Legal files used to start fires
Legal files were used by burglars to start fires in the offices of a Christchurch law firm early on Tuesday morning. The premises of R. A. Young, Hunter, and Company, Ltd, were ransacked in the burglary, but only a small amount of petty cash - was stolen. Burglars entered the firm's offices, on the second floor of the Guardian Royal Exchange building in Hereford Street, after breaking into the building through a firstfloor window.
Filing cabinets and shelves were upended, and sheaves of legal files used as “kindling” to start two fires on the carpeted floors of the company’s offices. An automatic fire alarm alerted the Fire Service at 1.40 a.m., and firemen quickly brought the fires under control.
Minor damage only was caused, but some files were partly destroyed, according to a spokesman for the firm, Mr K. N. Hampton. Mr Hampton declined to say what the files contained, but said that the firm’s business should not be disrupted. “Most of the papers can be reconstructed without too much problem,” he said. Christchurch detectives are investigating the incident, but no arrest had been made by last evening.
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Press, 22 June 1978, Page 4
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193Legal files used to start fires Press, 22 June 1978, Page 4
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