The Forest Gate Fire

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 103, 22 February 1890, Page 4

The Forest Gate Fire

Forest Gate, an eastern suburb of Loudou, was the scene of a sad calamity at au early hour of New Year's | Duy, whon twenty-six boys lost their i lives by fire at the Westhani Industrial .- chool, a large institution, at which between 500 and 600 poor children of both sexes receive free education. Fortunately the fire was confi ued to one block of buildings in which about ninety boys slept, or the loss might have largely exceeded what it actually was. It appears that the poor scholars were enjoying Christmas to the best of their- ability on the afternoon before the tragedy A large party of the elder boys had been to Stratford Theatre to see the pantomime, which, treat had been arranged for the youngsters on New. Year's Day. The room of the school was gaily decorated and the poor children went to bed on the last night of the year in eager anticipation of the pleasures which next day was to bring forth. Soon after-. 'midnight, in fact the bells bad hardly ceased ringing in the New Year, the matron, who Blept in this. block, was aroused by the smell of tire, he immediately alarmed the other officials and the Superintendent who slept in the other part of the building. These were quickly on the scene,' when it 'was discovered that the fire was inside the wardrobe room, oyer which were two dormitories. The Superintendent got; a fire extinguisher and endeavoured to put out the flames, but the smoke -forced him to desist, end the fire rapidly spread all over. the building. ; In the . meantime the other men were rescuing the children from the dormitories. The outer door was locked and had to be burst in, and on the rescuers entering the rooms they found- most of the boys iii bed apparently dkzed by the smoke " which filled the place. The boys were quickly roused, aud escaped by the windows and doors. Some however, were too etupified by the smoke, or feared to move, and were suffocated in their, beds. In all 84 boys were sleeping in the dormitories, and of these 58 were "rescued alive though half choked, the remainder being suffocated before the' rescuers could reach them. Only two bodies'jWere burnt, and it is believed that ; both these, boys were suffocated before the flames reached them. The fire is supposed to have been caused by the oyer? heating of the flue of the •etove in the wardrobe room. The boys themselves know nothing of the mischief. A reporter who questioned 'them, says that some were aroused by the coughing of comrades- and jumped out. of bed. : One boy named Jones •heard another. boy. cough,, woke up, leaped out of bed, and went to look for his little brother. The little brother insisted on putting on his socks before he -left the ward and fell down oh the floor never to rise again. Jones -began to choke too, but was hauled out in the fresh air. Another boy sturdy but not big,, came out of the smoke dragging an urchin by each hand. These were sample rememberances amongst the sared, and it is ■clear, that amongst the lads during this horrible trial, there were many -examples of the real hero; The scene :in--*the Infirmary, when the parents arrived' to identify the young childTen's bodies, was most touching, many poor mothers being almost prostrated by grief when they saw their little ones lying as if asleep.