Emerson - Mrs JW - close call - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Thursday of last week while burning trash at her home, Mrs. J. W. Emerson had a close call from being burned to death. A light calico dress she was wearing caught fire from a spark and before she discovered it was burning fiercely. She grasped her skirts in her hand and tried to smother the flames but without avail, and she then started for the house to get a pail of water. This fanned the blaze and her screams attracted help, Charles Hughes being the first one to her. He, with the assistance of some neighbors who had arrived on the scene, succeeded in tearing off her outside clothing before her underclothes were ignited, nothing being left of the calico dress but one sleeve. Owing to the prompt assistance rendered, Mrs. Emerson was scarcely burned at all, aside from her hands and a place on her throat, but it was a very close call. - kbz