FIRES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18343, 28 March 1925, Page 12

FIRES.

A SOUTHBRIDGE OUTBREAK.

BOARDERS' NARROW ESCAPE,

Two young men boarders at the Soufchbridgc Hotel had a very narrow escape from death in the early hours of Thursday morning, when an outbreak of fire was discovered. Mrs Griffin, wife of the licensee, thought she teould gmell smoke at 3 a.m. She woko her husband, pho made a search downstairs and saw. through a back windo*. fire in the room occupied by the two young men. Both were fast asleep when he entered the room and were apparently affected to some extent by the smoke, for Mr Griffin had difficulty in rousing them. It was found that one of the kapoc mattresses and the bed clothing were burning. An alarm was sounded, and with the assistance of other hoarders the licensee managed to quell the outbreak. Had the fire not been detected until a quarter of an hour later.it is probablo that the hotel would hare been destroyoa and that the two young men and possibly others in the house would have lost their lives. The damage was confined to the bedding.

An outbreak of fire occurred in a wood and coal shed at the rear of Messrs A. D. Riley and Co.'s premises, 100 Hereford street, at 10.25 o'clock last evening. The Fire Brigade was &uir.moned:. <:nd on arrival discovered that the fire had originated in a heap of r-uhbifch in the .-hed. It was extinguished before any damage was done.