SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE.
Two Small Children Then Forget to
Tell Their Mother.
Ernest Smith, 4 years old, and Lucille Smith, 2 years old, set fire to the attic of their home, 3027 East Eighth street, yesterday morning. Closing the door, the children laughed and romped downstairs to where their mother was working at her household tasks two stories below.
The children played for a few minutes on the floor of the room in which their mother was working. Neither said anything to their mother about the blazing attic they had left behind. Mrs. Smith worked for ten minutes after the children came downstairs before she noticed the smell of smoke.
Suddenly the little girl said:
"Mamma, Earnest lighted a piece of paper and couldn't blow out the fire."
Neighbors noticed the smoke and flame coming from the roof of the house as Mrs. Smith began to investigate. By the time the fire engines arrived, a great deal of the furniture on the ground floor and the rug had been removed from the living room.
Dr. Charles W. Burrill, 3124 East Ninth street, ran upstairs to locate the fire. When he threw open the door to the attic room the flame flashed out on him. His face was blistered and his hair singed by the fire. His injuries are not serious.
B. G. Smith, the father of the children, is employed in the laboratory of the Snodgrass Drug Company. His loss is about $250. The damage to the house is small.
