New Britain herald., 1927-01-31

damage, as the fire had swept to the
 top floor within this area. Other rooms were damaged by smoke and water and the walls and ceilings in practically every room were blacken- ed. So fierce was he blaze on the frs. floor that it was almost impos- sible to enter some of the closets for hal. an hour after the water ceased pouring in.
 Interior Ffreswept
 Bathroom fixtures of white were turned black by the flames. Statues were heated to such a degree that they cracked and broke under the slightest touch. Floor rugs. books and similar equipment were damaged and through the ceilings Of some rooms on the first floor. water drip ped and loosened the plaster. The rooms which escaped the damaging touch of the fire were water soaked, while those which were in the path of the flames must be entirely reno vated. William Doherty,' former policeman; Edward P. McAloon, and Sexton Denis Mahoney were among those who carried pictures, statues and other articles out of the build ing.
 Toczko's Scalp Cut.
 Assistant Electrical Superintend- ent Leon Toczko suffered a pain full scalp wound when struck by a falling transom of quarter inch thickness, He was stunned by the force of the blow but recovered within a few minutes. Several fire men were reported slightly injured and cut by glass, none of them hav- ing serious effects of their hard work, however. Chairman Cornelius J. Dehm of the board of fire com missioners did not hesitate to com- pliment the tiremen on their success in stopping the flames on the third floor. Tt was a good stop,' he said. Father Lyddy and others also com plimented the firemen. Rev. Walter A. McCrann. assistant pastor of St. Mary's church, viewed the fire phil osophically. Well, it might have at night and 1t would have been even worse," he said. Sister Mary Boniface. one of the oldest nuns of the order, was active in di- recting the work of carrying out salvaged articles.
 Funeral Delayed.
 Funeral services at St. Mary's which adjoins the convent, were interfered with on account of the lines of hose laid from hydrants to the south of the church. A mass was being sung when the fire broke out. AS soon as it was possible to do so with safety. Chief Noble arranged to have the hose removed so that the funeral could proceed.
 For a time, Chief Noble was con- the theory that gas ex- plosion had preceded the fire. The is equipped with gas, but ac- cording to Father Lyddy 1t is seldom used for lighting purposes. Closer in- spection of the premises disclosed. however, that the storage closet was in all probability the source of the blaze. The extent to which it is dam aged convinced Chief Noble that it gave the fire it's start. The cause re- mains undetermined.
 Examining the staircase, Second Deputy Chief NJ. T. Souney found that shavings were beneath the in- dividual steps, evidently having been left there rby carpenters. They did not cause the fire, but it was pointed out that they should have been cleaned away as they served to give added intensity to the blaze. Nuns Move to St. Joscph's Convent.
 By a coincidence which was re- marked by the priests of St. Mary's md St. Joseph's churches, the con- vent of the latter will be the tein- norary home of the nuns of the sormer. just as the building which vas burned today sheltered the nuns of St. Joseph's following the fire which destroyed the convent on South Main street in October, 1925. The new convent has been occupied y St. Joseph's nuns since early ill January of the present year. 1mme- liately on receiving word of the fire his morning, Rev. John r. Dono- 1ue, pastor Of St. Joseph's church, made arrangements to house St. 1ary's nuns there.
 Mother Superior Calm.
 Those who witnessed the rescue of {! he mother superior marveled at the ,ool, calm manner in which she did Ter best to make the tlremen's task IS easy as possible. She is well along