STEAMER ON FIRE.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20776, 9 February 1933, Page 8

STEAMER ON FIRE.

$ SEBIOUS OUTBREAK ON CU^BE^AIfD. FRAMES UNDER control AT 2.30 A.M. - '1 Shortly bcfor<j 1 o'clock this' mohxiag fire was discovered in |fo. 4 hota bi the Tqderal | laud, 'which antW Lyttejton lpfd for London. Dense sniQkc with occasional flashes ; of flpm? could be seen coming from the liatph a»d ventilators. On the removal of the hatch the fire was found , to "bp in thp phplter deck where a quan- , tity of fla? wag stowed. The 'tween decks and lower hold contain meat which was loaded at Lyttelton yesterday. The Lyttelton Fire Brigade and the ship's plant were goon at work on the oubtreak. Th<j aid of the Harbour Board's fire float Te Whaka was also requisitioned and her powerful pumps were soon in action. ( The firemen were hampered by the acrid smoke and hfclmets had to be donned. An oxy-acetylene plfnt procured at 1.45 a.m! and a hole cut "in the hull on the port side to enable a hose from the float to be inserted, i At 2 a.m. the fire was burning fiercely but it was hoped to confine it "to No. 4 hold. At 2.30 a.m. the firemen appeared to have the outbreak under control, and tie trouble confined to the place of origin, The damage, it was estimated, would not be of a very seripus nature. The mastery of the flames was assisted by the cutting of a hole in the deck through which'a heavy volupe of water was poured on to the flax in which the fire had occurred. 1 The Cumberland was to have left to* ! day for Port Chalmers for final loading. > She wai» scheduled to leave there nest Tuesday for London, via Montevideo ' and Dakar. 1 Captain T. L. Maltby is in command ' of the vessel, which was loading to the i jagency of the New Zealand Shipping , Company. ' [The Cumberland was built in Ger-_ ■ many in 1919, and was formerly tbe • 1 Wendland. She is 520 ft long, has a » beam of 64.2 ft, and a draught of 37ft.] I -