The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1911-08-02
EIGHT Die IN
ASYLUM BLAZE
ManiacS Perish in Fire at
Hamilton, Ont.
MAIN BUILDING BURNED

Firemen and Attendants Work Heroic
ally and Save Nearly All the Eight
Hundred Patients in the Structure.
Several Of the Victims Fought the
Rescuers and Refused to Be Taken
to Salty.
Hamilton, Ont, Aug. AT least
eight and perhaps ten lives were lost
in a fire which destroyed one of the
main buildings of the insane asylum
on the side of the mountain southwest
of the city. There were 500 patients
In the building when the fire was dis
covered.
It was only a well trained fire fight
ing corps and splendid GOODNESS and
bravery among the nurses and attend
ants 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 where the fire occurred
II four-story brick structure with
basement, 200 feet in length and
about seventy feet wide with wings
at either end. The women patients,
numbering about $50. occupied part
of the west wing.
The remainder of the building was
taken up with mems wards and con-
tained some of the most desperate
cases In the asylum. The women
were moved without serious difficulty
to houses in the adjoining buildings.
Fire In Violent Ward.
The situation among the men was
more serious. The fire broke out on
the fourth floor in what is known as
section D, where the violent insane
are kept Most Of the men. guarded
by attendants, moved down three
flights OF stairs out of the fire zone in
orderly procession.
About q score, driven into a frenzy
by the sitting smoke and the excite
ment of a midnight fire, fought on
their rescuers with desperate fury.
Three OF them after being carried
down to the second floor broke away
and fed back to the blazing corridors.
The flames in the meantime had
spread down the hallway and were
eating their way through the floor to
the third story. The asylum brigade,
although fighting bravely, were handi-
capped by the Maniacs and We're los
ing control.
The city brigade, which had been
summoned, was then toiling up the al
most precipitous roadway leading to
the asylum grounds. 1t was nearly
2 O'Clock before the first of their ap-
paratus was brought into play. The
hremen ran scaling ladders up to the
third and fourth floor windows, where
II Is believed some of the unfor-
tunates had ned.
Difficult TO Break Gratings.
They found 1t difficult work to break
down the iron gratings on the win.
dows and the flre in the meantime
was growing fiercer every minute,
Crawling into the sitting smoke the
nremen groped their way about until
they found q maniac.
He was still able to offer resistance
end It was necessary to knock him
senseless, when he was dropped into
The lifenets below The combined fire
forces had the situation well in hand
BY $3.50 q. m. 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 sec.
tton bodies were found.
Three were In the hallway on the
top floor, and one helpless paralytic
was burned to death In his cell. -Four
more corpses were found huddled to
gether In q small room.
At dawn q systematic checking up
Of the inmates was begun and 1t was
found that between ten and twelve
men were missing. It was thought
probable that some OF these had es
caped and were still at large In the
,aurrounainE fields.