Norwich bulletin., 1915-10-29
TWENTY CHILDREN
 PERISH IN FIRE
tcon.inu.d from Pas. on.o

FEntSFi iN ttN~
 (con.inued from Page ons9
 teachers, panic seized some as they neared the front door. and in their rush to escape they lost their footing and their bodies blocked the exit It was in the front vestibule that nearly all the bodies were found.
 Ten Bodies Identified
 Of the 19 bodies at an undertaking shop tonight, 10 had been identified, as follows: Mabel Beauchamp, II years; Nellie Burns. T. Florence Bourke. 12; Elizabeth Comeau, 10; Helen Bresna- han. 1T; Annie Bolesky. 14; Ida Essi- ambre, 6; Mildred Fay, IS; Helen P. Keefe. il; Anna M. O'Brien, Il; Peter Chebator, 6; Florence Doherty, Il. Mother Superior Seriously Burned. All of the Sisters escaped but Mother Superior Marie CarmeIita was serious ly burned. At the convent house to- night 1t was said that her injuries is prostrated by the disaster and the suffering of her charges.
 Origin of Fire Not Known.
 How the fire started may never be known. An early theory that a boiler explosion caused it having been dis missed, the state police officials tonight were of the opinion that a storeroom | II, was located, was it's source but in- Vestigation of the theory was difficult, as the place where the storeroom had been was entirely burned.
 Fire Drill Quickly Started. l The first word of the fire is believed | to have come from tardy pupil who /. sme He'd smoke and reported to the mother superior. The children had just finished morning prayer when the | eyO, lad Rrr~ 6ye~ 6rf1l Mnff her Marie hurried to tell the Sisters of the actual danger and the movements of l the fire drill were quickly started. A l few days ago in a practice drill the | building was emptied within two min | utes. It would have been cleared in l opinion of Rev. Nicholas J. Murphy, pastor of St. Johns Roman Catholic l church, but for the falling of a child believed to be cripple in the front vestibule. Over her body child after ! child, fearful of the flames and pressed on by the crowd behind. stumbled and | fell. Soon the opening was choked and further escape was in this way stopped Door Became damned.
 Trouble at the rear door. which be- i came damned for a time, also impeded
 the movement of the children through l the building. This exit was reopened | however, and many children escaped
 through it.
 The classes of pupils, marshaled by had filed through the corridors and
 started down the stairs in orderly pro- l cession, notwithstanding curling l plumes of smoke, until the blockade occurred at the doors. Then, with
 cries from those below in their ears scattered to the rooms on all three floors of the building.
 Many Jumped to Safety.
 Those on the lower floor dropped safely to the ground. From the sec.
 ond floor. most of the children, super.
 Vised by the Sisters. jumped into tn, coats of firemen and bystanders whicl
 were held out to catch them. Man,
 Of those who went to the windows O the upper story were warned agains risking the long jump and made thei
 escape from windows below.
 Brave Boy Assisted Friend. Some of the braver and more re
 sourceful shinned down waterspouts
 among them Morris Harris, boy of
 years, who assisted his friend, Ton
 Shea, with only one leg, over a shalxin spout Two girls who were droppe to the ground sustained serious in
 juries. one, Marion Hayes. dying at hospital tonight.
 Sisters Did Everything Possible. The r-teachers controlled tn situation until the mishap at the iron door which proved so fatal Mothe . | Superior Marie Carmelita hersel | sought out possible loiterers on tn
 upper floors. She said during the fir that she had made certain that all tn children had left these floors before sh 5 did. Nobody was found above the frs l floor. Sister Aldegon who assisted he
 in clearing the second floor, droppe
 more than a score of children into tn
 arms of men waiting to catch then Other Sisters assisted in the same wa. while heads of classes remained wit
 their charges and, so far as possibl
 directed to safety.
 Identifying Bodies.
 Through the ,undertaker's sho] v where in backroom, were laid oJ = the bodies taken from the fire file e hundreds of persons tonight, both tn q morbidly curious and those who wer e looking for their dead The bodie
 were badly charred so that the wor s of Identification proceeded slowl. . From teeth peculiarities, it wa e thought tonight that the names ( f Elizabeth Nolan. 16 years old an : Mary Mccarthy, years, might be add n ed to those of the identified dead, bJ e the Identification was not positive. No Lack of Fire Escapes. = criticism by the citizens of the lac :, of fire escapes on the school buildin
 were met by statements from state an :, town officials that every requiremeI ,. of law had been met. Deputy Chi. George C.NNeal of the state police sai
 that the loss of life apparently ws E not due to any lack of fire precaution T but simply to the unfortunate plaG 5; in which the fire started, almost UT U der the front steps and the accidel T. which blocked the front door," F e said that the schoolhouse could ha1 been better protected, against fire I
 tireproof doors and ceilings, but I ' regarded the building as it stood complying with all laws.
 e Interior Entirely of Wood. e The building was three story briC a structure, of eleven. rooms, nine n which were used as class room .t Within, it was finished entirely Ie wood and the flames ran entire l- through it, so that tonight only u
 outer walls were standing
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