Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-03-05

FeHHcu III HdEFoW udIlWaySt 1ammcu
up against doors that opeIed only in
ward, ITO children in the suburb Of
North Collinwood yesterday were
killed by fire. by smoke and beneath
the grinding heels of their panic
stricken pIaymates.
The awful tragedy occurred in the
public school Of North Collinwood,
10 miles east Of this city. Today
165 corpses were in the morgue at
Collinwood, six children were still
'unaccounted for and all the hos
pitfalls and houses for two miles
around contained numbers of chill
dren, some fatally and many less Sc
|riously injured
All of the victims were between
the ages of 6 and Is years. The
school contained between 300 and
1926 pupils, and of this entire NUM-
Der only about 80 are known to have
left the building unhurt. 1t will be
several days before the exact num-
Der of killed is known, as the ruins
may still contain other bodies, and
the list Of fatalities may be increased
! by a number of deaths among the
children who are now lying in the
hospitals, lowering between life and
heath.
One Fire Escape.
The schoOlhouse was of brick, two
stories and an attic in height. The
humber of pupils was more than
FORMALLY large and the smaller chill
dren had been placed in an attic of
the building. There was but one
hre escape, and that was in the rear
pf the building. There were two
Btairways. one leading to a door in
front and the other to door in the
rear. Both of these doors opened
Inward, and it is claimed the rear
door was locked as we'll
When the flames were discovered
the teachers throughout seem to
have acted with courage and self
possession and TO have struggled he
IDEALLY for the safety OF their pupils
and marshaled the little ones into
column for the fire drill which
they had often practieed.
The fire came from a furnace sit
hated directly under this part of
the building. When the children
reached the foot of the stairs they
found the flames close upon them,
and so swift was the progress that
in an instant the tightly packed mass
of children was piled up against the
door. From that second none of
those who were upon any portion of
the first flight of stairs had chance
for their lives. The children at the
foot of the stairs attempted to fight
their way back to the floor above.
while those who were coming down
showed them mercilessly back into
the flames. In an instant there was
a frightful panic. with 200 of the
pupils fighting for their lives. Most
Of those who were killed died here.
The greater part Of those who es-
capped managed to turn back and
rushed to ,Ae fire escape and the
windows in the rear.
Horror at Foot Of Stairs.
What happened at the foot of that
first fight of stairs viii never be
known; all OF those who were
caught in the full furry of the panic
were killed After the flames had
died away, however. huge heaps OF
little bodies, burned by the fire, and
trampled into things of horror, told
the tale as well as anybody need to
know 1t.
Within three hours after the start
OF the fire it had burned itself out
and the work Of recovering the
bodies proceeded. The village fire
department had only two engines
and neither. upon arrival at the
scene after the alarm was given,
was al all effective in stemming the
names- The first floor door finally
was opened By men from the Lake
Shore shops. who hurried to the
scene.
A wall Of fame had formed across
and most Of the children we're dead
BY the time the doors we're swung
open.
approximately 500 children At