DESTRUCTION OF THOMAS & CO'.S STAR MILL.

Auckland Star, Volume IV, Issue 885, 8 January 1873, Page 2

DESTRUCTION OF THOMAS & CO'.S STAR MILL.

The city fire-bolls rang out an alarm about one o'clock this morning as if the whole town were on lire. A number of slumbering citizens were induced to forsake their virtuous couches and venture out into the drenching rain. The rival Fire Brigades, under Superintendent I Asher and Matthews respectively, also mustered at their engine-sheds. It was soon discovered, however, that the fire was some miles from town, and most of those who had been foolish enough to come out returne d to their respective domiciles. Inspecto Broham proceeded some distance towards the scene, and despatched Mounted-constable Bullen to the spot. The fire was found to be in the tiour-mill of Messrs Thomas and Co., on the Great North Road, about a quarter of a mile beyond the Lunatic Asylum. The building was a six storied one, and was built by the late Mr Thomas some thirteen years ago. We learn that the fire was first discovered by a carter named John Loundes, employed by the firm, who sleeps on the premises. He was lying on the third floor of the building, and had been engaged reading by the light of a sperm candle until nearly twelve. He had then extinguished the candle and had fallen into a doze. About half-past twelve o'clock he was awakened by the sound of the mill stones going more rapidly than usual, and got up to weight them, when he felt the smell of something burning, and on looking round noticed a glare of light shining down from the floor above. He at once ran upstairs to the fourth floor of the mill, where about 100 sacks of wheat and five or six dozen empty sacks were stored. There he discovered the whole of the empty sacks ,in a blaze, and the flames were extending rapidly to the bags of wheat and the building itself. Finding it impossible to extinguish the fire, Loundes ran for Mr John Thomas, who lives a short distance from the mill, and both returned in less than two minute's. By this time the whole of the fourth floor was one mass of flames, and wheat out of the sacks was falling on to the lower floors. The men, therefore, directed their efforts towards saving some of the flour and wheat in the lower store. The fire spread with such rapidity, however, that only three sacks of flour out of the fifty stored were got out uninjured. About one hundred sacks of wheat were also saved. The mill was reduced to ashes within an hour, the waterwheel and all the flour-dressing machinery being totally destroyed and the stones damaged. There were in the mill, at the time of the fire, 3 tons of flour, 400 sacks of wheat, 8 sacks of maize, 8 sacks of bran, 1-i tons of wheat meal, and 15 bags of sharps—estimated as worth £600. The whole of this stock was uninsured. The building and machinery was valued at about £700, and was covered by insurance to the extent of £400 in the Royal Insurance Company. There was no other insurance on the property. It appears that Mr John Thomas had been with M^r Loundes in the mill up to half-past ten o'cl&ck. He then went up to the fourth storey of the building to see that everything was safe. He had a sperm candleinhis hand, but feels confident that no spark fell from it upon the empty bags, although he passed close to them with the light. There was no sign of fire when Mr Thomas left the premises, and he is at a loss to account for its origin. Heavy rain was falling almost the whole of the time that the building was burning, but it had no effect in staying the flames. The building being detached there was not, from the first, much danger of its extending, and it gradually burned itaelf out, until little remained but a heap of charred embers.