AWFUL SCENE AT A FIRE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1048, 14 March 1882, Page 4

AWFUL SCENE AT A FIRE.

The Philadelphia Public Ledger gives the following account of a disaster near that city: —“A terrible fire broke out in a frame boarding-house occupied by railroad workmen at Gibson’s station on the Lake Erie railroad, eight miles from this city, by which ten persons lost their lives, and several others were so severely burned and injured that their recovery is impossible. The structure was a rough affair, thrown up m a hurry merely to meet temporary wants. In the loft about 45 men are supposed to have slept the previous night. The fire originated in the upsetting and consequent explosion of a kerosene lamp. An eye-witness says: •Between two and three o’clock Mr. M’Cune rose and lighted the kitchen fire. Leaving a lighted lamp on a table near the dining-room door, he went to arouse his wife and the servants. In his absence the explosion occurred, and the dining-room was in flames. Mr. M’Cune made his escape with his wife and the servant, and shouted to those upstairs to run for their lives. In another moment the flames had enveloped the stairway, thus cutting off all means of escape for the men above, except through the small openings at either end, and from these the sliding doors had to be removed. The loft was filled with straw aud combustible material used as bedding, and only those who were nearest the openings could make their escape. A rush was made for these openings by the half-crazed men, and a struggle for life took place, each trying to crowd the others out of the way, as only one at a time could be forced through the windows on account of their small size. Seme of the poor fellow's, seeing that all could not escape in his way, tried to dash downstairs and through the flames, only to meet a horrible death. The men had not even time to clothe themselves, so sudden was the alarm and so quickly did the fire make headway. Those who made their escape seemed so bewildered by the sudden outbreak of flame and the cries of their companions that they rushed back into the burning building, attempting to save their property. At this moment a crash came. The frail walls, weakened by the flames, crushed in upon the unfortunate men, and their cries for help were drowned in the roar of the fire. In a few’ moments the flames were dying away, and the scene that followed was terrible. Shrieks and groans went up on every side from the poor unfortunates who had been burned aud scorched. One of the injured men, Michael Leonard, in addition to receiving very severe burns about bis face and head, had a gash at least 6in. in lengh on his head, the result of a fall from a window. Others, though not badly burned, bad the skin on their face and hands blistered and their hair -and beards completely singed off. Some who were not burned at all had received injuries of various kinds while escaping from the building. After doing everything possible for the wounded, search for the dead was begun. The still burning timbers were moved as rapidly as willing hands could do the work, and one by one the lifeless bodies were secured. At the foot of the stairway the charred aud blackened body of a man was lying, while only a short distance off was the body of a man who had evidently tried to escape with his worldly effects and had lost his life in the attempt