LITTLE GIRL BURNED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17570, 22 June 1925, Page 13

LITTLE GIRL BURNED.

MOTHER’S FATAL ERROR. (Special to the “ Star. ') WELLINGTON. Juno 20. Suffering from a fostering thumb, a widow, residing at Tawa Flat, left three of her children alone in the house while she visited Wellington to consult a doctor. A delay on the journey caused her to miss the next train home from Thorndon and during her absence the house caught fire. Two of the children were rescued by neighbours, but the eldest, a little girl five years of age, could not be located, and she perished in the flames. An inquest touching her death was completed by the Coroner. Mr M. G. Riddell on Saturday, and while commending the conduct of two young men who at no small personal risk entered the. burning dwelling to bring out two of the occupants, his Worship said the mother com ini tied a serious error of judgment in leaving the children alone: in the house. Tiie discovery of the fire and the rescue of one of the children was described l*y Mr Milton Mexted, who. at about 7.45 on June Lb noticed the ffame s issuing from the kitchen window of Mrs Bailey’s house. While the lire was at its fiercest, he forced in the back door, and finding no one in the kitchen proceeded with all haste along the passage towards the bedrooms, calling out the while to the children. Ho received no reply. A search of the right hand front bedroom proved fruitless. but the tire's glare revealed something moving in a cot in the left ham bedroom. With a little girl in his ar:ns Mexted scrambled back through the kitchen and reached the yard in safety. By this time the smoke and flames were too powerful to permit of re-entry via the kitchen and the rescuer attempted to return throi igli the front window, but again he had to desist on account of the intense heat, and suffocating smoke. Mexted fancied he heard something of the deceased child, but as the room was full of smoko at the time he could see nothing. The rescue of tlio second child was carried out by Air Gordon Staples, who climbed into the house through a window. He heard a moan in one of the ( rooms, and after groping around lie located the boy Alan in his c-ot, and after some difficulty got him out. The room was searched at the time but no other child was found. When Staples reached the fresh air ho was in a state of exhaustion. The people outside informed him that the other children were away with their mother. A pathetic story was related by the mother of the children, a. widow named Florence Mabel Bailey. Labouring under partly suppressed emotion she told the Coroner that deceased was the eldest of her four children, and would have turned six on Thursday last. The ages of the other children were four, three, and fourteen months respectively. On June 13 she cave the children their tea early and nut two of them to bed. The eldest was to wait until the paper arrived, and then gr» to Led. Airs Bailey left for Wellington by the 4.3*1 p.m. train, taking the baby with her. The occasion was the first she could remember on which the children bad been left alone in the licu.se. -At the time of Mrs Bailey’s departure there was only a small lire in the range, ! and the matches had been placed oil the mantelpiece out- of the children's reach. The candles were placed in a corner of the cupboard, and there was no light in the house when she left. The object of the mother’s visit was to consult a doctor regarding n. festering thumb, and it was her intention to catch the tram which leaves Thorndon at 6 19. and. arrives at Tawa Flat at 7.0. The train to Thorndon, however, was delayed for about an hour at Ngaio. ‘lTiis kept her late, and prevented her from seeing a medical man and also from eatclung the 0.19 train. Tiie next train to Tawa Flat left nt 11.25 p.m., rod before she caught it she learned that her bouse had been burnt. * f r have never know the children light either lamp or candles while .1 have been awav.” continued witness. "I did net leave the children with the nearest neighbour because I thought tlie\ would lie all right until J. came home. Before I left I bung some flannel garments across the front of the range.” Since the fire the mot Per had questioned the child. Audrey (aged four) ns to how it happened. According to the child, deceased was trying to light a candle from the fire in Hie range, and the napkins hanging across, the front caught alight. When deceased was striving to extinguish the flames her own clothing became ignited, and she ran under {he bed in the middle bedroom The other children returned to their cots in the front.room. il This was the onlr explanation they gnro me as to how the fire originated, ’ concluded Mrs Balfev. Constable O'Donnell, of Johnson. villr. gave evidence concerning the rccovcrv on Sunday of the remains of the child. Tlio Coroner, reviewing the evidence, .said that there had been a serious error of ji-dgmcnt on the mother’s parr. She should have left the children with neighbours. " T must commend the .Motion of the two young men who rescued two of the children.*’ added trie Coroner. ‘‘The* house was full of smoke and burning badly at the time.” Ho found that deceased was accidentally burnt to death in a fire which destn vod iter mother's hot.se at Tawa Flat on June 13.