FIVE CHILDREN BURNT TO DEATH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6814, 19 September 1883, Page 5

FIVE CHILDREN BURNT TO DEATH.

The following are fuller particulars of the fatal fire at South Yarra than have appeared in our cablegrams :—Thehou3e was a wooden building, containing eight rooms, together with a kitchen and servant's f oom* The first alarm of fire was given about ten minutes to three a.m., and the South Yarfi Fire Brigade was quickly in attendance. The efforts to subdue the fire were, however,, greatly re* tarded, as only one water-plug could be found, and the flames had acquired such a hold on the house before tho arrival of the brigades that little, could be done except to prevent the fire from spreading to thp adjoining premises. A few minutes after a stream o£ water had been brought to bear on the flames the roof fell in with a crash, and the firemen at great risk had to turn the sheets of iron off before they could get the water to have any effect 0n the fire. In less than half an hour nothing ' remained but the brick chimneys and a heap of charred timber. As Hoon as possible seirch was made amongst the smoking ruins, when the ch'arred remains of three of Mr. Nash'a children were found, in their beds, and a fourth was. discovered under the bed. One of the bodies, supposed to be that' of the youngest child, was so dreadfully scorched up and disfigured that It was almost doubtful whether the remains were tho3e of a child or of a large retriever dog.. The coach-house and stables, which were about a dozen yards in the rear of the kitchen, escaped damage. The owner's buggy and harness in the former buiWipg were got out without injury ;. also his ponies, which were in the stables. On Mrs. Nash and the elder children escaping from the burning house, they were accommodated with quarters' in «i dwelling on the opposite side of the street. The domestic servant, Mary O'Mara, has mysteriously disappeared. It seems she ran out of the house in her nightdress. \; She went next door, and there borrowed a pair of boots, a hat, and a large ulster. She then left, and has nafc since been heard of,, although the police have been searching for her. Mrs. Nash states that she Was

awakened by a lond crackling noise, and at once getting out pf bed, she found the house on fire. Then she saw the servant rushing down the passage, and the girl must have been one of the first out of the house. Mrs. Nash says she scarcely remembers anything more than this, as the Saag spread so rapidly that all efforts to save her poor little children were unavailing. It has .been reported that a fifth child, who was frightfully burnt, has since succumbed to the injuries it; sustained in this calamitous fife. . ... ..*' '