The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-12
Many Children Were Rescued in
a New York Fire
WHERE DAMAGE WAS LIGHT
Mrs. Cecilia COoperstein, After Saving
Her Children, Rushed Back After
Some Insurance Papers and She
Lost Her Life.

New York, March l2.--One woman lost
her life and a dozen other women and
children were rescued with difficulty
, from Il tenement at 307 Tompkins ave-
nue., Brooklyn, yesterday in fire which
started on the second floor. The neigh
borhood is full of tenements and for this
reason Battalion Chief Lally of the fire
department lost no time in sending in
a second, third and fourth alarm. The
large amount of fire fighting apparatus
thus summoned to the scene kept the
flames from spreading to the surround
ing structures.
Mrs. Cecilia Cooperstein with her three
children were on the third floor when
the cry of fire aroused the tenement.
The flames spread rapidly and soon the
Railways and stairs were enveloped in
dense smoke. The escape from the upper
floors was shut off and the frightened
women with their children rushed to the
rear and elambered out on the fire es-
capes.
Policemen and workmen who happened
to be near were quick to see the desper-
ate plight of the tenants, and climbed
up and brought down the frantic women
and children.
Mrs Cooperstein was the only woman
to lose her life. She had gathered her
children about her and had made her
way to the second floor landing, when
she recalled that her insurance papers
had been left in bureau drawer up
stairs. She told her son, Theodore, four
years old, to stay with his sister, Lille
eight years old, and also placed her year
old baby, Albert, in the care of the
little girl while she ran back up the
stairs to get the papers.
BY this time the stairway and hall
had become filled with the dense and
choking smoke. Passersby who had
rushed TO the building front found that
there was no way of getting up stairs.
The attack on the building had to be
made by way of the fire escapes in the
rear Among the men who forced a way
into the tenement was Owen Bowes of
1876 Marcy avenue. He got to the second
floor landing and found the children of
Mrs. Cooperstein huddled near the stairs
awaiting the return of their mother. The
little girl told Bowes that her mother
had gone back after her papers, and
Bowes ran up and told Mrs. Cooperstein
not to lose time searching the fiat but 10
make her escape. He thought that the
woman would follow his advice, and 50
he dashed down again to the second
floor, where he picked up the suffocating
children and carried them to safety by
way of the fire escape,
After the firemen arrived on the scene
and the men Of truck 81 and engine 1875
got to the second floor landing, they
found the body Of Mrs Cooperstein lying
on the floor She was dead.
The fire started about $3.50 o'clock in
the flat of Mrs Hummel and made rapid
Roadway Mrs FIummel lived with her
sons, Harold, four years old, and Arthur.
eight wears old. Just across the hall
lived Mrs Rosie Newman with her sons,
Joseph. three years old, and John eight
years old. The blaze got into the hall
way so speedily that the women with
their children could not make their es-
cape by the stairs
They ran out to the fire escape and
screamed for assistance The crowd that
ga hered quickly yelled to the frantic
women not to throw the babies from
the fire escapes The fire escapes were
crowded with the frightened women. Up
on the third floor was Mrs. Annie Rosen-
bloom with her sons, John, five years
old, and Benjamin, three years old, and
on the top floor were Mrs. Frank Jen
nings and her neighbor across the hall, +
Mrs Nathan Lester. with Rosie, six
years old, and William. four years old. /
Susie La France The daughter of a Law +
renee striker, had taken quarters with
the Testers, but she did not figure in the \
fire. as she was away at school.
The great concern of the rescuers was I
to prevent the frightened women from
hurting their children from the fire es-
capes, The flames and smoke rapidly /
enyeIoped even the path 20 safety. Pa +
trolman John Dorkin of the Gates avenue /
police station was among the first to I
climb up the iron ladder and bring the +
women down. Joseph Ryan, who hap 7
pened TO be passing by, also brought |
down children. John Blackmore. another +
civilian. was quick to size up the peril /
of the women and dashed into the house.
ut was thought that everybody had got +
out of the building safely until hunt /
was made for Mrs Cooperstein and her
charred body was discovered. The wom-
an with her husband and children had
moved into the fiat on Thursday last.
The less to the building is put at Sl0,-
000. Chief Lally and his men kept the
flames from spreading to the neighbor
ing tenements, where the tenants had
been ordered to the street as matter
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