DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 47, 25 November 1867, Page 291

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

ten extensive -buildings ' ! ' DESTROYED.; .

PROPERTY OF THE VALUE OF £30,000 BURNED OR INJURED.

(From tlie Nelson Examiner, Nov. 9.)

- It is again our painful duty to record a most serious fire*. and:■ which, in destruction. of property, exceeds any fire that has previously occurred in our city. A few minutes, before eight o’qlock on Thursday evening an alarm was given that a fire had broken out in t one of-the bedrooms-in the Mar sonic. Hotel,' standing at the corner of Trafalgar and Hardy-streets, and, in a very few minutes afterwards, the flames broke through the roof. The building was a very old one and. immediately contiguous to other buildings of wood running northward down Trafalgar-street and eastward in Hardy-street, and, from the rapidity with which the fire gained strength, it was believed by most persons * who saw it, even at that early, stage,, that it would sweep all the buildings in Trafalgar street as . far down as the newly erected brick store of Messrs. Buxton and Co., and, in Hardy-street, as far as the fine brick building of the Union Bank of Australia. How far thesje prognostications were verified will presently be seen. Within a reasonable time both fireengines werd on the ground* and the trap of the Sewer which stands, in the middle of Trafalgar-street, at the intersection.of Hardy-street, having been opened in readiness, the suction-hose of the largo engine was dropped into the Sewer, but little or no water could be obtained, ana it was supposed the channel by which the water enters from the stream in Brook-street had not been opened, and that the supply in the sewer was deficient. Under this impression one of the engines was removed to the Union Bank, where a larger quantity of water was stored in a reservoir. Meanwhile the fire was spreading .with frightful rapidity, and the whole of the Masonic Hotel was soon enveloped in flames, and Everett’s Bank Hotel, lying-in-the line of the wind, was quickly reached! Fortu- , lately about this time the cause of the scarcity of water in the sewer was dis covered, and was nothing more than the stop, with which the sewer , is furnished to create a head of water, never having been let down. While the fire was extending to the Bank Hotel, it was also making its way in Trafalgarstreet, and a new building lately erected by Mr Josephs, hair-dresser, next adjoining the Masonic, had been reached. Fears were entertained at this time that the buildings on the opposite side of Hardy-street would ignite, so great was the heat,. and from Mr Stanton’s, at the corner, extending up to Newton’s livery stables, precautions were taken to prevent such a calamity by spreading blankets on the roofs, hanging others in front of the buildings, and keeping the whole well - wetted, while most of the buildings were cleared of their contents. The fire had how got possession of the east wing of the Bank Hotel, a two-storied building of good elevation, and the wind: was driving the flames against the .Union Bank, which stood about eight feet apart from it. This building was about thirty feet high, strongly built of brick, presenting to the fire an unbroken wall. Against this the fire migh have blazed harmlessly, but for the projecting roof, supported by heavy - cornices of wood which , soon became ignited, and the fate 1 of this fine building was from that moment sealed. ..The engines, did what they could ; tpL save the building, but the •body of flame driving against it was too great,' and the ’fire penetrated under the roof, which 1 soon was in a complete blaze. s Returning, now to -Trafalgar-street,, the fire had spread from building to building, and beyond the premises where it first broke out '; the ; Bhops of Mr Josephs, hairdresser ; Mr outfitter; Mr Milner; draper - and - haberdasher; Mr Johns, -pastrycook; Mr Philips, storekeeper; -Mr, Kentpul; .grpeer ( Black, Campbell ,and; Black, drapersand haberdashers; : were'aU ‘burning at one time, in va'n6us:striges%f destruction; The safety of a-large. portion of the town now dependedqn ability of M^ to withstand the flames. If it: the limits the mischief could be

pretty well estimated; 5 but, should the fire r pass beyond, fit was impossible to say where it would, stop, as, in all probability, it would have cleared the whole block of buildings tobhe south side of Bridge-street, and probably crossed over to the opposite, side. The danger to Buxton and Co.’s premises lay in two windows in the upper storey, looking over Black and Co.’s premises. As a precautionary measure, when the fire was' found advancing down the street, sheets of iron were nailed over these windows, but, when the adjoining premises caught, the heat became so great, that the. iron curled up, and was of little service. All the woodwork of these windows was destroyed, and it was* obly by the greatest amount of exertion the interior of the rooms was prevented from igniting. Though the fire was thus arrested in its march down Trafalgar-street by the new building of Buxton and Co., it reached the back premises belonging to the same firm, ; which . contained large quantities of inflammable goods, s~ch as kerosine, tar, &c. The heat and fierceness of the fire was here most intense, but the building was detached, and, by she removal of the nearest sheds,, the danger ceased in that direction.

While all this was passing in Tra-falgar-street, the Bank -Hotel, in Hardy-street, had disappeared, leaving nothing standing but the chimneys, while the interior of the Union Bank wore the appearance of a glowing furnace, the heavy timbers of the roof having fallen in, and these, with the interior fittings, created an immense body of flame, which the thickness of the walls prevented from spreading. Attached to the bank was the residence of the manager, a building of far less elevation; and the exertions of two or three fearless men on the roof, and a party posted at the door of the manager’s room below, saved this part of the premises ; and the stable and outbuildings, also of brick, were likewise saved.

The loss of property by the fire has been very great. We have estimated it roughly at £30,000, and the amount will not be far short of that sum. The insurances enumerated below on the property amount to £22,200, but in addition to this the buildings on the opposite sides of both Hardy and Tra-falgar-streets sustained damage which the insurance offices will be called on to make good. The heavy insurance of the Union Bank of Australia in the Imperial Office will not, however, all be claimed. As the fire broke but so early in the. evening, and the night was fine, a good part of the stocks of the shops in Trafalgar-street were saved, as also was the chief part of the furniture of the Bank Hotel. All the books and papers of the Union Banks were safely in the keeping of the strong room, which hasi not been opened, the iron door having expanded under the influence of the heat, so that yesterday it could not be unlocked. We subjoin a statement of the amounts for which the various insurance offices are liable; the only person totally uninsured among the sufferers being Mr Josephs, who, on the completion of his building recently, could get no office to make an ; addition to their risks in the block:—

London, Liverpool, and Globe Insurance Company. : »**s£s£- *«•

Victoria Insurance Company. Blade,' Campbell, & Blaiek, on stock, (back £ : store).. 1 .......;.. ; .. ; ,500 Milner-, on stock ’.... ‘ 500 Johns, s ‘on'&tocKarid furniture..,............: 150 Everett* on building..... 500 Bnxton & Co., on stock (new store)..-. 1,000 ... : £2,650

.New Zealand .Insurance Company. Everett, on building. £SOO 7 aan( Everett, on furniture- 300.) Field, on' Masonic Hotel building.. 900 7 ■, „ n n Trimble, of ditto, furniture & stock 800) Black, Campbell, and Black, on stock ... 1,000 , £3,500 The .total amounts of insurances in the various insurances are as follow — London, Liverpool, and Globe (N. Edwards and Co., agents) £6,450 Victoria (T, Rj Fisher, agent) 2,650 Imperial (D. Moore, agent) 8;100 London and Lancashire (Bentley and Co., agents) ; 1,500 New Zealand (Curtis Brothers, agents) ... 3,500 Total amount of insurance...£22,2oo

The value of the various properties destroyed, according to the Board oi Works’ assessment, is £13,610, made up as follows : Masonic Hotel £I,OOO Joseph, F. 8.... 150 Milner, W. 750 Johns and Barnes 380 Phillips, J. C 250 Bentoul Brothers 450 Black, Campbell, and Black 560 Buxton and Co., in rear Everett, E., Bank Hotel 2,000 Union Bank of Australia 8,000 Mr Sinclair’s office in Trafalgar-street, pulled down 80 £13,610

All the time the fire was raging, the residents to the east of Trafalgarstreet had to be on the alert to prevent the roofs of their houses igniting from the showers of sparks which were carried in that direction. Several houses did in fact take fire, but the watchfulness which prevailed kept that part of the town from participating in the calamity. The fire was seen at a great distance from town, and persons were brought in from as far as Richmpnd to witness it. From the time the fire broke out till further damage was stayed, was a little over two hours, although the engines had to be kept playing during the greater part of the time.

It is not out of the place here to state that .the required week’s notice was given three days ago by the Government to the contractor who had undertaken to lay the water pipes, to proceed with the work, or they would declare the contract broken. The -fire on Thursday evening shows what the city suffered from delay. Had the water been laid on, the fire would not have extended beyond the premises it originated in.

Mrs Wilson, mother-in-law of the landlord of the Masonic Hotel, Nelson, where the late fire originated, has been committed to prison by the Coroner, the jury having returned a verdict of wilful fire-raising, and that very grave suspicions attach to her. — Evening Post, Nov. 16.

& £ £ Everett 450 1,360 Milner . 1,000 500 1,500 Black, Campbell, and Black.. ..... 600 1,500 2,100 Johns 500 ‘500 Sinclair - ..... 25 - 75 . 100 Bentoul Brothers ..... . 600,. 300 900 • 1 • * < t • • £6,450

. ilMEBEiAii IsrsuBANCB Company. £ J. C. Phillips, on stock......;.'..'. Union Bahk^bnbankihg-lioase... £3,000" . on ditto, and dwel- ! ding house ..'.3,500. “ on hahkinK-house ' ► .7,500 fittings ...; 400 on fences, and: out- : i . , •: houses 600. £8.100 London and Lancashire Instjbance . CompjSny. ; ‘ . Milner^....:.. . £600 Black/Campbell, and Black......, . : 600 BentoulBrothers,.,.;.....;.. ............ .... . 600 £li600