EARLY MORNING "SHOT."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 78, 2 April 1928, Page 10

EARLY MORNING "SHOT."

| FLAMES LEAP 300 FEET. SHOWERS OP RED HOT IROlf.

coxcrssroy shakes earth. I The most spectacular explosion since i j the outbreak of the Are occurred between j j 2 and 3 o'clock this morning, when bum-1 i !ns? P etrol ana kerosene were running! j' 1 ™" Beaumont Street in front of the; : blazing building. Mr. G. Watson, of the I j Victory Enrineerinj Company, whose' promises are immediately opposite Win- i itone's store, informed a "Star" repre-j tentative to-day that he was on the' | scene from about 2 p.m.. and remained I ail night. Somewhere around 2 o'clock j there was a violent explosion. A num- : ber of petrol drums hurtled over the top ! or the wails, and some were shot like,' I rockets into the harbour. A b: jr ?heet of flame leaped fully 300 ft i into trie air, and all who were in the' vicinity rushed for safety. Mr. Watson , pointed out the battered drums and! petrol tins which had come crashing' down to lodge in the middle of the road. ! A ini.ows or his engineering shop were! shattered by the concussion, and the! ground trembled. Mr. Watson allowed! the police and fire brigade to use his premies for meals and rest. '"We made' an ail■ nighc picnic of it," added Mr ! ! Mat.-.on. I : Automatic Soravi.

Automatic sprays on the many largs benzine tanks in the vicinity were turned on fully when the alarm was given vesterday and were kept in operation •hrou-hout the night. The sprava are still sizzling to-day, and there is" little or no danger of any trouble arising in that quarter. of the firemen had a narrow escape from being struck by one of the Hying drums last nizht. One hnjre drum landed on the roof of Mason Bros.' ahed at the rear of the burning store. It was red-hot. Several firemen were shelterin" under the roof, and to-day they are marvelling at their good fortune, since the drum crashed on to the roof near the edge of the corrugated iron and rested there, half its length projecting. Another drum, also red-hot, landed in the middle of the railway line outside the V ictory Engineering Company's premises. The workshops of Messrs. *A. T. .Julian and Son, builders, almost opposite Winstono's, would have beert in great danger had the wind been off the sea. The employees of the company had an anxious time, and were on duty all nizht.. All the books and records were removed, as it was feared that the seasoned wood and other inflammable material with which the corrugated iron buildings were stored, and the timber racks in the yards, would ignite if any burning material ilighted. One of the partners stated to-day that great difficulty was experienced in keeping the public out of the pards. People broke down the battens ■>n the back fence and streamed over their property, and the police had to end assistance to keep the yard clear. 'We are very lucky people indeed," said >ne of the partners, "and we know it. It *as just touch and go, but I think we ire all right now." Collapse of Walls. Sliortly after noon to-day the remainler of the western wall collapsed and ongues of flame leapt into the vard of Ua*on Brothers, next door. From the >urning mass there were frequent ex>'osions from cases and drums of oil. lalf an hour later a portion of the orthera wall collapsed and this allowed he breeze from the sea to blow in, ausing the flames to blaze still more ercely. Tiers of blackened tins could « seen amidst the burning mass. The astern wall, towards Beaumont Street, eld precariously, but a portion of It ollapsed and fell on the roadway just fter one o'clock.

Grave Concern For Fireman. The report from the hospital this afternoon concerning Mr. Ronald Beuth, the fireman who was most seriously injured, was that his condition was very critical.