The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-29
SEEK CAUSE OF
 FATAL BLAZE IN
 PEABODY. SCHOOL
Ruins Searched Today Where 21 Children Lost Their
 Lives.


 cavity within the blackened brick Fshen of what yesterday morning was St. Johns parochial school, men Gearched today for evidence as to the cause of the fire which cost the lives or 21 girls yesterday. Every corner of the ruins also was looked over care fully that 1t might be definitely deter mined whether all the bodies had been recovered. Early today five bodies re- ma1ned unidentified at the rooms of an undertaken and five little girls had been reported by their families as missing. The undertaken expressed the opinion that the claarred condi- ton of these bodies probably would make positive identification impossi- ble.
 The search for possible additional bodies was renewed at dawn under the direction of Michael Grady, chief or police of the town. George c. Neal, acting chief of the state police, assisted by three inspectors, conducted the investigation of the circumstances surrouding the start of the fire. The only fact that could be substantiated early today in this connection was that the flames originated in small store room in the basement. The door of this room was locked. Chief Neal himself broke it open just after the fire had been subdu4d. All that he
 
 rel. It was particularly toward this room that he directed his efforts to- day.
 With the inspectors he made a min ute examination of the debris on the floor with the hope of determining what had been kept in the room.
 It is known that it was customary to place waste paper and other sweepings in wooden barrels in the storeroom. The Sisters of the Order of Notre Dame who were in charge of the school, knew of nothing else being there.
 Several of the parents of the fire victims attended mass at St. Johns Roman Catholic church today. Pray CTS for the dead were recited.
 After the mass plans for a public funeral for the little ones were dis cussed and arrangements were placed in the hands of the Rev. Nicholas J. Murphy, pastor of the church. Mean while relatives of the missing children revisited undertaking rooms and tried, by means of trinkets, found with the bodies, to make further identif1ca- tions.
 Of the victims there have been identified all more or less positively:
 Beauchamp, Mabel, II years. ] Burns, Nellie, years.
 Bourkes Florence, 12 years.
 Comeau. Elizabeth, 10 years. Bresnahan, Helen, IT years.
 Bolesky, Annie, 4 years.
 Chebator, Patroni, 6 years. Doherty, Florence, Il years.
 Essiambre, Ida, 6 years.
 Fay,f Mildred, 3 years.
 Hayes, Marion.
 Keefe, Helen H., Il years.
 Mccarthy, Mary. 8 years.
 Mead, Mildred, 16 years.
 Nolan, Elizabeth. IT years.
 O'Brien, Annie M, II years.
 Sullivan, Mary. 16 years.
 All of the Sisters escaped, but Mother Superior Marie Carme1tta was seriously burned. At the convent house it was said that her injuries probably were not fatal
 Acting Chief Neal, who concluded his Investigations today, announced that no one had been found crin- inaliy responsible for the fire. He said that while the building was badly constructed, it complied with the es- gential requirements of the law. Tn the opinion of the state authorities, the fire started in a small closet under a stairway in the middle of the build ms This closet contained school sup plies, small box of sweepings and the gas meter. One of the many the orjaS advanced as to the origin of the fire is that the box of sweepfngs con- tained a few match heads which may have been dropped on the floor by boys or others.
 '%rhe law requ1res,'' said Chief Neal that the state and local building in- sLe ctors shall consult and determine the proper means of egress from all buildings and if they are not suff1- cient. to order fire escapes installed on the outside of the building. The | St. Johns parochia1 school building 1 was carefully examined and by com | putting the width of the exits, 1t was found that they were sufficient to take 1 care of the $50 children. Within the i past few days the entire school in a | regular fire drill, was emptied in 90 | seconds. The fault in building was that all l the stairs led to the center of the | building and not towards the exits.'' Chief Neal added: ''The walls were | sheathed and coated with she1lac and |