FIRE AT COSSENS AND BLACK'S FOUNDRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2362, 1 June 1899, Page 9

FIRE AT COSSENS AND BLACK'S FOUNDRY.

DAMAGE, ABOUT £2000.

t^e origin of the fire that broke out in the fitting department of Messrs Cossens and ■Black's engineering. works on the 23rd ult. is a mystery. No night watchman was kept on the premises. The Fire Brigade, which turned out very quickly, confined the flames to the one building, the interior of which was almost burnt out, ii. eluding a number of machines, fittings, and patterns; but the ■walls remain, although the greater part of the roof, especially at the rear, fell in while the fire was raging. The damage is, of course, Bomewoat serious," but with the energy that has always characterised this well-known firm, eteps have already been taken to continue work as heretofore. Mr .1. T. Ross, one o[ the partners, has ordered machines to replace thoBP thot are pa3t repair ; some that are only partially damaged are being put in working condition; and fittings, patterns, and other necessaries are being procured, so that the firm will be able, almost immediately, to rsemploy the 90 hands who were forced yestsrday to take a holiday, and within a few days it is hoped that things will be humming again. When the brigade, under Captain Mitchell, arrived at 3 a.m. the fire was burning fiercely in the fitting shop, which is 150 ft long and 45ft wide. The flames were beginning to spread to the adjoining buildings, and for a time the premises of Mr Shacklock and Mr Tomlinson were in danger; but the firemen, with a well-directed supply of water, were enabled to prevent these places from catching. The fiery element then threatened the firm's main building, which was connected with the fitting shop by an overhead elevator, i-ut here again the brigade succeeded, without any difficulty, in quenching the James before much damage had been done. AH the ■while the majority of the firemen had been playing water on the fitting shop, where, they had five leads of water at work. At the rear of the shop the fire burned furiously, on account of the large stock of wooden patterns which wis stored there, and it was not until the pattern loft fell in that Captain Mitchell and his men saw an end to their arduous task. From that point, with the good supply of water they had at command, they had the flames under control, and in their subsequent work, which occupied them until after 6 o'clock, they were engaged in drenching the smouldering wood. It was fortunate that during the time the fire was in progress there was very little wind. As already stated, the origin, of the fire is unknown. The furnace was in the fitting shop, but, following his usual practice, Mr Ross went round this and the other buildings after the hands had knocked off on the Monday night, when everything appeared safe. The indications, indeed, all point to the fire having started in some other part of the shop, perhaps in the . pattern store, but how any fire could have ignited there is not known. The firm's last casting was on Saturday. With property, like machinery of the class found in 'an engineer's shop, it ie difficult to * estimate the damage, but it is evident that in the present instance it is something considerable. ; There were no fewer than seven lathes in the building, a ponderous screw- j cutting and shaping machine, four vertical boring machines, the engine and boiler, and a number of smaller things.- As the portion of ."the building where these were did not contain a great quantity of material of an inflammable nature, the heat would not be so excessive, and there general appearance j lftads to the belief that they may not have suffered serious or permanent injury. This, however, can only be ascertained by practical test, as the slightest deviation from the true must of necessity render the machines unfit for use, and it is an open question whether defectiveness, if any, can be remedied. It is, from a rough guess, estimated by Mr J. T. Ross, that the loss will not be far Bhort of £2000. Owing to the entire destruction of patterns, many of them \ery valuable, particularly thope of parts of dredging plant, the firm must be st heavy loeer, and the unfortunate position is that the&e patterns will be difficult of replacement. Another loss to the firm is the destruction of a stock of seasoned timber, 6uch as white pine and kauri, kept for pattern-making. The building, 150 ft by 45ft, is, with the exception of the brick walls, completely destroyed, and the .walls have come through so fiery an ordeal, that it remains to be seen whether they will carry a roof again. They still remain standing, but have been opened in places by the heat and have been considerably strained by cross beams becoming burnt through the centre, and falling. The eastern end of the building was Messrs Cossens and Black's original place of business, and was added to about 17 years ago by tacking on a large blacksmiths' shop and additional space for pattern-making. . The total insurable value of the whole of the premises is set down at £8000, and the .total sum insured for is £3995. The policies are divided up according to buildings, and, dealing only with the building to which the fire was confined, inquiry elicits the information that it was insured for £300, and the contents for £1887 10s with the Standard Company, half of the latter amount being reinsured in the National office. The £300 will probably be quite used up in re-construct-ing the building, if it proves sufficient for that purpose, and it may be assumed that the damage done to the contents will scarcely be covered by the £1887 10s. This, however, can be no more than conjecture at present. Of course the fire is an extremely awkward occurrence for the firm, who are just now very busy, having orders in hand for the Scandir.avian Company, the Chicago dredge, the .Cromwell dredge, and the Success dredge, while the urgent repair work is much heavier than usual. We have already stated, however, that the work of the foundry will not be interrupted to any extent ; indeed, with the arrangements the firm were able to make yesterday, it is confidently expected that today, or, at any rate, to-morrow, work will be proceeding on the usual lines.