DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT PAPAKURA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 88, 13 April 1904, Page 7

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT PAPAKURA.

FTVP. BUILDINGS DESTROYED. NARROW ESCAPES. INCENDIARISM SUSPECTED. A destructive lire, which cleared out a large section of the business part of Papakura, broke out shortly before midnight last night, and destroyed live buildings withJ: an hour. The lire broke out in the -lower part of the Globe Hotel (Mr Walter Guise, licensee), where there are a couple of folding doors, and incendiarism is suspected, there being nothing of an inflammable nature and no fireplaces in the vicinity. When discovered the fire had a firm hold, ! and it was absolutely impossible to do j anything to arrest its progress, or to save the contents of the hotel, the occupants having to escape in their night clothes, so rapid/ did the flames spread among the dry timber of the house. When the proprietor, his wife, and the others connected with the building reached the street it was found that the one boarder who was stopping at the hotel was still within the building. The billiard-marker pluekily dashed through the smoke, and rushing upstairs found the man in one of the passages. >>oi ucj ing familiar with the hotel he had lost his way in the excitement of the moment, and when found was almost overpowered by the smoke, having to be dragged downstairs and outside by his rescuer, without whose aid he must inevitably have perished. The neighbours were quickly alarmed, and a large number of willing helpers were soon on the scene, but little could Ibe done, there being no fire brigade or ■ plant, and no water supply other than a few tanks. The flames soon spread through the walls of the hotel, and fired the adjoining Public Hall, which was rapidly destroyed, the chemist's shop occupied by Mr Frank White being next to go. After this Mr D. A. Morrison's general store was burned, followed by the saddler's shop of Mr Ryan. There j was v, • little wind, but the building 3 j were r. il built wall to wall, and being very d y were destroyed with terrible rapidity. The further progress of the fire was arresi J by the pulling down of a shed betwe.i Ryan's shop and the residence of Mr Willis, which made a gap too large for th ■ flarues to bridge, and put an end Ito th<- destruction. A 1 rge amount of Masonic paraphernalia vas kept in the Public Hall, which was ( .vned by a local company, and this was :.ll destroyed. Nothing was saved from Mr White's shop, which was a roaring furnace within a few minutes of the discovery of the outbreak. A portion of Mr Morrison's furniture, from his house at the rear of the store, was saved, but the salvors were driven out by the smoke and flame with a large proportion of the furniture still in the building. Ryan's shop, the last of the buildings to be destroyed, was pretty well cleaied of its contents, most of the stock being saved. The hotel, which was own-ad by the Great Northern Brewery Company, was insured for £1100 in the Alliance" office, considerably less than its value. The stock of wines, etc., in the hotel I was insured for £30 in the Commercial Union, and the furniture lor £250 in I the same office. The hall, the value of I which was about €200. was insured for ; £150 with the South British. Mr Mor- . rison's building, included in which were ' the shops of Messrs D Ryan and F. ,'White, was covered by a policy of £200 in the New Zealand Office, while a risk of £145 on his stock and piano, and another of £ 100 on Mr Ryan's furniture and stock were held by the same company, re-insurance 3 reducing the loss to £295. The policy on the hotel -was re- | duced by reinsurances to £500. The insurance of Mr White's stock is not i aseertainable at present.