WOMAN AND CHILDREN TRAPPED BY FIRE, HAVE NARROW ESCAPE

Rescued by S. Lambert-A Arkins’ Store and Dwelling with all Contents a Complete Loss and No Insurance-S. Lambert’s House Damaged

             A fire occurred shortly after six o’clock last evening which caused a loss of between $4,000 and $5,000 and in which Mrs. A. Arkins and her two children, a little girl and a baby had a thrilling experience.

             The building was owned and occupied by A. Arkins. On the first floor he conducted a furniture and upholstering business, and he resided on the second floor.

             Mr. Arkins was away working at the time, and about six o’clock, Mrs. Arkins, who was upstairs with the children, went down to the store and lighted a coal oil lamp which she left on a counter at the foot of the stairs. Some time afterward the little girl noticed the floor was hot and asked where the smoke was coming from. Opening the door to stair door leading to the stair below Mrs. Arkins saw it was a mass of flames, which rapidly shot up the stairs cutting off the only avenue of escape. With her two children, she rushed to the small back balcony. Here there was a drop of fifteen feet, and she screamed for help.

             Sam Lambert heard her cries and rushed to her assistance. There was no way of getting up to the balcony except to climb the posts which supported it. This he did and securing, first, the baby, he slid down the post with the helpless little one. Next he climbed up and brought the girl down, and a third time he performed the feat, assisting Mrs. Arkins to climb down the post. Mr. Lambert’s feat was a remarkable one. Very few could have succeeded in climbing the fifteen feet up the post to the balcony. The three persons would have had to jump from the verandah or burn to death in a very few minutes had he not so promptly and bravely rescued them. Mrs. Arkins fainted when the danger was past.

             By this time the alarm had been given, but when the firemen succeeded in getting the water turned on the whole building, upstairs and down, was a huge bonfire. The interior of the building was completely gutted and not an article of the contents was saved, the furniture stock and household goods being wholly lost. In fact every earthly possession of the Arkins family was entirely destroyed except the clothes they were wearing. Their loss will be fully $4000 with not a dollar of insurance. Their situation is a most deplorable and distressing one.

             The next building, a house occupied by Andrew Jones, and owned by S. Lambert, stood only two or three feet away. It was damaged to the extent of several hundred dollars and only the fact that both buildings were metal sheeted saved it from almost total loss. Mr. Jones had no insurance on his furniture and it was removed from the building.

             Just what caused the fire is not known. The lamp did not explode but Mrs. Arkins snuffed the coal oil lamp in lighting it and may have allowed a spark to drop.

People’s Press

1 October 1912

Fire: 30 September 1912