The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-04-14
SIX DEAD IN FIRE.
Four Business Blocks IN
lenOx, Mass, Destroyed.
MISS FRENCH KILLED BY LEAP
Four Other Women Penned In
Among Exploding Oils and
Dynamite In Clifford
Building.
MISS FRENCH KILLED BY LEAP

Lenox, Mass, April 12.-Six people
lost their lives, three others were bad
ly burned and property loss of
about 100000 was caused by the fire
in the heart of the business section of
this town.
Four business blocks, two dwellings
and two other structures were destroy
ed in n section bounded by Franklin,
Main, Housatonic and Church streets.
The fire Is believed to have started In
the Clifford building from spontaneous
combustion.
The dead nre Edward G. Ventres,
electrician; Mrs. Edward G. Ventres.
Miss Leslie Ventres. Miss Alice
French. bookkeeper: Miss Isabel Cook.
bookkeeper, and Miss Mary Sparks,
schoolteacher.
The injured were Mrs. Catherine
Root and her two sons, George Root
and Arthur Root.
Some Of the principal losses were:
Mahanna building. owned by VIII
liam Mahanna, $25,000; f. T. Dunn
bardi & Co. of New York, oriental
shop. 5000; B. II. Rogers & Co., elec-
tricians, $4,000.
William B. Bull building, $36,0O0
Clifford building, $4,000; James Cliff
ford G. Sons, hardware, $4,000; Muir
ray A. Brown, grocer, $4,000.
Eddy building, Charles Eddy estate,
$4,000; John Cutwood, plumber, $10,-
600; Frank Morrier, department store,
$4,000; James Cassidy, druggist, $10,-
600.
The other buildings burned included
the residences Of Joseph Regnier, Mrs.
Rose Colbert, Mrs. Theodore Cowhig
and B. II. Rogers.
A fortunate shift Of wind from the
northwest to the southwest saved the
Public library and the fashionable
Curtis hotel. In the hotel there We're
several Easter parties from New York
The loss of life occurred in the Cliff
ford building, where the blaze started,
and resulted primarily from series
of explosions among the oils, dynamite
and turpentine stored. in the building
Of the James Clifford & Sons COM
pany, hardware dealers.
Mrs. Root and her sons had barely
crossed the street before there was a
terrific explosion in the building be-
hind them. This explosion was heard
in the surrounding territory for a dis
tance of six miles, shattered windows
within a wide radius and caused the
fire alarm to ring. In an instant the
Clifford block was wrapped in flames.
Horace Perrill and his wife, other
occupants, aroused by the shouts of
~ hnH halfway HnNup thA
front stairs when they saw the flames
leaping up to bar their exit.
Three women were below them try
ing to get out through the front door.
but Perrill saw that the attempt was
by that time useless. He then rushed
his wife through long corridor to
the back stairs, where he got out in
safety. All the other occupants of
the Clifford block lost their lives.
The death of Miss Alice French was
one of the pitiful tragedies. While the
fire in the Clifford block was at its
height woman was seen to climb out
of flame filed room on to a veranda
on the second story with her night
clothing and hair ablaze.
Staggering to the railing, the wo-
man leaped to the sidewalk beneath,
landing in heap within five or six
feet of the blazing walls.
Some of the Mortified onloOkers at
tempted to rush in to drag her out.
but the intense heat drove them back
and not until the flames had practical
ly died out several hours later was the
body recovered.