EXCITING FIRE SCENE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 186, 1 May 1908, Page 8

EXCITING FIRE SCENE.

CHILDREN THROWN FROM-A WINDOW. 1 A firo broko .out on March 10 m Albort Street, Barnsbury, and though . the firo was not .in itself of a serious nature, some exciting scenes occurred, wliilo.-ru child lost its life, and a - number- of ,popplo* reoeived irijurios. .Tho street is one\of four houses, and tho promises involved wero. cccupied by five families. The firo was causedJby. the boiling ovor of somo tar, which ;a . man named Cousins was preparing down; iii lthe basement in tho'front kitchen. t Tho .place burst into flames, and ;was soon .filled. with dense smoke. Cousins, his .wife,. a:, Mrs.'. Mac--Henry, and the infant child of a Mrs. George, ■who wcro in, tho kitohen, mado; their cscapo by .the ' back; way, '-.but. not/before Cousins' himself had been rather badly, burned about tho head, and his wife, , who is on elderly woman, was also injured. Most of tho occupants of tho top floors wero out at work, but .a .Mrs. Stoneman, who lived on tho.second floor,,hp,ppened-to be in, and, becoming greatly alarmed as to the safety of her. children, rushed to a-window and-dropped c-no of thorn, Dolly, aged five years and three months, out of it, calling to tho people below to catch it. - Tho unfortunate child* however, fell away from tho people into the area, and was almost instantly kill©:!. Mrs. Stoneman then dropped a socond child, Nancy, aged .'two years and six mouths, who was caught.by. a -Mrs.'Bell, a neighbour, but in her fall the child struck some railings, and was so severely injured' that she, was at once;.'taken to t-!'o TWnl Froo Hospital, and was not expected to live.. Tho frantic incthw then tliri-v,-- 't.pr tn; ivo months old baby, Sidney, out of tho window, and ho was caught- by two men without being injur-vl i" any way. • After this the woman herself got out of the window, and was about to-jump to tho street, but tho pco,>lc below nrged her not to do so, mid'she clung to tlio parapet. A number of ficii went into the adjoining house, and, leaning out of a second floor window, managed to get hold of Mrs. 1 Stoneman by her arms and shoulders, nnd pull lior safely in. Sho had received several burns, and was suffering considerably from shcck. When ' tho .firo brigade arrived the firo was quickly extinguished, the damage being confined to tho lower part of the house.