POST OFFICE FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 206, 25 May 1908, Page 7

POST OFFICE FIRE.

NO INTERRUPTION TO THE MAILS. ( ■ PRIVATE LOSSES." ' , At midnight after the fire ; ;in ; th<3 bid Post. Office buildings the "scenß''m . the',;)ijrgo. maii room was one. of utter chaos. ; Mail., bags with .t-lioir contents had been, plucked from tile hoppers and ilung into hampers ready for removal; the rooni-. ; was stripped of its: entire equipment, in case.. complete evacuation should prove necessary. - The. scene, in other rooms was hardly 'loss' disorderly'"' '* By - 4 a.m., liowevor, everything had been" restored to its proper, place, and every branch ot the Post Office was. ready . to..commence a new day s work, just as if there had been no lire. .1

Wo could have -soiit out. any moil ito any part of the world,", declared' tlio Postmaster (Mr. J. A. Hutton)..to .a"reporter. Mr. Hutton agreed that the- greatest: credit was duo to tho employees of the .-,various branches ,for such a speedy 'recovery from confusion, v It was-fortunate',--, saidii that when tlio> fire broke out the.Post -and-, Telegraph Rifles had • been H holding a- parade; lhey arrived in tho excitement, and their services"in .shifting: stock beyond tho reach of the devouring--flames v.-oro of the• greatest .value. .' j The foreign-' mail' roontf'Vheri 'Visited ,; by' a Dominion: on ; ri: Saturday, showed by , its charred .and blackened walls, and the water gripping, from.'its roof,' the olfects of the conflagration.' Rafters had been turned to, a fine- charcoal, which - lay piled about the floor could not havo been continued iii this room, but fortunately thero wero other' quarters waiting. In view of'the demolition or the old buddings, preparations'"liad been 1 , made to shift the work of tho. foreign mail room upstairs in the main building, arid tho firo simply accelerated this a transfer:.- -On JSaturday morning the men jprerb, .wonting in theii 1 new- quarters. Tho ■ .inspectors'., branch and dead letter office, wliose- -premise's suffered considerably by tho .fire, wero removed, a little earlier than had been oxpectcd, into offices which had, beeiricased by the Depart-, ment in Brandon Street for use during the construction of tho now Post Office. The parcels-office survived tho-fire almost intact, and Mr. Hutton states,-that.-the loss of parcels was almost nominal; ...., ,■ j •Mr. Smith, overseer of ..tlio Public' Works Department, was to, havo';,-.commenced,.the. demolition of the buildings within ".two' 01 . threo days. The fire will not hasten or delay' the construction of the new Post .Office. All tlio plans have been completed, and; tenders will bo called as soon as the sito ! is cleared/ Most of the old buildings will bo easily arid quickly demolished, and tho assistance given by the fire in .this direction, is neither here nor there. 1 v-->

' Messrs. Casey and Moraii,'solicitors,' had loft tho promises at the.corner of- Featlierston and Panama Streets beforo, tho fire Broko out. Messrs. O'Brien "ah 3 "b£, ''carriers, /'had also entered into .new. premises, but had not removed a Jafgo; quantity'of their own and clients' stock from tho old quarters, and a large proportion of this stock was destroyed; This firnv'wefo unable to say, on .Saturday, what gbods' : were. 'o? .were .not insured, but they expected to suffer a considorablo loss above the insurance. Anions tho goods, stored.by Messrs" "O'Brien* and Co"! was a large box, containing books of reference and .fiction,; belonging tp, 'Mr; "Casey • solicitor. Tho books were not insured. ' A large number of people inspected • tlio scene, of tho fire oil Saturday.