TWO CHILDREN DIE IN FIRE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 228, 23 June 1944, Page 6

TWO CHILDREN DIE IN FIRE

Wellington Tragedy MOTHER BURNT IN RESCUE EFFORT

Two young children, the son and daughter of Surgeon Lieut.-Commander lan B. Ewart and Mrs. Ewart, of Wellington, were burnt to death when fire destroyed their home at 81 Abel Smith Street, last night. Mrs. Ewart suffered burns and shock when she made a frantic attempt to rescue the children, but was driven back by a sea of flame, which prevented her reaching them The victims were:— John Ewart, aged about 12, and Janet Ewart, aged about 10. Their mother, Mrs, Alison Ewart, was taken to hospital for treatment for burns and shock. Surgeon Lihut.-Commander Ewart is serving overseas with the Navy. The fire broke out shortly before 10 o'clock, and in a few seconds the fop story was ablaze from end to end. The Central Fire Brigade, which received a call by telephone at 9.56 p.m., followed immediately by another from » street box, sent three engines. The firemen found the house burning furiously in the upper story, and flames were belching trom the windows and bursting through the roof. Informed at once that the children were in the house and believed to be in bed upstairs. the firemen made desperate efforts to check the fire and get to them. But the flames had too great a hold and the smoke was too dense to permit a rapid examination of the whole house or to enable tbe firemen to find the children Subsequently, when the fire was subdued they were discovered by Superintendent Woolley, behind a bath in the bathroom adjoining their bedroom. They had evidently tried to escape the flames by taking refuge behind the bath, but had been overwhelmed. When the fire broke out the two elite dren were asleep in their bedroom, and their mother and her aunt, the only other occupants of the house, were downstairs. It was not possible last night to ascer-tain-how and in what part of the house the fire started, nor were the two women ableuto give an account of the first few minutes. All that was known was that Mrs. Ewart suffered burns in attempting to reach the children.. „ . , The house, consisting ot eight or nine rooms, stands back from the road and is near the junction of Abel Smith and Willis Streets. The firemen attacked the . flames with four leads from a motorpump, but the fire was so fierce that the great volume of water poured on to it appeared to have little effect for a quarter of an hour, A column of smoke tinted an angry red rose high into the still air and attracted hundreds of spectators from many directions. Before they could enter the house the firemen had to use respirators because of tbe choking smoke. In trying to get in by the front door one fireman was burnt about tbe neck and had to receive treatment.