FIRE AT MOUNT EDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 16, 19 January 1914, Page 2

FIRE AT MOUNT EDEN.

-.SHOP A|?B , P.wxuuEDrG OWNER'S .HEAVY LOSS. !A shop, wi&, a Vi-roomed^OTßej.* tennis, and owned "and ««upedbs Mr A. C. Ffflinge'r, watf destroyed by firt at this .morning... H^Vg" 5 break originated ie unknown, tout at the tone stated Mr .HHdnger wae .awakened by the smell of emdke. Bushing into the hill, he 1&e ;whole-house w>6 ablaze, and there was ordy time to get hie wife end-ciiM ont-jof the tanmg building, clad in night attire. PracifcksHy nothing wae saved, and even tie ipost box, affixed to the front comer ol £he shop, was destroyed. . Some difficult? ■was experienced an getfang into communication witb the fire brigade, and- « ■was only after the city brigade had been communicated with that the alarm waa conveyed to the; sabuEteir brigade. By the time assistance arrived, the building had just atbbut been aenrolished,- and. 4ihe firemen devoted fheir efforts to the preiveation of the extension of the fire to fife- Lee's chop on. the one fljde -and Mi Bnssell'e residence on the- other, - Both the adjoining places were Badly Bcorohed, and tiie tra&dlng in which. *£&£ fire. <ic<Srjred was completely destroyed. ;,Mr Pillinger is a heavy loser, eince the house was only insured for £250 in the New Zealand Insurance Oo.'s office, and there wae no insurance at all on the furniture. The need of,a./branch of ,the Mt. Eden brigade at the southern end of the borough hae on several occasions been evidenced of kte. It is not long age aioce one of the largest •residences in Balmoral Road caught fire at about i o'clock in the! morning, and was' in. rjiine before the brigade arrived. A motor reel has been recently acquired by "the .municipaJity, but apparently is not yet ir, working order. The old fire stations it Mt. Eden Road and Dominion Road art more than a mile distant from .the scene of last night's conflagration, and the seed for a branch of the brigade, with a station located mid-way between the two tram termini, has more than once been advocated. In any ease, .iL fire-bell dn the locality 13 an absolute necessity Had a, breeze been blowing this morning ladjosjiing properties would certainly have suffered more eeveTely. WOOL STOKE *TBT-*ttF-DAMAGEAT PORT AHTJKIRI. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ■"■■ NSPIER, Sunday. '■A. narrow escape, from -a serious fire occurred at Murray, Roberta and Company's wool store, at Port/Aitarriri, on Saturday afternoon., A large number «( men were working in the- store shortly after 2 pjn.; when some of their number noticed an -immense Jheap of Jbaied /wool stacked,in the yard," and estimated to contain about 2,000- bales;- -burst intu flamesi The men at once set to work to check the outbreakp jbiit eiich a task was far ueyond them,' -and the Port Brigade was summoned to assist. The fire-fighters,were' on the scene promptly, and had a/good pressure x>'f water playing on the burning, mass. iCChe flames hac a very strong hold, and for a' -time \i looked oe if the .fire was, going toTgsuiij she mastery. Aβ a matter-of fact, tht flames-burned so fiercely " that jthej •entered the main building and commenced to destroy the large quantity oi wool stored there, 'but' after half-an' hoar's strenuous exertion, ijhe brigaded efforts; were crowned with success. The large store ie full of wool, bni the damage is confined to aibout 2,00t bales of wptrl .and ;t}re of a ilarge window which, the flames entered the nraiij h -Iriiildinfi^' The wool ~~&i much damaged by fire and water.