Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1908-03-06
1855 CHILDREN
BURN TO DEATH
AWFUL LOSS OF LIFE IN OHIO
SCHOOL BUILDING.
OVERHEATED FURNACE CAUSE
Pupils on Upper Floors Of Building
Were Victims Of the
Flames.
OVERHEATED FURNACE CAUSE

Cleveland, O., March Sat 2
o'clock this morning 10S bodies had
been identified and 81 were still un-
known.
Cleveland, O., March Sat midnight
165 corpses were in the morgue at
Collinwood, six children were still un-
accounted for, and all the hospitals
and houses for two miles around con-
tanned number of children. some fat
ally, and many less seriously injured.
All OF the victims were between the
ages of 6 and Is years.
The school contained between 900
and 1926 pupils, and of this entire num-
Der only about eighty are known to
have left the building unhurt.
The list of fatalities may be In
creased by number of deaths among
the children who are now lying in
the hospitals lowering between life
and death.
Cleveland, O., March 5.-Death in
one OF It's mosts terrible forms claim
ed between 100 and 40 school child
rem of the North Collinwood school, in
the village of Colipwood, an eastern
suburb yesterday, when the school
building, catching fire from defective
furnace in the basement, was wrecked
in the space Of half an hour.
The building being inadequately pro-
tected by fire escapes, the children
were unable to make their way to the
lower floors in time to escape the
flames as they shot up from the base
ment and cut off esress. Starting
about $3.50 o'clock in the basement
from the overheated furnace, the fire
gained tremendous Roadway before Its
presence was noted.
The fire drill was inaugurated at
once and those in the rooms on the
lower floors quickly moved out Of the
building. But when the panic-stricken
little ones in. the upper rooms attempt
ed to make their way to the stairway,
the jam of uncontrolled and fear
stricken children grew unruly until
but few We're able to eXtricate them
selves and they persisted almost with
in the reach of safety.
Various and unconflrmed state
ments are made as to the cause OF
the fire and also that the doors OF
the building had been locked at the
front entrance, while but one door of
the rear entry was unfastened. The
janitOr, Fritz Herter, himself bereaved
of three children, says the doors were
open, according to custom. At any
rate the congestion of fleeing children
In the hallway below effectually bar
red the way and the little ones went
to their death totally unable to avoid
the flames. -
Within three hours after the start
of the fire 1t had burned itself out
and the work Of recovering the little
bodies proceeded. The fire department
had only two engines and neither up
on arrival after the alarm was given,
was at all effective in stemmlng the
flames.
The school was a two-story and attic
brick building and was so overcrowd-
ed with pupils that it was found neces-
sary to utilize the attic for those OF
the ages between and 8. Nearly
all the children were killed in the jam
at the first floor door, which was fin
ally opened by men from the Lake
Shore railway shops, who hurried to
the scene. A wall of flame had form.
ed across it and most of the children
already were dead by the time the
doors were swung open.
Janltor Herter, after telling Of dis
covering the fire, turning In an alarm,
and opening the front and rear doors,
said:
81 cannot remember what happened
next, except that l saw the flames
shooting all about and the little child
rem running down through them
screaming. Some fell at the rear en-
trance and others stumbled over them.
| saw my little Helen among them. I
tried to pull her out, but the flames
drove me back. l had to leave my
little child to die
Herter was badly burned about
the head.
Miss Catherine Weller, one of the
teachers in the school. lost her life
in a vain effort to marshal the pupils
of her class and lead them to safety.
When the children, under her guild.
ance, reached the hall and saw tho
fire, they became panic stricken and
plunged into the struggling mass
ahead of them. Miss Weller attempt
ed to stem the rush, but went down
under IT and her body was found an
hour later piled high with those of her
pupils.
Miss Fisk, another teacher. was
taken out alive. but she cannot live.