BIG FIRE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18969, 6 April 1927, Page 10

BIG FIRE.

* FOUR HOUSES LOST. A WELLINGTON BLAZE. ORIGIN A MYSTERY. [THE PRESS Spscl»l Smtlc®.] WELLINGTON, April 5. Hundreds of people watched one of the most spectacular blazes that have been seen in Wellington- for a long time, when, shortly after noon to-day, two houses on the Terrace at the upper end of Abel Smith street were burned to the ground. A third was burned out, and a fourth was damaged by fire, smoke, and water. Brief details of the damage done, together with the insurances, where available, are: — No. 175 Abel Smith street, a thirteenroomed unoccupied house belonging to Mr A. Spiro, of Wellington. It was totally destroyed. No. 178 Abel Smith street, a sevenroomed house owned and occupied by Mr A. C. Geddis, which, with its contents, was totally destroyed. Both the house and its contents were insured. No. 180 Abel Smith street, a sixroomed house owned and occupied by Mr W. Ambury. The house was burned out and almost all the furniture lost. The house was insured, and the contents were covered by a policy for £IBO in the State Office. No. 182 Abel Smith street, a fourroomed house, owned and occupied by Mr W. Wearne. One of the walls was badly damaged and further loss was sustained through smoke and water. Mr Wearne has a policy of £6OO on the house, and one of £2OO on the furniture. Brigade's Difficult Task. The four houses were in a row. Flames were leaping through the roof of Mr Spiro's house when the brigade arrived on the scene. The brigade had to confine its efforts to attempting to check the spread of the fire. Two leads of hose were run round the back of the building between it and the Terrace Infants' School, and another was directed on to the fire from the top of the steps. Fanned by a steady southerly, the flames soon bridged the gulf between the large wooden structure, in which the outbreak started, and Mr Geddis's home, and this, already badly scorched by the intense heat, soon burst into flames. .Despite the strenuous efforts of the brigade, little, or nothing, could be done to prevent the second house, which was also of wood, from becoming a total loss. Even the furniture could not be removed, so quickly did the place burn. All the time the fire-fighters were handicapped by the great heat. New Fire Engine Used. Only a few feet separated Mi Geddis's house from that of Mr Ambury, and, notwithstanding the great volumes of water being poured on to the flames, the fire could not be prevented from crossing the second gap. Little or no furniture could be removed before the fire had secured a good hold, and practically nothing but the framework now remains. Bands or workers had been busy in the meantime removing furniture from the next three houses, but by this time the fire was well checked. Had it not been for the splendid work of the brigade, which was using the new Wembley engine for pumping, these three structures, which are all of wood, and are separated from one another by but a few feet, might easily have become victims to the flames. At it was, the south wall of Mr Wearno't place, which is next to Mr Ambury"s was badly burned, and the flames hac already got through to the kitchen when the fire was got under control, Smoke and water caused minor damage but all the furniture had been got tc safety. So intense was the heat thai the windows of the school (which is of brick) were cracked. How the outbreak occurred is a mystery. Mr Spiro's house contained no furniture, having been tinoccupied for nearly a year. Before that it had been used as a boardinghouse.