FIRE IN TIMARU PRIVATE HOTEL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29193, 2 May 1960, Page 17

FIRE IN TIMARU PRIVATE HOTEL

Damage To Upstairs Room And Corridor (from Our Own (reporter) TIMARU. May 1. Within a few minutes of receiving a call to a fire at Seaview House, a 25-bedroom private hotel, in Stafford street, at 1.52 p.m. on Saturday, the Timaru fire brigade which sent two engines, including the turntable ladder, had a 200-foot delivery from the street, through the main doors and upstairs to the centre of the fire in a bedroom. At the height of the fire, the cause of which is not known, smoke was issuing from an upstairs bedroom overlooking Caroline Bay and also mushrooming from the back of the hotel. When the brigade arrived the fire had spread to the walls and ceiling of the upstairs corridor. Severe damage was caused to the bedroom and contents, and to th" corridor by fire and smoke There was water damage to the stairway and hall carpets, and damage to the carpets and ceiling of the ground-floor dining-room Tarpaulins were used to prevent further damage. The proprietress (Mrs C. Stewart) was today unable to give an estimate of the damage. A large crowd assembled opposite the hotel and police and traffic officers responded to the emergency. Precautions were also taken to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining Hydro Grand Hotel.