FIRE IN QUEEN-STREET.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 67, 21 March 1887, Page 2

FIRE IN QUEEN-STREET.

Elirenfricd Bros Store Gutted.

Shortly before 12 o'clock last night Conetable Rowloe, who was on duty on the Wharf beat, , discovered that a fire had broken out in Messrs Ehrenfriod Bro., wine and 'spirit merchants and bottlers, Queon-street. The store, which adjoins Palmerston Buildings, Quoon - street, is twi) storoys high. It ia built of brick, 'with a slate roof. The upper floor waß used for the storage of wines, spirits, bottled beer and stout, cigars, etc., the i ground lloor as a bottling department, and also for storage, while in a cellar below,there was a quantity of machinery, On the Queen-streot frontage, on either sido of tho entrance to the store, wore two shops—one oceupiod by Messrs Mennie and Dey, wholesale biscuit manufacturers, and tho other by Mr Kichards, bootmaker. The fire had evidently obtained a good hold of the building when it was first observed by Rowlos, r.s it was breaking through the roof. It was still confined to tho upper storey. The alarm was speedily given and with commendable aiacrity the Auckland Firo Brigade under Superintendent Hughos, and Salvage Corps under Captain Field wore on tho scene of the firo. TMb made the seventh fire within a week that havo beon attended by the firemen, to aay nothing ol talee alarms. Mr Hughes, with the Wellington fire fresh in bis recollection, summoned the Karangahape contingent to hia aid. By, this time the firo was raging along tho entiro length of the upper atory, which waa crammed full with inflammable goods, and tho "pop" "pop" of champagno bnttlos, which wont on almost incessantly for half an hour, was ecarcoly appropriate to tho occasion. Tho Brigado attackod tho lire both from Quoen-atroot and Littlo Quoon sstreot, and after a novoro struggle thoy were rewarded by seeing :t diminution in tho volume of tho flamce. In tho lloor uf tho uppor etoroy thoro is a "well"—a largo trap dosigtiod to light tho lowor fioor. Tlii», at first, wiih a groat sourco of clangor as by it tho (lames found accoss to tho goods on tlio ground floor. Subsequently, howovor, its oxistonco was advantageous, for Superintendent Hughos _ connected tho two floors through this opening by moans of a ladder, and soon had tho brave firomen attacking the fire in tho contro as well as the two ends. In half an hour after tho outbreak, all dangor of it spreading had disappeared, and by one o'clock the flames were completely subdued.

Shortly after tho outbreak of the firo, Mr Kichards's etock was romovc-d to a place of safety, consequently suffering but little damugo. Ho was fortunate, for tho Richards, as ho was uninsured, Meesr? Monnio and Doy's stock of biscuits and confectiooory suffered considerably through water. They wero insured for £200 in tho Standard Office, and estimato thoir lo?s at nearly £100 more than that. Mr James Monnio, second partner of tlio linn, did not know of the firo until S o'clock this morning, when ho was informed of tho occurence an ho was going to tho manufacturing premises in Albert-street.

Tho building was insured by Messrs Ehronfricd in tho United Ctlico for A''2,ooo, and tho stock in tho London and Lancashire for .0,000. Thero was a policy of £500 on tho machinery and plant.

Mr Khrcnfried states that ho ia unablo to throw any light on tho origin of tho fire, but believes tho insurance will cover the damage. On Saturday tho promises? woro locked up at 1 p.m , and were not reopened until 7 p.m. in the. evening, when Mr Arthur Myers, tho clerk, opsned tho door to get the Ktak, which had boen left by the runner, lie did not go beyond tlio door nor did ho light a match.

A visit to tlio scene of tho fire Ibis morning showed that, the destruction had been very great. Thoueanda of cigars—ono might almost say tons — wore strewn amongst the charred embers of roof beams and cas.ee Somo woro partially burned, others were pulpy with water while all were "aniokod"—though not in the legitimate acceptation of that word aa applied to cigars. Shattered glass bottles lay round cvarywhere, and smoll of epiritn was strong enough to porfumo a toper's paradiso

Messrs Earenfried Bros, havo boen sinirularly unforlumitu in tho matter of fires latoly, they havinf; suirered from four conflagrations in almost as many woeka. Tho Waitoa Hotel, burnt a month ago, was their proporty. Then followed thodns'tructiou of a quantity of goods stored in Mossra Hoathcr and Co.'a bond. Last, week their old cstab-li-ihod brewery at tho Thames succumbed to tho tiro fiend, and now (ho dieaotor above recorded. Tho firm havo lost severely by tho."e firo^, and Mr Louis Khrenfricd, ono of our most straightforward and popular bueino^s mon (and who, by tho way. is tho firm), has tho sympaihy of tho wholo business community of Auckland in his unprecedented run of misfortune. He doeerves better luck, and wo hopo that damo fortune in tho noxt few turns of tho wheel will bo more kind to him.