ANOTHER SERIOUS FIRE

Auckland Star, Volume XII, Issue 3353, 26 April 1881, Page 2

ANOTHER SERIOUS FIRE

J AGGER AND TARKEWS MILL DESTROYED.

Loss, £2,500.

A striking exemplification of tho old adage that "troubles never come singly" has been alforded by the scries of iircs which have occurred during the past fortnight. That f.t Messrs Ireland Brothers was the first, then came tbo destruction of Mr Hancock's house at Epsom, and the six shops in Queen-street, and finally we have to chronicle the fact that Messrs Jaggcr and Parker's sawmill on the Freemau a Bay Reclamation was burnt to the ground at an early hour this morning. A singular coincidence iv connection with these con--1 flagrations is that they all happened about the same hour-or between uiicluight aud three o'clock in the morning. The Discover)/. The fire this morning was first observed about three o'clock by two seamen named F. Lloyd and J. Svrinton, who had just landed at the Kcclarnation from the schooner Perseverauco They were passing tho front of the building when they noticed a bright glare inside. Everything inside appeared to bo in a blaze, and it was naturally concluded that tlio place was ou lire. Uno of thorn immediately ran to the lirebell in Freeman's Bay, and sounded the alarm. Before this was done, the ilamos had broken through the roof, and it was apparent that they had secured ft firm hold on the building. A largo crowd of speetatorsquicklyaßßcmbledaudconimenccd removing timber stacked near the building to the other side of fie roadway. The Kire Brigade, under Superintendent Hughes, tho Salvage Corps, under Captain Butler, and tho police force uuder Superintendent Thompson aud Mr Pardy were very speedily on tho spot. The Scone. The sccno at this time was a most striking and exciting one. Crowds of people were hurrying to the Reclamation from all directions in order to witness the fire. The residents in Freeman's Bay might have been seen at open windows in their night dresses carrying ou interesting and amusing dialogues on various subjects, tho fire in particular, with each other. The tide was full in at tho time, and the whole harbour, with the vossels and pleasure boats lying at anchor, was beautifully illuminated. All Ponsonby was brilliantly lighted up, and tho efioct wus really splendid. There was an immense mass of llame, and very little smoke, consequent upon tho fact that tho building wa« partially filled with timber. This was tho only combustible material in the mill at the time. Operations of tho Fire Brigade. When tho Fire Brigade reached the spot, the structure wus euvolopud in flumes, and of course all cll'orU to cxtiuguith the fire would have been unavailing. A jet was played into the blassiug mass, but there was no good result apparent. A Binall shed adjoining took lire, but was extinguished in a couple of minutes. On tho other side, the Brigade effectually prevented the progteasof tlio devouriug element, notwithstanding that there was a continuous lino of buildings aud btacked timber. At the rear, the timbering on the reclamation wall took lire, but it was also extinguished by the application of v jot of water. The. mill blazed fiercely for some timr, and the heat in the vicinity was intense. Eventually, it begun to bum itself out, and the Fire Brigade lioho was then played on the ruins until the flames had been wholly extinguished, Damage and Insurance. An examination to-day reveals tho fact that the conllagiation was a most destructive one. Tho mill and machinery with about £200 worth of dres-ed and rough timber which was stored inside, have been destroyed, while s'huo timber outside haß been damaged. The roof has also been burned off a small shod on the Southern side ocenpied by Mr Wraydon, shipbuilder. The machinery was intensely heated by the fire, aud the water poured into the buildiug while on fire has ciused it to bend aud crack in such a manner as to render it wholly useless. The mill was recently added to and improved, and was capable of cutting 50,000 feet of timber wtekly. Employment was aflordod to sixteen or seventeen hands. Messrs Jajlger and Parker purchased the mill fomo time sifio for £1,500, but a conniderablo sum of money has born spent on it since then. They estimate their loss at £2,500. There was ouly a policy of £400 on the building in the National Ollicc. Considerable sympathy lias been exprcßed towards tho gentlemen to-day on their serious low. The Origin, Nothing Is yet known regarding the cause of the outbreak. When Messrs Lloyd aud Swiotou first saw the lire, it appeared to them to bo in the middle of the building, but they cannot speak with any degree of certainty. Tho owners state that the only place where fire was used on the premises was at the engine in a little shed at the side. It was cuttomary for the man in charge to throw a quantity of water on the expiring embers before lenving each night, and he was also expected to go back at nine o'clock each ni«ht, in order to 9ec if all was right A watchman >as formerly kept, but this was not considered necessary of late, as the Auckland Timber Company had one, aud a man lived close to the mill.