Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1899 — CHILDREN PERISH BY FIRE. [ARTICLE]

CHILDREN PERISH BY FIRE.

Six Lives Lost in Burning of St. Agnes’ Convent, Sparkili, N. T. Six lives were lost by the burning of the St. Agnes’ convent at Sparkili, five miles south of Nyack, N. Y., early Monday morning. Four persons were burned to death and two others died after being rescued from the burning buildings. Four sisters jumped from windows, receiving serious injuries. Two will probably die. St. Agnes’ Home is conducted by the sisters of St. Dominic. Sister N. Peter is the superior, and under her are thirtysix professed nuns and three novices and three postulants. Rev. Philip Aheam is the chaplain. The convent was used as a home for homeless children. Several hundred waifs were in the building when the fire broke out. When the flames were discovered the sisters and Chaplain Ahearn hurried through the dormitories awaking the 300 boys and fifty girls who were sleeping there. The startled, half-awake children, as soon as they appreciated the cause of the excitement and realized that their home was burning, fled in all directions like frightened sheep. The sisters heroically endeavored to restrain them, but to no avail. They rushed down the stairs in a panic. Some fell and were trampled upon by others. The sisters and chaplain remained behind alarming the children until driven from the rooms by flames and smoke. The four sisters who jumped from the windows remained too long, and the flames cut off their escape by way of the stairs. The hotne was composed of six frame (foldings. The three main structures, where the fire originated, are joined. A stiff breeze was blowing at the time, and the flames spread through the building with great rapidity. The three buildings comprising the main structure and one of the detached buildings were burned to the ground. The hospital building and one small outbuilding were saved. The scenes outside of the burning institution were heartrending. The children, many of whom were waifs of New York, were huddled together on the hillside just north of the burning convent. Some eighty sisters, who also made the convent their home, stood by, dressed only in their night garments, comforting and quieting their frantic charges. In the midnight darkness the white-robed figures presented a strange spectacle. As day dawned the news of the fire spread to the surrounding country and scores of farmers drove to the scene. The children and sisters were loaded into wagons and driven to Blauvelt Convent, which is situated about one mile away. The fire was the third that has occurred in St. Agnes’ Convent within a short time. Whether or not they were Of incendiary origin has never been determined, but the fact that Monday night’s fire started in three separate places convinces the authorities that the circumstances are suspicious. The property loss is estimated at SIOO,OOO.