Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-08-02
MANIACS
Rave and Cry While
Hospital Burns.
Eight Lives Lost in Fire
Near Hamilton, Ont.
Desperate Fights with Patients,
Taking Them from Building
Heroic Rescues by CITY FITemen
And The Attendants.
One Building Destroyed. Eliminates
OF Others In Terror.

Hamilton, Ont, Aug. Eight lives
We're lost in a fire which partly de
stroyed one of the main buildings of
the insane asylum on the side of the
mountain southwest Of the city early
today. There were sou patients in the
building when the ire was discovered
and it was only well trained fire
fighting corps and splendid GOODNESS
and bravery among the nurses and at
| PENDANTS under DR.. English that avert
ed a more frightful loss of life.
The compile te official list of the
dead
Charles Billyard. Dunville, ont.
Alfred May ST. GATHERINGS. ont.
John Heffernan. Arthur, ont.
Thomas Evans. Flora, Ont.
Thomas Evans Flora. Ont.
Edward Sodke. Welland. ont.
John r. Holloway. Underwood, Ont.
George ". Storey, HerkeleH. Ont.
Albert Bowley, Dundalk. ont.
There are four buildings in the group
within the asylum grounds The main
building where the fire occurred is a
four story brick structure with base
ment 200 feet in length and about 20
IT, NANNt Win Hl4te7T - N'eA'NA oA'N.'
The women patients numbering about
$50, occupied quarters in the west wing.
Tie remainder Of the building was
taken up with male wards and contain
ed some of the most desperate cases
in the asylum.
The women were moved without Sc
rioHs difficulty 10 houses in the adj
joining buildings. The situation among
the men was more serious The nre
broke out on the fourth floor in what
is known as Section d. where the Nlo-
lent insane are kept The most CT the
men. guarded by attendants, moved
dcxn three flights Of stairs out of the
fire zone in an orderly procession, but
about score, driven into frenzy
by the sitting smoke and the excite
ment of a midnight fire. fought of
their rescuers with desperate fury.
Three of them after being carried down
to the second floor broke away and
fled back to the blazing corridors
The flames. in the meantime, had
spread down the hallway and was eat
ing its way through the floor TO the
third story The asylum brigade, al
though fighting bravely. We're handl-
capped by the maniacs and were losing
control.
The city brigade, which had been
summoned was then toiling up the al
most PERCEPTIONS roadway leading TO
the asylum grounds. 1t was nearly
o'clock before the first of the appar-
atus was brought into play. The fire
men ran scaling ladders up to the
third and fourth floor windows where
il was believed some of the unfortu-
nate had fled. They found it difficult
wcrk to break down the iron gratings
of the windows and the fire in the
meantime was growing fiercer every
minute. Crawling into the sitting
smoke the firemen CROPPED their way
about until they found a maniac. He
was still able to offer resistance, and
liz was found necessary to knock him
senseless, after which he was dropped
Into the life nets below. Eight of the
insane and one attendant who had
lost consciousness in the work Of res
cue were saved in this way, and it
was believed at O'Clock that every
patient had been taken out of the
burning section of the building.
The combined fire forces had the sit
uation wen in hand by $50 A. NJ The
| two upper floors and the roof Of the
east wing We're burned, and the lower
floors were flooded with water. AS the
| ficemen worked their way in the burn
| ed section, bodies were found Three
were taken out of the hall ways ON the
| top floor and one helpless paralytic
was burned to death in his cell. Four
more corpses were huddled together
in a small room.
| At dawn systematic checking up
of the inmates was begun and II was
found that between 10 and IL men were
missing. It was thought probable that
some of these had escaped during the
excitement and still at large in the
sarrounding fields
| The blazing roof of the asylum
perched up on the mountain side at
tracted the attention of the entire
city. The historical screams of 500 in
mates of the four buildings drowned
every other sound. The firemen fight
ing both flames and the maniacs were
in constant peril and frequently We're
seen perched on window stills through
which the smoke was pouring in dense
columns trying to drag forth strug-
Cling man.
/ lpFlctllNt INOuStFS ana a
staH arrived from Toronto this morn
ing in an automobile, having been de-
tailed by the provincial secretary's de-
partment to make a searching investi-
CATION.
The fire is believed to have been
caused by short circuit on an electric
WIRE IN the store room on the top
floor.
|
|
george H. Riley pleaded not guilty
Monday at Portland to a charge Of un-