FIRE DRAMA

Southland Times, Issue 25313, 17 June 1935, Page 11

FIRE DRAMA

AGED WOMAN FATALLY BURNED.

Five small children were rescued and an aged woman was burned to death in a blaze at a house in Clerkenwell, London, recently. The victim was Mrs Mary Ann Ryan, aged 81, known locally as “Grannie Banks.” The fire broke out in a back room on the groundfloor which she occupied. The flames spread rapidly to the staircase, and two families who were trapped on the first and second floors were saved after great heroism by neighbours and firemen. A 52-year-old widow, Mrs Ada Paxton, made a great effort to save Mrs Ryan. “I ran to the old lady’s room when I saw the smoke,” she related. “Opening the door I was met by a mass of flames. It was impossible to get in and I could not see Mrs Ryan. A number of other neighbours helped me to carry buckets of water. We threw them on the flames until the firemen arrived.” When the fire brigade arrived the staircase was ablaze, and a Mrs Blake and her two children were trapped in rooms above the ground-floor. A young man named John Sefton had been leading the rescue work. “Mrs Blake suddenly appeared at a window, but could not climb out,” a neighbour stated. “She made a rope out of a sheet and threw this down. Mr Sefton swarmed up this and carried her down at great personal risk. “The two children were brought down from the first floor and then Mr Sefton learned that the three children of Mr and Mrs Bassett were sleeping at the top of the house. Their parents had gone for a walk, “He forced his way up the burning staircase, but could not reach the top. He made repeated efforts and was then brought down by firemen. Eventually a fireman with a hook ladder reached the children’s room from the back of the house and brought them down." The three Bassett children—John, aged six; Edward, aged four; and Ronald—were taken to hospital suffering from burns and shock.