BOY’S ACTION SAVES HOME

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29799, 16 April 1962, Page 14

BOY’S ACTION SAVES HOME

Explosion Causes Fire (N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, April 15. A boy, alone at home in Allen road. East Tamaki, acted promptly when a switchboard explosion set fire to the house this morning. Clem Ferguson, aged 11, found the fire in the hall after he heard an explosion while his family was at church. He fought the rapidly spreading fire with a garden hose until he realised it was getting out of control. The telephone was dead, and Clem rode his bicycle a quarter of a mile through the teeth of the gale, reaching the home of a neighbour, Mr F. Findlay, in a state of collapse. Due to the storm, telephones were dead over a wide area of East Tamaki and Mr Findlay had to drive two miles before he found one from which he telephoned the Papatoetoe Fire Brigade. By the time two machines from the brigade arrived the ro_f was burning from end to end.

A further difficulty arose—there was no water. Firemen pressed into service two septic tank cleaning tankers, owned by Mr S. J- Allen, who had cleaned and filled them preparatory to burning off gorse. Within half an hour the fire was under control.