The Lamp That Killed a Nurse
Margaret Humphrey, burned in an alcohol-lamp explosion at Colville's Harvey Hospital, died of her injuries.
Miss Margaret Humphrey, the nurse who was so badly burned in an alcohol lamp explosion at the Harvey hospital at Colville 10 days ago, died on Saturday morning at 7 o'clock. The skin was burned from about one-half the surface of her body and the nerves were scarred so deeply that feeling was almost entirely deadened.
“The skin was burned from about one-half the surface of her body and the nerves were scarred so deeply that feeling was almost entirely deadened.”
Alcohol lamps were common hospital and household equipment before electric light, and their explosions could turn routine care into catastrophe. The death of a nurse in Colville shows how dangerous caregiving was in an era before modern burn treatment and safety codes. It is also a reminder that medical workers have long paid a physical price for their work.
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