BIG FIRE AT NGAURANGA

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28368, 29 August 1957, Page 12

BIG FIRE AT NGAURANGA

Damage Put At £70,000 INetr Zealano Press WELLINGTON. AMKt'2B. . Flavca roared iwfiKSMeft high over the oil praceudng faet&fr ■ or the -«heSjMael f<the tap.fleer MrUu'oS ' In: the midst of fierce explosions, firemen from six machinesfdught to control the blaze, but took almost, three hours to do so. There were no casualties. The fife is believed to have been caused by a fuel feed pipe over a steam boiler igniting after springing a leak. The fire raged across the upper floor of the 17.000 sq. ft. premises owned by the chemicals firm, *hen spread to the storey below. The building dates from just after World/War Covered by the protection of solid concrete walls on the ground floor, firemen managed to save

the greater part of the basement, which contained stores and more oil drums. Stock destroyed included lubricating, brake, shock absorber, and other special oils. They were insured, but not to the full amount. Employees attempted to extinguish the fire, but as the position appeared hopeless, the brigades were called. The building was evacuated almost immediately. Liquid Foam Used Water proved no good alone against the blazing fuel, and firemen poured hundreds of gallons of liquid foam into the building. Once the top floor had become an inferno efforts were concentrated on the ground floor only. The total floor space of the Ngauranga building is 40.000 sq ft., but the fire was confined to the portion of the building containing the oil treatment plant only.

The factory is in a natural amphitheatre in the Ngauranga gorge, and one of the fire hose leads was three-quarters of a mile

lon g- . 4 . . Fire officers are maintaining watch over the factory all night.