Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-04-12
SIX LIVES LOST, THREE
BADLY BURNED AT LENOx
By Fire in Business Section Early Sunday-.-Dead
Include Man and Five Women. Several Narrow
EsCapeS..-The Loss Is Nearly 100000.

Lenox. Mass, April 11.-Six peopl,
lost their lives, three others were badl!
| burned and a property loss of between
| 5000, 900 and 100000 was caused in {
| fire in the heart Of the business section
Of this town early today. Four bushes:
| blocks, two dwellings and two Other
structures We're destroyed in a sectio1
bounded by Franklin, Main, Housaton'
ic and Church streets. The fire is be-
lieved to have started In the Clyiffort
building from spontaneous combustion
The dead:
Edward C. Ventres, aged Al years
electrician.
Mrs Edward c. Ventres, aged IS.
Miss Leslie Ventres, aged II.
Miss Alice French, aged Al, book
keeper.
Miss Isabel Cook, aged 40, bookkeep-
err.
Miss Mary Sparks, aged 26 years
school teacher.
The injured:
Mrs. Catherine Root and her two
sons, George and Arthur Root, al
burned about face, hands and neck.
The principal losses were:
Mahanna building, owned by William
Mahannan, $4,000; William b. Bull
building (and owners of plumbing
shop, $4,000; Clifford building, $4,000
James Clifford & Sons, hardware, $20,-
600; Murray A. Brown, grocer, 100000
Eddy building, Charles Eddy estate
$4,000; John Cutwood, plumber, $4,000;
Frank Morrier, department store, $12,-
600; James Cassidy. druggist. $4,000
Joseph Regnier, residence. $4,000; Mrs
Rose Colbert, residence, $4,000; Fen
wick, blacksmith shop, $500; Eugene
Talmage, ice stack and smaller struc-
ture, $780,
The residences of Mrs Theodore
Cowhig and B. H. Rogers, both or
Main street, with some adjoining
structures, were badly damaged bu!
not destroyed.
fortunate shift of the wind from
the northwest to the southwest saved
the Public library and the fashionable
Curtis hotel where there were severa
Easter parties from New York arc
Boston. from the flames.
The loss of life occurred in the Cliff
ford building in the basement Of which
the blaze started and resulted prima.
rily from a series of explosions
among the turpentine. paints oils anG
dynamite stored in the cellar of tho
james Clifford & Sons Co, hardware
dealers. Lenox has only small unor.
garized volunteer fire department and
aid was called from Pittsf1eld, Lenox.
dale and Lee.
The fire was first discovered by
George Root. who lived with his moth.
er and brother in the upper floor Of
the Clifford block, which was a three.
story building, shortly after / O'CLOCK
this morning. Smoke rolling into hi!
room from a partially covered chin
ney hole first awoke the man, and
hastily calling his brother and moth
err, they ran down the front stair.
shouting to the other occupants of thu
two upper floors as they went. A Ions
tongue of flame leaped up along thu
stairs, but the three people dashed
down at headlong speed, only to fint
the front door in flames. There wa
| no time to turn back. George and hi
brother Arthur dashed through tn
/ flames, wrenched open the front doc
| and with their mother between then
| dashed into the street, sustaining tn
| ma jorty of their bad burns in thei
| flight through the doorway.
/ The Roots had barely crossed tn
street in their night clothes befor
| there was a terrific explosion in tn
Clifford building behind them. Thi
| explosion was heard in the surround
| ing territory for a distance of six miles
| shattered windows within wild
radius, caused the fire alarm to rim
and in an instant had wrapped tn
| Clifford block in flames.
! Horace Perrf11 and his wife, othe
occupants Of the top floor. were arous
! ed by the shouts of the Roots and go
i half way down the front stairs whel
| they saw the flames leaping UP to ba
/ their exit Three women were belo,
them trying to get out through tn
front door, but Perrill saw that tn
attempt was by this time useless
! Keeping his wits he rushed his wifi
| through a long corridor to the bac
stairs, where he got out in safety. TIL
other occupants of the block lost thei
| lives when the explosion cut OH a.
hopes of their escape.
Within III minutes OF LHe HTSt OK
plosion, which was followed in shar
succession by minor reports, the IN
terror of the Clifford block was
seething furnace and the flames wer
licking up the Eddy building on tn
south. In this block the people ha
been hurled out of their beds by tn
explosion or else had been thorough
awakened and had barely time to max
their way to the street in their Nigh
clothes. The night air was cold. tn
temperature being about 20 above ger
and the sharp wind from the north
west sending the flames rapidly soutl
aroused the Inhabitants Of the tow
to the gravity Of the situation.
without an organized fire depart
ment the police quickly sized up tt