THE BRIGADE'S TASK.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 75, 29 March 1913, Page 5

THE BRIGADE'S TASK.

HOPELESS FROM THE START. OPEN LIFT WELLS AS FIRE CONDUCTORS. SUPERINTENDENT WOOLLETS STATEMENT. ''ft was one of those disastrous fires where the brigade had not a hope of saving the building," explained Superintendent YVoolley, of the City Fire Brigade, when seen by a "Star" representative. Continuing, the Superintendent said that calls had .simultaneously come from the tower and from the alarm at the corner of Queen Street and Quay Street at 4.32 a.m. At the same time the watchman on the top of Collins' Buildings rang up "She's well alight and through the roof." The City. Ponsonby. and Beach Road brigades all turned out. "As we left the station." added Mr Woolley, "we could see the flames bursting through the roof, and o'-ice a four-storey building sends flames through to tho heavens there is not much chance for the brigade to do anything. In this case, by tho time wo got to the foot of Queen Street tho building was alight from end to end. It was plain that the fire had broken out on the first floor, and. with tho lift well a- a conductor, had leapt from floor to floor with marvellous rapidity. As in the ?ase of the Strand Arcade fire, the lift well had acted as a huge chimney, and had drawn the flames from one floor to another. We got to work with two lengths of hose by the staircase, two from the side near the post office, and three from Queen Street. Then we got the Dennis pump to work, and threw in an additional 800 gallons per minute. During the hour and a-half that the Dennis pump was in action, it threw 75,000 gallons of salt-water from the sea on to the top storey of the building. Our chief work was to prevent the fire from extending to the new post office. There wore several windows on that side of the burning building through which flames were belching, and there was also a strong wind blowing in the direction of the post office. The firemen, coubj, of course, get no further up the stairway inside than the first floor On arrival there they found a hose lying on the landing, from which the water was runnins. bearing evidence of the fact that the caretaker had himself tried to deal with the outbreak. After an hour and a-half's work we managed to get the fire under control. Tho walls stood very well, although a crack in the southern wall made it look at one time as though there was a danger of a collapse on the post office side. The' falling of the starway occurred while Deputy Wilson and Firemen Scott, Briscoe and Klmsley were operating over the banisters on the first floor. They had boon working from that point for a quarter of an hour, and had no thought of danger when it collapsed and let them all through on to the landing below. All that jt was in our power to do when w got to the scene of the fire was to prevent tho flamos # spreading to those rooms on the first floor which were still intact, and to keep the ground floor intact. This wo succeeded in doing, though the damage from water and falling debris on the ground floor was naturally very great indeed."