AUGUST 6TH 1882
FIVE DEAD IN FIRE
FIRE RAVAGES BARTONBURG, SLUMS |
By now many are no doubt aware of the fire that occurred this weekend, taking root in Bartonburg on the evening of the third and continuing through the night and into the afternoon of the fourth. The fire began in the middle-class neighborhood of Bartonburg, in what Aurors have identified as the empty residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Perrigrin, who had decided to spend the summer abroad in Italy due to a bout of ill health Mrs. Perrigrin had recently suffered.
"The fire can only be the work of an arsonist," a Ministry official told reporters. "We've seen a few of these types of fires so far this year, though never something this big."
The fire was indeed big, claiming about a third of Bartonburg in some way. Many buildings were partially damaged, and a few more completely destroyed, including the Perrigrin residence and, notable, the workshop of famous broom-maker Elias Grimstone, presumably with whatever new broom he had been working on at the time. By the time authorities were alerted to the |
fire, it had spread considerably through Bartonburg and had just reached portions of the Slums. The fire in Bartonburg was put out late the night of the third after evacuating a large number of occupants, but the Slums, with such disorganized dwellings and crowded, crooked streets, proved more of a challenge for authorities.
Five lives were claimed by this fire; the only one not to have been evacuated in Bartonburg, one of Daily Prophet's own photographers, Ethan Borealis. Authorities say his house was probably blocked in by fire by the time the evacuation began. It was thought that his was the only life lost, but during the clean-up of the Slums on the fifth, four more bodies were found; one identified by his dwelling place as a Mr. Ashrew, the others, one woman and two children, as yet unidentified.
"We are doing everything we can to locate the arsonist," the authorities reported. "When we find the witch or wizard responsible, the consequences will be of the severest sort." written by Ian Pengloss
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