The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-08-03
ASYLUM BURNED
Firemen and Attendants Reveal Bravery
Id Saving Patients.
TEN LOSE TBElR LIVES

1AN AVOA 411L44A L4S AG
Large Structure, Ruined by De-
vouring Flames-Eight Hundred
Patients in the Main Buildings
When the Fire Broke Out-Men
Attack the Rescuers.
A dispatch from Hamilton, Ont,
says at least eight and perhaps, ten
lives were lost in fire which partly
destroyed one of the main buildings
of the asylum for the insane on the
side of mountain southwest Of that
city early Tuesday.
There, were eight hundred patients
in the building when the fire was dis.
covered and 1t was only well train
ed fire fighting corps and coolness
and bravery among the nurses and
attendants under DR.. English that
averted a more frightful loss of life
There are four buildings in the
group within the asylum grounds
The main building. which the fire
swept is a four story brick structure
with a basement, 200 feet in length,
and about 70 feet wide, with wings
at either end. The women patients,
numbering about three hundred and
fifty, coupled quarters in the west
wing. The remainder of the build
ing was taken up with mems wards
and contained some Of the most des-
perate cases in the asylum.
The women wer rmovd without
serious difficulty to the adjoining
building. The situation among tho
men was more serious. The fire
broke out on the fourth floor In what
is known as section D, where The vi0-
lently insane were kept. Most OF the
men guarded by attendants, moved
down three flights Of stairs, out OH
the fire zone in orderly procession,
but a score driven into {! frenzy by
the sitting smoke and the excite
ment of a midnight fire fought Off
their rescuers with desperate fury.
Three of them after being carried
down to the second floor broke away
and fled back to the blazing corri-
dor.
The flames in the meantime haG
spread down the hallway and were
eating their way through the floor
to the third story. The asylum bri-,
gade although fighting bravely, was
handicapped by the maniacs and
was losing control. The city brigade
which had been summoned was them
toiling up the almost precipitous:
roadway leading to che asylum
I was nearly two o'clock before first:
of their apparatus was brought into
play. The firemen ran scaling lad
ders up the third and fourth floor
windows. where it was believed some
OF the unfortunates had fled. They
found it difficult work to break down
the iron gratings on the windows anG
the fire in the meantime was grow
ing fiercer every minute.
Crawling into the stifling smoke,
the firemen groped their way about
until they found maniac. He was
still able to offer resistance and iE
was necessary to knock him sense
less, when he was dropped into the
lifenets below. Eight Of the insane
and one attendant who had lost CON-
sciousnens in work of rescue were
saved and it was believed at three
O'Clock that every patient had BEEN
taken out Of the burning building.
The combined fire forces had the
situation we'll in hand at three-bhir-
ty. The two upper floors and the
roof Of the east wing were burned,
and the lower floors were flooded
with water. AS the firemen worked
their way into the burned section OF
the building the bodies were found.
Three were in the hallway on the top
floor and one helpless paralytic was
burned to death in his -e.l.
Four more corpse3 were founG
huddled together in small ROOM
At dawn systematic checking up
of the inmates was begun, and it was
found that ten or twelve were miss
ing. 1t was thought probably that
some Of these men escaped and were
still at Large IN the surrounding
fields.
The blazing roof Of the asylum
perched upon the mountain side at
tracted the attention. of the entire
city. The cry, 1.-THE asylum Is on
fire." rang through the streets ana
hundreds flocked up the hill. 1t was
a weird sight that presented Itself
The screams Of the 1900 inmates
of the four buildings drowned every
other sound. The firemen fighting
both flames and insane were In con-
stant peril and frequently were seen
nerched on a window sill through
which the smoke was pouring.
Tom Fitzgerald, Of an electric
truck, is given credit for the rescue
of five men. His sixth broke from
his grasp at a window and fled back
into the flames where he perisheca
Provincial detective Rogers ana q
staff arrived from Toronto, detalfeH