Free The Smoky Corridor by Chris Grabenstein

Chronicler’s account of the terrible tragedy of Tuesday, January 11, 1910.
TWO DONNELLY BROTHERS AND
HEROIC TEACHER DIE IN SMOKY CORRIDOR
AT PETTIMORE SCHOOL
Joseph and Seth Donnelly, orphans, ages twelve and ten, along with their arithmetic instructor, Mr. Patrick J. Cooper, perished last night, all three having suffocated inside a cramped and smoke-filled corridor on the first floor of The Pettimore School for Children.
Mr. Cooper, the teacher, had gone into the smoky hallway in a valiant attempt to rescue his two charges who, according to firemen at the scene, had been playing with matches, attempting to ignite an “indoor campfire” with sheets of paper and wooden rulers. The fire quickly spread to a nearby bulletin board as well as the wood-paneled walls. The doorknobs at both ends of the corridor had been locked by the boys to prevent their antics being discovered.
However, Mr. Cooper, a newly arrived genteel Southerner, who had quickly established himself as a guardian to the wayward and neglected children at the Pettimore school, was grading papers in his classroom, one of two off the narrow hallway leading to the school’s woodworking shop. He apparently rushed into the corridor when he smelled smoke. The door to the classroom, firemen state, “accidentally locked behind him,” denying the three victims their only possible escape route, as the door to the classroom across the hall had already been locked at the close of the school day.
“The Donnelly brothers were both members of the Sons of Daniel Boone,” Pettimore School Principal John Broadwater told reporters. The Boone society is the largest boys’ organization in America. The group teaches camping, conservation, and outdoor pioneering skills. “I wish they had stuck to indoor games, such as treasure hunting, this winter,” added Principal Broadwater.
Firefighters responding to the incident reported that the boys and their teacher were dead when they arrived on the scene. The blaze was quickly doused and contained to the one hallway.
“It was a good thing this happened after school hours,” said North Chester Volunteer Fire Brigade Commander Samuel J. Morkal.
The coroner has ruled that both Donnelly boys and Mr. Cooper succumbed to smoke inhalation, having been trapped inside the corridor with the fire, which quickly consumed all the available oxygen. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition.
“Building a campfire indoors, especially in such a confined space, is never a very bright idea,” Morkal said.
Patrick J. Cooper, the heroic teacher who lost his life trying to save the boys, was a recent arrival to the North Chester area.
Originally from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, he came to Connecticut last fall to teach mathematics and volunteered to serve as the faculty advisor for the Daniel Boone scouting group. His fellow teachers say Mr. Cooper always went out of his way to help “the weak and the orphans.”
Another member of Mr. Cooper’s family had also, in the past, migrated north to live in the North Chester area. In something of an ironic twist, Mr. Cooper’s grandfather John Lee Cooper is buried in the “potter’s field” section of the Riverside War Memorial Cemetery on the riverbank behind the school.
Funeral services for Joseph and Seth Donnelly will be held this weekend at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, North Chester.
Mr. Cooper’s body will be transported by railcar to Georgia for interment in the family plot.
    Judy sat back in her chair and shook her head.
    “How could those two boys be so stupid? An indoor campfire? They were scouts, for goodness’ sake.”
    Mrs. Emerson nodded. “Perhaps this Sons of Daniel Boone organization no longer exists because their handbook failed to point out the obvious hazards of such foolish behavior!”
    “Is that hallway still such a firetrap?”
    “No, thank goodness. They rebuilt it completely. Put in a fire exit. Used brick instead of wood. Replaced one classroom, put in