LINER IN PERIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 238, 8 October 1936, Page 17

LINER IN PERIL.

FIRE ON ORMONDE.

HEROIC EFFORTS REWARDED I

I PERFECT DISCIPLINE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, September 29. Last Wednesday morning the wellknown Orient liner Ormond, 15,000 tons carrying a crew of 200 and 320 passengers, put into Twofold Bay, halfway up the coast —on fire. She was on her way from Melbourne to Sydney completing her run frome Home, and all went well till Wednesday morning when wisps,of smoke began to curl uj: from the hold and through the saloon floor. Investigation soon showed that portion of the cargo, some 300 tons of I coir (coconut fibre) had caught fire, j probably from a lighted cigarette ; dropped by a careless stevedore at Melbourne, or possibly through spontaneous combustion. At first there seemed to be some hope of extinguishing the fire. Captain Thome, after sending a wireless message to a passing steamer to "stand by," announced that he had the • flames under control. This proved altogether too optimistic a view of the situation and when by five o'clock in the afternoon the cargo was still burning, the captain wisely decided to take no risk with his passengers, but to make for Twofold Bay, where there was smooth water, safe anchorage, and easy coimpunication with Sydney. Naturally none of the passengers understood how serious the risks were, but some of the most remarkable features of the story are the perfect discipline maintained on board, the entire absence of panic, and the confidence of all in the courage and skill of those responsible for the safety of the ship. As the day went on the floor of the saloon began to crack, and later the cement had to be broken up to accommodate pipes through which water was poured into the hold. Inspired by the calm and cheerful demeanour of captain and officers, stewards and seamen, the passengers seemed not greatly disturbed, and when the harbourmaster from Eden visited the steamer in the morning to see how things were going he found the passengers sitting about reading, or listening to the radio and conducting themselves like average tourists everywhere. Call to Lifeboats. As a precautionary measure, the call was given for lifeboat stations, and when the groups had been formed up Captain Thorne addressed them individually, assuring them that the measures 'ie had taken would be successful and that they were in no danger—and they ill believed him and behaved accordingly. The fire, however, had to be put out, and it was soOn evident that the Ormonde's resources in men and equipment could not cope with such a task unaided. Shortly after getting into touch with Sydney from Twofold Bay Captain Thorne, through the Orient Company, put a call through to the Sydney fire service and asked for assistance. A special fir£ truck was at once' equipped with gas masks, oxygen breathing gear and all other necessities, and-by 7 p.in. it had started oh its long run to Twofold Bay, over 300 miles down the south coast. By 10.30 it had reached Nowra, over 100 miles away, and, averaging nearly 30 miles an hour, it got to Twofold Bay early on Thursday morning. By this time Captain Thorne had realised fully the dangers that lie was facing, and when the firemen arrived he gave tlieAi full charge of the situation. There were four ex-seamen in the little party of five and they were all picked nen, but the task before them was almost superhuman. Armed with the most modern appliances for extinguishing fire and protecting themselves against heat and smoke, they plunged immediately into the hold, and after a tremendous struggle lasting for six hours continuously they emerged victorious. They were almost blind; they had been almost completely asphyxiated, and three of them would have been accepted as cot cases bv any hospital. But they had won their'figlit, and Captain Thorne, his officers and crew did not hesitate to praise their courage and skill and to ascribe to them the chief credit for saving the Ormonde and protecting its passengers and crew from heavy loss and serious personal peril. Captain's Anxious Time. Naturally, as long as the danger lasted, it was the duty of Captain Thorne and his officers to minimise it, and it was only when the Ormonde reachejl Sydney that it was possible for people in general to realise the magnitude of the peril from which it had escaped. Captain Thorne had been on duty for 48 hours without sleep, and his crew had for the most part worked 30 hours without a break; but their courage and energy would hardly have availed without the intrepid skill of the firemen from Sydney to back them. The damage done was relatively small, but startling enough to those who had imagined that the fire on the Ormonde had been a "false alarm." A number of rivets on the port side of the steamer had started, smoke was still issuing from apertures between the plates, the decks were badly buckled, the stewards' quarters were swamped, and the saloon floor was a mass of broken cement where the hose pipes had been forced into the hold. It is easy to imagine what might have happened if the fire had broken out at a great distance from land or if Captain Thorne had not shown such sound judgment in seeking safety for his ship and those entrusted to his care as soon as the situation had become serious. For the firemen, the captain, officers and crew there can bo only praise, and for the passengers hearty congratulations. Perhaps the befst comment on this dramatic interlude in the Ormonde's trip has been offered by Mr. Mark Gosling, one of our best-known politicians and an ex-M.L.A., who happened to be a passenger, and who remarked, when it was all over, with appropriate mildness and self-control, that it seemed to him a pity that inflammable fibre should be carried on passenger ships.