It was a cold start to Ash Wednesday, temperatures in the 20's on March 4, 1908. Shortly after 9 AM fire broke out in Lake View School in the village of Collinwood Ohio. The fire spread rapidly trapping scores of panicked children in the inferno. Contrary to legend, the doors of the school did not open inward. Collinwood's Fire Department was aided the crews from the nearby New York Central railroad yards. In all 172 children were killed along with 2 teachers and 1 rescuer.
A few years later Collinwood Village would be annexed to the City of Cleveland, and a new school was built.
All images from: Marshall Everett, Complete Story of the Collinwood School Disaster And How Such Horrors Can Be Prevented. N.G. Hamilton Publishing Co, 1908.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for sharing all of this information. I grew up hearing stories of the Collinwood School Fire fro, my parents and grandparents. My father became a school board member in our community because of the deep impression this fire had made upon him, hearing the stories all the while he was growing up. He had a deep concern for children and was instrumental in getting the wooden staircase in our school building removed and cement staircases installed.
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