Matanuska Valley Pioneer

FIRE BRINGS DEATH AND SERIOUS INJURY TO EMBERG FAMILY ON "21"

From a happy, laughing group to a charred and shock-numbed quartet driven into zero weather and high wind while their home was devoured by flames, is the trick Fate played on the Emborg family in the space of two minutes Saturday morning.

George, his wife, Evelyn, and their little three-year-old daughter Dixie were in the kitchen when the accident happened. Truman, brother of George who came up here on his own about five weeks ago, was in another room.

The boys had just returned from thawing out the pump and found that the fire in the range had burned itself out. George, in somewhat of a rush to get to town with his milk deliveries, poured what he thought was kerosene into the firebox. It was aviation gasoline. The half filled five gallon can exploded in his hands and the three found themselves enveloped in flames.

With his wife by his side and little Dixie under his arm, George tugged at the door, but the pressure within the room was too great. He dropped Dixie, yanked the door open with both hands, and bolted outside with his wife and baby.

Truman had to pass through the furnace-like room to reach the door. For a moment they huddled together there in the whistling wind then Mrs. Emborg, her clothing most burned from her body, ran to the Ilding home about a hundred yards away. After four attempts to control the flames, the two boys had to give up. They were even foiled by the heat in their attempt to save a trunk in which they had about four hundred dollars, milk receipts for the thirty quarts a day they deliver to people of the camp. They, too, made their way to the neighboring house with Dixie. Mr. Ilding jumped on his horse and raced the mile into town for an ambulance, while Mrs. Ilding administered first aid to the stricken family.

Fire extinguishers were rushed to the scene but to save the home was hopeless. It burned to the ground in less than an hour. The heat was intense and exploding food cans shot into the air fifteen feet. Silver money that was later recovered was found partly melted into a gob.

At the hospital Dr. Albrecht, with his assistants, Miss Powers and Miss Kelly, quickly gave them what relief they could and upon examination it was shown that Mrs. Emborg was the most critically burned. Little Dixie, too, had felt those hot flames lick through the skin and into the flesh of her back and legs.

All four were badly scorched about the head and hands, but the boys, probably due to the nature of their clothing, escaped the painful and dangerous body burns.

Fortunately, Dr. Albrecht had at hand everything he needed in the way of modern equipment and he made the patients as comfortable as possible. Mrs. Emborg, however, had considerable area of third degree burn on her back and her condition was considered real serious.

On Sunday morning a call came from the hospital for volunteer blood donors. After a number of tests were made Dr. Ross Sheely was chosen and 500 cc's, or over a pint of his blood was injected into Mrs. Emborg's veins.

The effort to give her sufficient strength to survive the combination of shock and injuries failed and she sank slowly, passing away at 6:45 Sunday evening.

Dixie is a brave, cooperative little patient, and though she is badly burned she has an even break to recover.

George and Truman are from Proctor, Minnesota, while Mrs. Emborg came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are an industrious and thrifty family and the loss of the wife and mother shatters the dream of a happy home in a new land.

Mrs. Emborg will be interred at the Palmer Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon at 1:30. Reverend Frieling of the Lutheran church conducting the service.