DEATH TO SAVE BABY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 708, 6 July 1929, Page 11

DEATH TO SAVE BABY

WOMEN’S HEROISM IN FIRE TRAPPED IN ATTIC BY FLAMES Thrilling! deeds of heroism and sacrifice were done at Rotherham, in Yorkshire, when a fire broke out early one morning recently at the Irish Nationalist Club, and three women and a baby were trapped in an attic. Two of the women lost their lives. They were Mary Brogan, aged 25, wife of John Brogan, steward of the club, and Mary Gallagher, aged 19, Mrs. Brogan’s sister. Taken to hospital were John Brogan, the steward, suffering from burns and cuts; the Brogan's four-months-old baby; and Mary Kelly, aged 22, of Stocks bridge, who was staying with the Brogans. Her condition was serious. With the fire raging on the staircase, and smoke and flames entering the room, the women acted with great presence of mind. They pushed open the fanlight, the only chance of escape, and helped Mary Kelly, who was in her nightdress, on to the roof. “Save the baby, and we will follow,” said Mrs. Brogan. The opening of the fanlight created a draught which fanned the flames, and it is believed that Mrs. Brogan and Mary Gallagher were overcome immediately the baby was handed out. Mary Kelly, although badly burned, and with nearly white-hot slates burning her bare feet, crept slowly down to the spouting. Sitting on the edge of the roof, protecting the baby as much as possible, she watched intently the efforts of the rescuers. Two ladders when tied together barely reached the roof, but Reginald Pearson,. a miner, climbed up, and the girl, by stooping down perilously at the edge of the roof, handed him the baby. Though badly burned, Mary Kelly stepped on the ladder, and came down unaided. “If anyone earned a V.C., Mary Kelly did,” Pearson said afterwards. “I found the heat on the roof almost unbearable.” The bodies of the two women in the attic were found lying together on the floor.