Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-08
258 Escape as Ohio Penal
Plant Is Gutted by Night
Blaze.
HEROIC INMATE BREAKS
DOOR TO GIVE 160 AN EXIT
Defective Wiring Blamed-Tales
of Bravery Tell of Those Who
Died for Pals.
BY the Associated Press.

! BY the Associated Press.
JUNCTION CITY, Ohio. October g.
Seventeen convicts employed in the
State-owned brick plant here are be-
lieved to have perished when fire swept
the dormitory in which 275 prisoners
were sleeping early today.
Check of the prisoners revealed that
20 were missing. and of these II were
believed to have perished in the flames
that destroyed the one-story frame
structure within few minutes after the
fire was discovered. Three Of the 20
missing are believed by officers in charge
to have escaped from custody.
Convicts Discover Fire.
The fire was discovered by Prisoners
Peter O'Day of Dayton and Edward Til
lotson of Toledo, according to guards
O'Day and Tillotson had been listening
in on the radio, and had shut 1t of
about midnight. Shortly afterward
O'Day said, he smelled smoke coming
from the south end of the building
where the commissary was located. He
opened the commisSary door and found
the room filled with smoke. A moment
later there was burst of flames.
O'Day and Tillotson cried "Fire!" and
the alarm was taken up and echoed
through the dormitory where the 275
prisoners lay sleeping
The scene of confusion that followed
was terrible, prisoners said. The great
room with its double tier of steel bunks
was in Semi-darkneSs. Awakened by
the cries. the bewildered prisoners ran
about helplessly, struggling futilely with
each other between the rows Of hunks
seeking to reach doors and windows
that we're barred.
Pair Save Many Others.
At this juncture. William OMalley. q
prisoner from Cleveland. began his
efforts to save the other men that made
him probably the outstanding hero OF
the occasion. O'Malley and Tony
Vecilio, also of Cleveland, and employed
in the bakery were at the north end
of the building. When they heard the
alarm they rushed to the huge bolted
door that separated kitchen, bakery and
dining room from the dormitory and
attempted to open 1t. With the aid OF
Ex White, negro, from Fort Worth, Tex
on the dormitory side of the structure
they succeeded in breaking down the
door opening another avenue OF escape
O'Malley estimated 100 prisoners made
their way to safety through that route
He said they were orderly.
Later O'Malley and Elk White ran
around to a side window of the dormi-
tory where prisoners still were vainly
struggling to escape and using pieces OF
pipe as sledges attempted to break open
the window. but were unable to do so
O'Malley has 43 months to serve, 1t was
said, on a charge of taking an auto
mobile without the owners consent,
Doors Ordered Opened.
Shortly after the fire was discovered
Capt. D. H. Howell, commanding the
guard at the brick plant, who lives in
house on hill above the plant, was
awakened by the shouts. He came out
Immediately and ordered the guards 10
open all the doors. There were f1ve
exits from the dormitory.
The prisoners who had escaped from
the fiame-swept dormitory were hud-
died in the office and in the garage.
Chester Welch of Cuyahoga County,
serving time on a forgery charge, as
sumed charge of the situation until
prison officials arrived, and, finding
wires from the plant were down. went
to junction City, two miles away to
telephone r. A. Young. superintendent,
| at his home in Columbus. He also
| called physicians.
After all the survivors had escaped
from the burning building O'Malley and
others worked among them, applying
oil to their burns. When the doctors
came they dressed wounds of more
than 80 men.
1t was said that three or four were
so severely burned they probably would
| die.
Rescue Task GruesOme.
With the coming of daylight rescue
workers found gruesome task facing
| them.
The dormitory. a temporary struc-
ture, consisted of a corrugated iron
covering on wooden frame, erected on
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