Through Fire.

Kaikoura Star, Volume XIV, Issue 733, 27 April 1894, Page 4

Through Fire.

A Narrow Escape.

Last week Mr Dublin Smith’s young son, Parnell, passed through a fiery ordeal in a, fortunately, scathless manner. For his sake, we trust that his early experience in this respect will prove to be at once the first and the last time in his life that be will have personal knowledge of a rush through such formidable elements. It appears that the lad having been restless, a light was left in the bedroom in which he slept. When it was found that the boy had gone off to sleep Mr Smith went into the apartment fo bring away the candle. Mrs Smith called out to her husband suggesting that he should bring bis slippers. He searched for them behind the door, and then came out. About fifteen minutes later he and his wife were startled on bearing a roar in the front of the house, the sound proceeding from their bedroom, the scream of a child being heard almost simultaneously. Mr and Mrs Smith ran to the bedroom. Just as they reached the door Parnell rushed tdrough it, screaming. Mr Smith, finding one side of the room in flames, ran out for water. Mrs Smith pulled the counterpane, which was blazing away, off the bed and, rolling it up, extinguished the flames. Hard work for half an hour, and a copious supply of water, enabled Mr Smith, and the members of his family in the house, to put the fire out. Mr Smith assumes that in looking for his slippers he ignited the fringe of the counterpane, the fire being thus communicated to the walls.