Fire destroys lodge at Okarito

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 2

Fire destroys lodge at Okarito

Greymouth reporter i Ten people escaped in the clothes they stood in when] the Forks Lodge at Okarito,] in South Westland, was des-] troyed by fire on Monday; night.. ' ] Mr and Mrs Rudolph Meltzer, their four children, and four guests were in the guesthouse at the time. The fire is thought to have broken out in the lounge area. “My husband and I were on the other side of the house, and had been watching television,” said Mrs Meltzer from Whataroa yesterday afternoon. “The guests had gone to bed. We heard some noises but thought it was only the guests moving about. Then we - heard the sound of breaking glass. “We looked out into the passage and all we could see was srpoke. We got everyone tip and out as quickly

las possible, but we had no] , time to save anything.” [ ii Mrs Meltzer said that the] , I flames had cut the telephone j • 'lines, and they were unable r‘to get in touch with the :Whataroa fire brigade. One' ■I of her sons set off for Oka-i lirito township to raise thej • I alarm. However, the lines ; there- had been similarly] : affected bv the fire, and a| >; friend, Mr W. Minehan,] idrove 14.4 km to Whataroa! ji to inform the brigade. >| As a result, it was almost I - an hour before the brigade ;; arrived. By that time, the i i hotel was well ablaze and ithe unit concentrated on ; saving outside buildings. ; Mrs Meltz said that they . were insured, but yesterday /they were too shocked to fl talk about future plans. The guesthouse was for- : merly the Forks Hotel, but: > has been unlicensed for a - time, after the highway past r it was rerouted.