FIRE HERO PERISHES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19965, 6 December 1926, Page 7

FIRE HERO PERISHES

RESCUE OE TWO CHILDREN RETURN FOR WIFE AND BABY. DASH TO CERTAIN DEATH. His shop and his home on fire, his mother, wife, and three children in the rooms upstairs, a young man, trading in South London, unhesitatingly dashed through' the flames to the rescue of his loved ones. Emerging breathless with two of his children, he dashed in again to save his wife and a six-weeks-old baby. It was going back to almost certain death, for the fire was blazing fiercely, lighting up with flashing orange the houses around and the faces of the great crowd that had collected. . „ . „ “I saw his face appear at a first floor window —then a sheet of flame shot up past his face, blotting him out. He was seen no more.” Thus in these graphic words an eye-witness spoke the epitaph of the man who sacrificed himself in a vain endeavour to save his wife and child. This hero was William Henry Rooke, a basket manufacturer, 32 years of age. His wife, Edith Rooke. was 28. The two rescued children, Gracie and Francis, are with Mr Rooke’s mother, who was saved only in the nick of time by two workmen. She is over 70 years old, and was taken to a neighbour’s house in a state of collapse. , , , The fire appears to have broken out in the ground floor of the premises, which was full of his stock of finished baskets. It spread with amazing rapidity, and when the fire brigade arrived a few seconds after the outbreak was discovered the building was already a mass of flames into which the firemen could not penetrate. A graphic story of the tragedy was given by Mr Charles Jeffries, who carries on business as a cabinetmaker opposite Mr Rooke’s premises and helped to rescue two of the children. “1 was just beginning my day’s work,’ saici Mr Jeffries, “when 1 hoard what I at first took to be a terrific downpour of rain. I went to the door and saw the noise I had mistaken for the rain was a fierce crackling of the baskets on the first floor of Mr Rooke’s premises. HOW THE VICTIMS PERISHED. “T rushed across the road and found young Mr Rooke, who shouted at the top of his voice, ‘The women and children are upstairs/ He dashed through the shop and up the stairway to the first floor, and I followed as quickly as I could. Ihe place was full of smoke. It was quite impossible to see where one was going ana practically impossible to breathe. Before I had reached the foot of the stairs i ran into Mr Rooke, who was carrying his two elder children.” . , I hastily took them from him and toifi 1 him I would come back again. Fighting my way through the smoke I reached the street ctoov witii the cryuig children m my arms. Some neighbours took them from me to safety, auo I turned and tried to make my wav to the bottom of the staircase, but by ’this time I realised that tasn. was impossible. Not only was the smoke becoming more dense, but the flames were shooting across the shop in every direction. 1 my hardest, but failed, and it 1 had reached the stairs I could never have got back.* . “As it was, 1 made my way into the street just in time to avoid being trapped myself. By this time the engines, with an escape, had arrived, and the firemen made frantic endeavours to get it to the urstfloor window. ihe flames had by now reached the first floor, and were shooting yards out into the street, and the firemen had difficulty in getting the escape near enough to the building.’. “At this moment, and just as they weie making a final effort Mr Rooke, un., appearer at the first floor window. This naturally accelerated the endeavours of the firemen, but vyhile they were still hoping against hope that they might reach him, L mafs of flames shot up, and he fell bacn into the blazing furnace. DISCOVERY OF THE BODIES. After the flames had been extinguisher, the police and fire brigade officials went to one of the rooms upstairs and found three bodies there very badly charred. it appeared that they had been in the fiercest nart of the fire. The man was sitting in /chair, and the body of the woman was protecting that of a baby. An extraordinary feature of the fire was the fierceness and swiftness with which _ “ spread. The brigade fire . escape caught fire when it was placed against wal L® f the building, and when two of the faremen ascended the ladder they were J/ J scorched They were in such a dangerous position that tie officer in charge directed a jet of water to be turned on to them to prevent their clothing from catching fire. P The basket-making business at 6 Borough Road; was owned by Mr Rooke, senior, who was away collecting accounts at the time of the outbreak. He is blind. The sad news of the tragedy, was not told him until several hours after it had occurred.