The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1911-08-02
INSANE ASYLUM IN ONTARIO
BURNS AND FiREMEN FIGHT
FLAMES AND MANiACS.
SOME THRILLING RESCUES'
Firefighters Are Compelled to Knock
Insane Men Senseless in Order to
Save Them-Eight Hundred Yelling
Madmen, Along With Flames Glare,
Create Weird Scene.

Hamilton, Ont, Aug. Flight lives
were lost and many persons were in
jured In fire which partly destroyed
one OF the main buildings of the In
sane asylum on the side of the noun
tain southwest Of the city, early to-
day. There We're 500 patients In the
building when the fire was discov-
cred and II was n well-trained fire.
fighting corps and splendid coolness
and brewery among the nurses ana
attendants under Or. English that
averted more frightful loss OF life.
There are four buildings within the
asylum grounds. The main building
where the fire originated. was a four
story brick structure. with base
ment, 200 feet In length and about 20
feet wide. with wings at either end
The $50 women patients occupied
quarters In the west wing. The re-
mainder OF the building was taken up
with the mems wards and contained
| some OF the most desperate cases In
| the asylum.
The women were moved without Sc
rions difficulty to houses In the ad-
joining buildings The situation was
most serious. Fire broke out on the
fourth floor In what IL known as Sec
tin ID. where the violent insane are
kept The most OF the men. guarded
by attendants, moved down three
flights OF stairs out OF the fire zone
I'm orderly procession. but about q
score. driven into n frenzy by the
sitting smoke and the excitement OF q
midnight fire. fought off their rescuer,
with desperate fury. Three OF them
after being carried down to the sec.
ond floor. broke away and fled back
to the blazing corridors.
The flames In the meantime haf
spread down the hallway and wer.
eating their way through the floor tt
the third story. The asylum brigade
fighting bravely. was handicapped b,
the maniacs and was losing control
Scaling Ladders.
The city brigade, which had beer
summoned. was then toillng up thu
: almost precipitous roadway to tn
asylum grounds. II was nearly
: o'clock before the first OF their ap
paratus was brought into play. Th,
firemen ran scaling ladders to tn,
third and fourth floor windows. wher'
II was believed some of the unfortu
mates had fled. They found II dif
! ficult to break down the iron graf
ings on the windows and the fire Il
the meantime was growing fiercel
Crawling into the sitting smoke, tn
fremen groped their way about un
til they found maniac. He was sti
able to offer resistance and 1t wa
necessary to knock him senseless. II
was then dropped into a lfenet.
The blazing roof Of the asylum
perched OH the mountain side, attract
ed the attention OF the entire city. Th
cry ",rhe asylum Is on fire." ran
through the streets and hundred
flocked up the hill. II was
|, weird scene. The screams of the 50
: inmates OF the four buildings browne
@ every other sound.
- The firemcn. fighting both flame
n and maniacs, were In constant per
= and frequently were seen perched o
n window sills through which the smos
was pouring, trying to drag fort
n struggling men.
J. Tom Fitzgerald. OF the electr
IS truck IL given credit for the resct
OF five men. His sixth broke from h
e grasp at window and fled back I'M
the flames where he perlshed.
j. Provincial Detective Rogers an
staff, who arrived from Toronto tn
le morning, have been detailed to make
d searching investigation, The fire IL b.
he lleved to have been caused by sho
If circuit of an electric wire In Il
q storeroOm on the top floor.
1T