AUCKLAND FIRES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18487, 15 September 1925, Page 5

AUCKLAND FIRES.

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. LIST OF SUFFERERS. fc>EESS ASSOCIATION" TELEGRiIt.) AUCKLAND. September 14. Fire in His Majesty's Arcade at 12.30 a.m. yesterday cause 1 damage amounting to £7OOO. ■• When the outbreak was firs: noticed, smoke was issuing from the Arcade and the windows on the north side of the building, and hei'ore the Brigade arrived flames were shooting upward from the roof. The fire evidently originated in the caretaker's room and the"lavatories adjoining ihe'Chess Club on the top floor. It spread on both sides of the corridor, taking in its onward march the Chess Club ou one side and on the other tht> rooms 'occupied by Captain I?. M. Cliffe, teacher of navigation; Mr C. C. Sextie, surgical boot manufacturer: and Messrs •J. H. Davie* and W. J. E. Rogers, jewollers and engravers. All these rooms were destroyed with their contents.

In fifteen minutes the flames were under control, and by 1.15 a.m. the outbreak had been suppressed. A number of rooms on the top floor, including those occupied by Messrs Miller and Ahearn, woollen merchants; AV. AV. McCombe, land valuer; and J. F. Best, auditor and accountant, escaped only through the efforts of the Brigade. The chief sufferer from the effects of water was the Masonic Institute and Club, occupying portions of the first and second floors immediately beneath the Chess Club. Half an inch of water was covering the floors of every room in the Club yesterday, including the lounges, library, and billiard-room. The green baize and cushioning of four large billiard tables was ruined, and, in fact, most of tho fiirniiture upholstery will have to be renewed. The damage is roughly estimated at £IOOO, hut is covered by a policy of £2850 in the new Zealand office.

The majority of the offices and rooms on the lower floors were affected by water. The occupants include Mr A. M. Loasby, chemist; the Equitable Loan and Finance Company; Miss Johnston Irvine, hair physician; Mr H. S. Morran,. architect; C. P. Gavegan and Co., brokers and financial agents; Moller and Co., engravers; Mr C. Russell; the National Collectors and Trade Assignees; Mrs S. Colledge, ladies' and children's haircutting parlours; the Great Northern Land, Estate, and Property Agency; the Imperial Manufacturing Company of New Zealand; Miss Gwen Smith, dressmaker; J. Preston and Son, tailors; and the workroom and bulk store of Mr A. Eecles, chemist. The building was insured for £IB,OOO companies, including the New Zealand, the Eagle Star, and the British Dominions. The damage to tho building is estimated at £3OOO.

The theatre itself was uninjured. The Chesfc Club suffered heavy loss, and a policy in the Queensland Company's office will hardly cover the losses. The majority of the offices and rooms on the lower floor suffered from water.

The Commercial Bank buildings, in which another fire occurred on Saturday aftern6on, were insured for £IB,OOO, divided among the leading offices.

The retiring-room where the fire broke out was gutted, and the office of Ruddick and Co., sharebrokers, was damaged by smoke and water, as were also the upper storeys of the Commercial ' Chambers, but the Commercial Bank offices were not affected.

Fire in the offices above the shop of Mr Hugh Wright, clothier, resulted in the passage-way where the outbreak was discovered being deluged with water, which leaked into some adjoining offices, and also caused considerable daniage to stock on the ground floor of Mr Hugh Wright's shop.

There is no evidence that the fires originated in,any other than a'carelees manner, and the Brigade authorities see no reason for demanding a special police investigation.