Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-03-05


panic. with 200 of the pupils fighting
killed died here. The greater part of
those who escaped managed to turn
back and reached the fire escape and
the windows in the rear
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 of little
bodies told the tale as well as any
body need to know it.
Various unconfirmed statements are
made as to the cause of the
fire, and it Is stated also that
the doors of the building had
been locked at the front entrance, while
but one door of the rear entrance was
unfastaned. The janitor, Fritz Herter,
himself bereaved of three children,
says the doors were open, according 10
custom. AT any rate, the congestion of
fleeing children in the hallway below
effectually barred the way and the
little ones went to their death totally
unable to evade the flames.
Within three hours after the start
of the fire it had burned itself out and
the work of recovering the bodies pro-
ceeded. The village fire department
had only two engines and neither was
at all effective in stemming the flames.
The school was Il two-story and al
tic brick building, constructed about
six .rears AGO. 1t was overcrowded
with pupils and it was found necessary
to utilize the attic for those of the
ages between six and eight.
Nearly all the children were killed in
the mass at the first floor door which
finally was opened by men from the
Lake Shore Railway shops. who hur-
ried to the scene. A wall of flame had
formed across it. however, and most
of the children already were dead by
the time the doors were swung.
Approximately 800 children attended
the school, which had nine rooms. Jani-
tor Berter could remember little of
what happened after the fire started.
Il was sweeping in the basement" he
said, when l looked up and saw d
wisp of smoke curling out from beneath
the front stairway. l ran to the fire
alarm and pulled the gong that sound
ed throughout the building. Then l ran
first to the front and then to the rear
doors. / can't remember what happen
ed next, except that | saw the flames
shooting all about and the little chill
dren running through them screaming.
Some fell at the rear entrance and
others tumbled over them. / saw my
little Helen among them. | 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
nine teachers in the school, lost her
life in vain effort to marshal the
pupils of her class and lead them to
safety. She died in the crush at the
rear door. Her room was on the sec
! ond floor and when the fire alarm
sounded, she marched her pupils out
into the hail. thinking it was only a
fire drill There the truth dawned up
on both teacher and pupils and coll
| troy was lost. The children in their
frenzy plunged into the struggling
mass ahead of them. Miss Weller at
tempted 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 Flick another teacher, was taken
out alive, but she cannot live.
burning through the crOSS-SupportS
of the first floor, the flames passed
upward until all three floors crashed
into a smouldering pile in the base
ment. After the fire had practically
burned out the work of rescuing the
bodies was begun by firemen and rail-
road employees from the Lake Shore
shops. The railroad company turned
over one of it's buildings nearby to be
used as a temporary morgue, and there
the charred and broken little bodies
were removed as fast as they could be
dug from the ruins.
Within five hours practically all had
been recovered. They were placed in
rows in the Lake Shore shop. 1denti-
iications were made only by means of
clothing or trinkets.- The fire had
swept away nearly all resemblance to
human features in the majority of in
stances. Distracted parents soon be-
gan to gather and the work of identi-
flying the blackened and mangled
cOrpSeS was commenced.
The gruesome task of taking out the
blackened torsos and parts OF human
remains was one of horror. A line of
rescuers was formed, backed by half a
dozen ambulanceS. AS the bodies were
untangled from the debris they were
passed along to the stretchers and
thence loaded into the ambuIances
Mercifully covered with blankets the
pitiful sights were yelled from the
crowd of curious that had gathered
about the entrance to the structure AS
fast as load was obtained it was
driven away to the improvised morgue
to be succeeded by another within 4
short time
The sights of the human charnel
house caused the men dclving into the
mass of burned flesh to hesitate. but
the, work had to be done and done
quickly, so the feelings had to be
smothered for the time being as they
tenderly handled all that was mortal
of the little tots.
AT the temporary morgue the scenes
became four field in their intensity of