The San Francisco call., 1908-03-05
17O Children Die in SChOO|house Fire


met in special session at the temporary
morgue late this afternoon to discuss
the calamity, while the coroner pre-
pared to hold an inquest to determine
the cause and place the responsibility
for the fire
The statement that the back door OF
the building was locked is made by
Walter c. Kelly, editor Of the sporting
department of the Cleveland Leader,
two of whose children were killed. AS
soon as the alarm was given Mrs. Kelly
ran from her home. which is not far
from the schoolhouse, to the burning
building.
The front portion of the structure
was mass of flames, and. frenzied by
the screams of the lighting and dying
children which reached her from the
death trap at the foot OF the first flight
of stairs behind that closed door, Mrs
Kelly ran to the rear, hoping to effect
an entrance there and save the chill
dren. She was joined by a man whose
name is not known. and the two tugged
pushed and pulled frantically, at the
door.
FIND DOOR LOCKED
They were unable to move it in the
slightest, and there was nothing al
hand by which they could hope to
break il down. In utter despair of
saving any of the children they turned
their attention to the windows. and by
smashing some of these they managed
to save a few of the pupils.
They could have saved many more,
said Kelly tonight, IF the door had not
been locked Nobody knows how many
OF the children might have made their
way out before my wife reached there
If the door had not been locked. If
half a dozen men had been there when
my wife and her companion arrived at
the schoolhouse perhaps they might
have broken down the door, but the
two could do nothing and the flames
spread so rapidly that it was all over
in a few minutes"
FIGHT WITH POLICE
The suburb of Collinwood contains
about 5000 people and within half an
hour of the outbreak of fire nearly
every one Of them was gathered around
the blazing ruins of the schoolhouse.
hundreds of parents lighting frantically
with policemen and firemen who were
trying to save the lives of the children
caught in the burning building and do
ing their best to extinguish the fire.
The police were utterly unable
through lack of numbers to keep away
the crowd that pressed upon them and
the situation soon became so serious
that a number of the more cool
headed men in the throng took it upon
themselves to aid in fighting back the
crowd, while the others helped the hre-
men.
Among these latter was Walter Up
ton, who reached the building shortly
after the front door had caved in and
disclosed to the horror stricken crowd
the scenes that had been enacted there
Just in front of Upton's eyes was his
only 10 year old daughter, helpless in
the crowd. badly burned and trampled
upon her, and if she could not be
saved at once she could not be saved
at all.
HEROISM IS IN VAIN
Upton sprans to help her and with
all his strength sought to tear the
child from the weight that was press
ing her down and from the flames
which were creeping close. Although
be worked with q desperation of de-
spair, his strength was unequal to the
task. He fought on until his clothing
was partly burned from him and this
skin of his face and hands were
scorched black.
Other men attempted to induce him
to move, but he refused until he saw
that his girl was dead and that he
could not save her life by sacrificing his
own He then withdrew from the
schoolhouse, and, although so seriously
injured that he may die, fingered about
the place for several hours, refusing to
go to a hospital or to seek medical at
tendance.
The flames spread with such terrific
rapidity that within 80 minutes from
the time that the fire was discovered
the schoolhouse was nothing but a few
n u.ll- IL
filled with corpses and debris The
firemen dashed into the blazing wreck
age and with rakes, forks and shovels
and their bare hands worked in the
most frantic manner with the hope OF
saving a few more lives
BURNED TO FRAGMENTS
They were unsuccessful. None was
taken alive from the ruins after the
floors collapsed. Fragments of in
cinerated limbs, skulls and bones were
found almost at every turn and these
were piled together in little heap at
one side of the building
The great majority of the little
bodies that were taken from the ruins
were burned beyond all possible recog-
milton, and it is no small part of the
sorrow which is bearing down the peo-
pie of North Collinwood that positive
identification of many of the children
viii never be made.
Besides the children who were killed
inside the building little girls. Mary
Ridgeway, Anna Roth and Gertrude
David, were instantly killed by leap.
ing from the attic to the ground.
At midnight there were 165 bodies in
the morgue of which los were iden-
tilted and 81 still unidentified.
1t is possible that other bodies may
be found in the ruins, as at least II
children are still missing and have
not been heard from since the fire.
LIST OF KNOWN DEAD