1940 — Oct 8, fire, mission school dorm, Little, Breathitt County, KY   (9 girls/teacher)–  10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 10-14-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  AP. “Teacher-Heroine Dies Of Burns In Rescue.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 10-10-1940, 10.

–10  NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life. Fourth Quarter, 1940.” Quarterly, 34/3, Jan 1941.

Narrative Information

Nat. Fire Protec. Assoc. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life.” Quarterly, 34/3, Jan 1941:

“October 8, 1940, Breathitt County, Ky. Nine girls were trapped and a young woman teacher was fatally burned in a fire which destroyed a frame dormitory building at a mission school located in a backwoods section. Twelve other little girls and six teachers at the mission, which cares for orphan children, escaped from the second floor of the building where they were sleeping. The mission consisted of the wooden dormitory, another small wooden building and a log cabin, all of which were destroyed. The fire has been attributed to an overheated and defective flue.”

Newspaper

Oct 8, AP: “Jackson, Ky., Oct. 8 (AP) – Fire destroyed a mountain mission school in a remote section of Breathitt county burned to death nine little girls early today. The children ranged in age from three to nine years. Two other persons were burned. One, a young woman who had been teaching only a month, is not expecting to live.

“The school, which is maintained by voluntary contributions, is at Little, an eastern Kentucky mountain community of about 100 persons on the Louisville and Nashville railroad line about 15 miles south of Jackson. The only means of communication is a railroad telephone from there to the station here.

“Miss Dessie Scott, 24, from Washington, Pa., who has been teaching at the school for a month, is in a critical condition at a hospital from burns and injuries suffered attempting to rescue the children.

“Fred Pushee, 71, who with his wife operated the mission, also is suffering from burns and is in the Jackson hospital.

“Twelve other small children and six mission workers escaped unharmed from the flaming dormitory, where they all were asleep when the blaze was discovered.

“First news of the tragedy was received here when the railroad representative at Little telephoned the Jackson depot asking that Dr. Frank Sewell be notified. The L and N held a freight train and Dr. Sewell, Breathitt county health officer hurried to the scene.

“When discovered, the flames were eating away at the stairway from the first floor to the second, where most of the children were asleep.

“The charred bodies of the nine little victims were found in the ruins at daylight. Several of the victims were orphans. All of them came from surrounding eastern Kentucky counties.

“The mission consisted of three buildings – two frame structures and a log cabin.

“The dead children were listed as: [We place names in separate lines.]

Geraldine Fielder, 8,

Beatrice Pennington, 7,

Lilly [Sizemore], 9

Dorothy [Sizemore], 5, and

Myrtle Sizemore, 7, siters;

Hazel Ritchie, 9,

Tidie Strong, 4, and

Amanda [Stout], 3, and

Betsy Jane Stout, 6, sisters.”

(AP. “9 Children Burn To Death In Mission School Blaze.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV, 10-9-1940, p. 1.)

Oct 10, AP: “Jackson, Ky., Oct. (AP) – Dessie Scott, 24-year old teacher, joined in death today the nine little girls whose lives she tried to save early yesterday when fire swept a mountain mission school at Little, in a remote section of Breathitt county.

“Miss Scott, of Washington, Pa., succumbed to burns in a hospital here. She had taught at the mission only a month….” (Associated Press. “Teacher-Heroine Dies Of Burns In Rescue.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 10-10-1940, p. 10.)

Sources

Associated Press. “9 Children Burn To Death In Mission School Blaze.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV, 10-9-1940, p. 1. Accessed 10-14-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-oct-09-1940-p-1/

Associated Press. “Teacher-Heroine Dies Of Burns In Rescue.” Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV. 10-10-1940, p. 10. Accessed 10-14-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/bluefield-daily-telegraph-oct-10-1940-p-19/

National Fire Protection Association. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life. Fourth Quarter, 1940.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 34, No. 3, January 1941.