SISTERS BURNED

Taranaki Daily News, 4 June 1935, Page 9

SISTERS BURNED

MEN SAVED FROM FIRE. LONELY COUNTRY HOUSE. Two small girls, Doreen and Mary Baldwin, aged respectively five and three, were burned to death when their home at Blackwater, 20 miles from Guyra, New South Wales, was destroyed by fire early on the morning of Sunday, May 26. Their father anth a friend had narrow escapes from death. They were dragged from the blaring building shortly before the roof collapsed. Mr. Baldwin sustained burns to face and hands, and Mr. George Cook, aged 66, severe burns to head, face and hands. Mr. Baldwin, who is a farm labourer, lived with his wife and five children in a wooden cottage of four rooms, the walls and ceiling of which were lined with hessian and paper. The building was situated on a lonely road half a mile from the nearest habitation. ‘ On Saturday night Mrs. Baldwin took three children with her to a dance at the local school, leaving her husband and his friend, Mr. Cook, a pensioner, with the two other infants. The children were in bed when she left the house, and the men were talking and smoking in a back room-. Shortly before 2 a.m. Mr. H. Strange walked out of the dance hall, which is more than half a mile from the Baldwin home, and saw a red glare in the sky. He raised the alarm and raced down to the fire. When he arrived the building was a mass of flames. Dense volumes of smoke were pouring from the blazing woodwork. Mr. Strange ran to the back door and shouted to the inmates. Receiving no answer, he attempted to force his way through the back door, but was driven back by the flames that swept around him. Three times he was driven back, choking for air, but on his fourth attempt he managed to fight his way into the rear room, where the two men were sleeping. The ceiling was ablaze and burning flakes of hessian were showering down on the sleeping men, who were half suffocated. - Mr. Strange seized hold of Mr. Baldwin and dragged him out into the open. He returned again and managed to reach Mr. Cook. The latter’s clothing had caught fire, but Mr. Strange beat out the flames and dragged him from the burning house.. As he.reached the open the roof collapsed and showers of sparks were driven high into the air. • The conflagration had been seen for miles around, and by this time, many people had arrived on the scene, including Mrs. Baldwin. Mr. Strange was unaware that the children were in the front room, and it was then too late to attempt a rescue, for the whole building had practically collapsed. Mrs. Baldwin collapsed, and was taken away by friends. She was later sent to hospital for treatment. Her husband and Mr. Cook were also sent to the hospital. Later the police visited the remains of the building and recovered the bodies of the children from the charred and broken woodwork. The older child had been asphyxiated and had died in her bed, but Mary had apparently been wakened and had attempted to struggle to safety, for she was found a few yards away from her bed. Probably she had been struck down by a falling beam from the roof, for a large piece of wood was found near her body.

It is supposed that the fire was caused by the pipe of one of the men setting fire to the walls of their room after they had retired.