BURNED OUT

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 270, 12 November 1923, Page 8

BURNED OUT

NEWMARKET SCHOOL GREAT BLAZE LAST NIGHT. VALIANT WORK BY FIREMEN. TWO OA"ERCOME BY SMOKE. " CIRCUMSTANCES VERY SUSPICIOUS." >_- ________ Newmarket Public School was practically destroyed by lire last night, under circumstances which give rise to the suspicion of incendiarism. The alarm was given to the Newmarket Fire Brigade at about half-past eight by a man who saw smoke, accompanied by a dull glare, issuing from the centre of the school as he was passing The firemen were on the scene without a moment's loss of time, but it was at once perceived that the fire had a firm hold. The odds against the fire-fighters making a save was accentuated by tbe poor water pressure. Soon a' vast spread of flames broke through the centre of the roof, and so thick was the smoke and so intense the heat that two of the men who had smashed their way into the building were overcome and had to be assisted back to the street. A Splendid Spectacle. i A crowd quickly gathered outside the school, and soon after the locality : was lighted by the glare of the high- : leaping flames. This was added to by ' constant streams of spectators, until ! Ihere were thousands ol" people watch- : ing from the roadway and from the high land at the rear of the doomed building. ' Three-quarters of an hour after the ( fight had been in progress, the central ' tower collapsed with a resounding ] crash, which was followed by great showers of sparks and a renewed roar ] of fury from the fire, which seemed to gain added zest by the fresh fuel and ventilation that stirred its heart. Soon all that stood of the top structure were the two gables at either end. and the crowd swayed back from time to time as collapsed beams falling below sent showers of sparks seething viciously into the street. The water poured on to the building by half a dozen little hoses had little effect on the ferocity of the flames until they had consumed most of the available material, E and when all the back of the building Band the centre of the front had been d burned out, the firemen directed all their b water supply to the end gables. ti Some Salvage Work. ■nr i ___~. , ... _ J

Members of the school committee and many of the pupils were early on the scene, and they worked heroically to salvage whatever was possible. The first article saved was the school's Union Jack, and some papers and books were rescued from the committee room, also a number of desks, before the advance of the fire drove the workers away. One of the losses most grievously felt "is that of the school museum, the contents of which were almost entirely destroyed, including ten expensive raised maps recently purchased by the School Committee. Old, Inflammable Building. The old school building was about 40 years erected, and the lire had fine fuel to feed it iv the dry, combustible tiuibers that had stood for so long. The destruction of this building, it is contended, will give a pause to those who have recommended that future schools -hould be built of weatherboard. For •some time past the School Committee has been agitating for a new school, the suggestion being made that a block of land belonging to it in Gillies Avenue, almost immediately adjacent, would be suitable. The present site, it is contended, is unsuitable for a school, owing to the industrial growth of the suburb and the large number of factories which have recently been erected in the vicinity. Firemen's Fine Work. Every praise is to be accorded the firefighters for the splendid work in the face of a hopeless task—a task rendered hopeless both by the good hold obtained by the flames on the inflammable material and the poor water pressure available. Mr. T. J. Watts, the superintendent of the Newmarket Brigade, is also chairman of the School Committee, and he declares the circumstances of the fire to be " undoubtedly very suspicious." i Oil Fumes Detected. ! The view of the fire superintendent is '■ shared by others, who declare that there is no reason to imagine that the outbreak could have started spontaneously. There are no fires in the school for ; warmth or convenience at this season of the year, and no inflammable material was left lying about when the school ' was closed on Friday. Further, it is ' alleged that when the fire was at its " commencement, the fumes of benzine or similar inflammable oil were detected. ! The police are inquiring into this aspect ' of the matter. j Arranging Accommodation. ( Officials of the Auckland Education _ Board viewed the wreckage to-day, and ( considered, with members of the School Committee, ways and means to provide other accommodation for the pupils. It is considered that 200 can be provided for in the Technical School adjoining, and that the remaining 120 or so can < be taught in one large or two small < marquees to be erected in the grounds of 1 the old school. Trie t.-Uerruption of the 1

studies of the senior scholars at this particular time is regarded as serious, and every effort, will be made to have them installed in the Technical School by Wednesday. No Insurance. It was explained that there was no insurance on the Newmarket School, as it has been found that the payment of premiums would amount to more than the average losses by fire. Scene This Horning. The scene this morning was a desolate one. All that remains are the walls of the old classrooms used by Standards IV. and V., and the wall and verandah which formed the main entrance, and connected the two rooms. The motto: "Not self, but service" still appears on the southern wall, while in rear of these relics is a charred mass of debris. In Standard IV. room a map of Europe lias been half burned, while one of New Zealand remains intact. With these, a few specimens of wool, a case of books and a few photographs hang on the walls. The playground is littered with paper, and a few desks that were saved are heaped up in the grounds. A number of children, who evidently knew nothing of the fate which had" befallen their school, bad arrived with their schoolbags, only to be amazed at the sight of the wreck which was yesterday their school. The ruins of the old school were viewed with great interest by thousands of people to-day, including inanv of its pupils, who, perforce are enjoying a holi-