New Britain herald., 1915-10-28
TWENTY PUPILS LOSE LIVE AS FIRE DESTROYS CATHOI
 SCHOOL AT PEABODY, MA
Flames Starting in Basement of St. J Building Sweep Through Three Stor
 in Less Than Five Minutes.
OTHER BODIES BELIEVED TO BE
 BURIED IN RUINS OF STRUC

Sisters Work Franticary to sa
 Charges-Mother Superior
 Twenty-Five of Them Fror
 dows-CasuaIties Caused by
 of Fire Drill Losing Their
 Cause of Confiagration UnlZ
 Peabody, Mass, oct. 2s.- pupils of St. Johns Parochia lost their lives in a fire, tha ing in the basement few
 after the morning session had Cor the day, swept through | stories of the brick and woode building in less than five min
 Nineteen of the boys and gil Of whom was out of their tee burned or crushed to death v tempting to escape. A score d were injured, some dangerou tbe latter, one. Mildred Mea 16, died after having been to a hospital. The bodies of were frightfully burned and nineteen at the morgue only E Eeen identified this afternoon. were the bodies of ElizabethS aged IT, and Mary Sullivan. | members of the senior class. bodies were believed to be in il and it was thought that twd had been killed or fatally ii
 zoo in Building.
 There were TOO in the buildir| the fire started. Its origin sg iI| Angus Mcdonald og the statd thinks it originated in a cIod the stairwar and was caused h| air explosion.
 Mother Superior Aldegon. w1 fifteen Sisters was in charge pupils, heard an explosion aI tecting smoke, sounded the There were no fire escapes building but wide stairways al end of the interior led down front exit. Under fire drill diA the little ones were marched t| constantly thickening clouds of to the ground floor, when the lost their heads. Instead of cut the rear exit according [ they made a dash for the frol and became jammed in the we Meantime the fire had eaten upward from directly under tn entrance and the vestibule q with pupils presently was enJ in flames.
 Dropped From Windows-
 Many reached the open and were dropped from second and story windows or dragged out windows on the ground floor.
 Sister Carmella was one Of to leave the building. She stx the head of the stairs on the floor directing the children.
 Lost Saving Brothers.
 Catherine M. O'connell. ag@ was among the first to escaI when she got outside and founA her two little brothers were nj she broke away from the crow ran back into the building. brothers were afterwards rel safe but no trace Of Catherin be found after the fire had D itself out.
 Genevieve Phillips, one of who escaped said:
 There was no confusion and 4 thing went smoothly until we to a point about half way downz stairs between the first and aI floors. Looking down over the of the children ahead we saw I -ible scene. The younger iren from the first were piled up in front of tn dol The Sisters were doing their bd ret the children through the way.
 Sisters Work FranticaIIy. Many of the little ones were| or stricken and crying at the ta heir lungs. Some had fainted we're being dragged along in c| few had fallen to the floor. If the children, most of them even years, were struggling to heir schoolmates on their feet. listers were working franticallsI escue those who had fallen bu ask was almost hopeless. A loud of smoke was drifting thfI he doorway over the heads or hysterical little ehi5 nd it seemed that smoke was ng from the basement doof| Iany of us were able to go arl he side Of the throng at the dooi nd into the school room of the oor hallway. From the wind0i his school room we jumped to 
 An hour after fire started ~ ,odies had been removed from ' ,ule where jam of terrified little lad resulted in tho greatest loss fife. The police had estimated cad as high as fifty. Many ol sere injured in their flight down