Baby's Cries Save Twelve People

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 649, 29 April 1929, Page 1

Baby's Cries Save Twelve People

BOARDINGHOUSE AFIRE A MOTHER’S HEROISM A nine-weeks 7 -old baby saved 12 persons from a terrible death when its crying awakened them in time to escape from their blazing boardinghouse at 107 Wellesley Street West yesterday morning. YTR. J. P. WALSH, one of the occupants of the house, was awakened about four o’clock by the baby’s Ties. He took no notice for a time, but when the child began to scream with terror he got out of bed and »vent to it. As he opened the door of his room le was greeted with billows of dense smoke, and the roar and crackle of flames. He ventured into tie passage, but was driven back almost at )nce by the smoke. He roused his wife, and dashed hrough the top storey, waking the •est of the sleepers. Mrs. W. Agnew, nrhose husband was sleeping on the iround floor, was aroused first, and ?ith great courage and strength he took her three young childen in her arms and struggled iown the stairs, which even then arere beginning to flame. Half-* ilinded by the smoke, she reached he front door, where she was met jy her husband and relieved of her irecious burdens. Mr. and Mrs. Walsh also had to go down the stairs, and by the time they reached the foot it was all they could do to stagger on. They had hardly reached the door when the stairs behind them collapsed with a great noise and a flare of flange. MEN JUMP TO GROUND There were four other boarders, all lien, occupying two rooms in the pper storey. When Mr. Walsh cried lie alarm, the occupants of one room lammed their door and climbed hrough the window which opened on a the alleyway separating the burnlg house from its neighbour. One f them hesitated, and then jumped own IS feet to the ground. The ther jumped clear across the alley a to the roof of the next house, and rom there managed to reach the round. The other two men, who had a oom in the front of the building, Iso dared not risk the burning stairase. They got out of their window a to the roof of the verandah, and ’om there jumped on to a patch of rass about 15 feet below. All the occupants, except the man ho had jumped on to the roof of ie neighbouring house, were uow athered on the road watching the arning house. There being no sign t the man, Mr. Agnew rushed back ito the house to look for him. But e was driven back by the heat and aioke, and by the time he rejoined j ie shivering group in the road the lissing man had appeared. When the City Fire Brigade arrived, le whole framework of the house as well alight. The old wood was arning furiously, and there was no °pe of saving the building, so that le brigade gave most of its time to aarding the neighbouring houses, ae of them very nearly caught, but ter strenuous work it was saved. 16 outer woodwork only being marred. None of the occupants of the boardhouse was wearing any clothes her than their night attire, and the things that were saved were the ‘by’s perambulator and Mrs. Agnew’s irse. The people were taken into a iarby house and given shelter for ® rest of the night, the insurance on the furniture was by the New Zealand Office, and as for £2OO. That on the building ae lf is not yet known.