.
 Two-Story Brick.
 # The school house was of brick, two 4 stories and an attic in height The mum x ber of pupils was more than normally I aiee, and the smaller children had beea placed in the upper part Of the build tng There was but one fire escape and hot in, ,fI.1i. K &rhere were two stairways, one leading #lEo door in front, and the other to a. &Hloor in the rear, both of these doors inward and 1t is claimed the rear Hloor was locked as well.
 INH When the flames were discovered the &H teachers, who throughout seemed to have Ekcted with courage and self possession nd to have struggled heroically for the afety of their pupils, marshaled the lt- 4 He ones into column for the fire drill' Esvhich they had often practiced.
 Es The Swift Rush.
 E Unfortunately the line of march in hese exercises had always led to the f4ront door and the children had not been to seek any other exit. The fire E4oday came from furnace situated di- Eaectly under this part of the building. ElVhen the children reached the foot of ! fhe stairs, they found the flames close T pon them and so swift rush was made For the door that in an instant a tightly acked mass of children was piled up hgainst 1t. From that second none of zhose who were upon any portion of the rst flight of the stairs had a chance for fheir lives. The children at the foot of he stairs attempted to fight their way ack to the floor above while those who Fere coming down were showed merci- essy back into the flames below. In an lstant there was a frightful panic with Do pupils fighting for their lives. Most of hose who were killed died there The lreater portion of those who escaped Damaged to turn back and reach the Ire escape and the windows in the rear What happened at the foot of that first light of stairs will never be known. for l of those who were caught in the full ary of the panic were killed. After the James had died away, however, a huge leap of little bodies, burned by the fire 41d trampled into things of horror, told
 he tale as well as anybody need to know
 Cause of the Fire.
 Various and unconfirmed statements 'e made as to the cause of the fire and so that the doors of the building had ben locked at the front entrance while Fit one door of the rear entry was unfas-
 
 freaved of three children says the doors ere open, according to custom. At any
 te, the congestion of fleeing children
 the hallway below effectually barred fe way and the little ones were sent to Hath totally unable to avoid the flames In three hours after the start of the I'e it had burned itself out and the fprk of recovering the bodies commence
 The village fire department had two
 zines and neither, upon arrival after e alarm was given, was at all effective
 stemming the flames The school was Itwo-story and attic brick building, con- 7ructed about six years ago. It was Eercrowded with pupils and 1t was found {cessary to utilize the. attic for those of
 e ages between six and eight. Nearly
 the children were killed in the mass
 the first floor door, which finally was 5ened by men from the Lake Shore rail- Ay shops. who hurried to the scene. A All of flame formed across 1t and most
 the children already were dead by the he the doors were swung open.
 300 Children In School.
 Approximately 300 children attended the hool, which had nine rooms.
 iFantor Herter could remember little of
 at happened after the fire started.
 I was sweeping in the basement" he
 d, when I looked up and saw a wisp
 smoke curling out from beneath the
 fnt stairway I ran to the fire alarm
 Il pulled the gong that sounded
 oughout the building. Then Tran first
 the front and then to the rear doors. I
 hnot remember what happened next ex
 bt that I saw the flames shooting all
 but and the children running down
 ough them screaming. Some fell at the
 r entrance and others stumbled over
 m saw my little Helen among them.
 ried to pull her out but the flames
 i've me back. I had to leave my little
 Id to die.
 i1erter was badly burned about the
 Ia.
 kiss Catherine Weller. one of the nine