EARLY MORNING BLAZE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 143, 20 June 1927, Page 10

EARLY MORNING BLAZE.

NUftSWG HOME DESTROYED.

If ARROW ESCAPE OF INMATES

FAILURE OF WATER SUPPLY.

The "Euroa" private nursing home, a nine-roomed wooden structure, situated in Carlton Gore Road, was reduced to a tangled mass of iron, and charred. smouldering wood, by fire at 4.30 o'clock this morning. An adjoining residence was also badly gutted on one side, and only strenuous efforts on the part of the Newnr.arket Fire Brigade prevented its demolition. The occupants of the home, two patients, two babies, and the owner, Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Hill, and their son and daughter had barely sufficient time to escape from the building with their lives, and not a vestige of clothing or furniture was saved. The remains of the building were still smouldering late this afternoon.

The Newmarket Fire Brigade had a particularly hard fight, and the prospects of saving the building looked hopeless when they arrived to find flame? bursting through the roof, and smoke issuing from all the apertures in dense volumes. They quickly ran out several leads of hose, in an endeavour to confine the fire. The water pressure was increased, but just when they were beginning to make an impression on the conflagration, the pipe burst in Khyber Pass, and the supply was completely cut off. With their hopes of saving the building shattered, they turned their attention to adjoining buildings, which were in danger of destruction. In spite of their efforts, however, they could not prevent the house next door, belonging to Mr. R. Eccles, chemist, from catching fire on one side, and being considerably damaged. Only superhuman efforts saved the entire building. So bright was the glare that the reflection was seen by residents as far away as Bayswater and Onehunga. The fire in the home commenced in the kitchen, but at present the cause of the outbreak is a mystery. When Mr. Hill woke up to find the building enveloped in smoke and raging with fire his first thought was for his patients, who were removed from their rooms and transferred to a house several doors down the road. They were little the worse for their experience when seen this morning. "Hardest Fight Yet." The blaze was one of the most spectacular seen in the city for some i-on-siderable time, and the reflections from it were visible over a great portion of the city. The heat was so terrific at one stage that all the firemen were scorched. They could not bear to remain near the flames for more than a few minutes. One man, Fireman D. Randell, had his hands badly burnt, while others, including Captain P. J. Watts, declared the fire to have presented him with his hardest fight yet. The contents of the nursing home were insured with the Sun Assurance Company for £600, while the building was covered by a policy with the Atlas Company for £2000. "Mr. Hill is considered to be a heavy loser. Mr. Eccles' house is insured with the Royal Company for £800, and. the contents with the Mercantile and General Insurance Company for £300.