FIRE IN A FOUNDRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 825, 25 May 1910, Page 8

FIRE IN A FOUNDRY.

UNFORTUNATE DELAYDIFFICULTIES WITH THE WATER SERVICE. __ V TWO MEN INJUEED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) .Napier, May 24. A firo broke out in the engine-room of the foundry of Jas. J. Nivou and Co., Ltd., Port Ahuriri, shortly after 11 o'clock this forenoon, and before the flames had been completely subjugated nearly two hours afterwards very considerable damage had been done. When the outbreak was first discovered, it had but a trifling hold, and disastrous results would probably : have been averted but for a couple of difficulties in connection with the water service. In the first place, when tho Spit fire brigade arrived on the scone they could not find the plug in, tho middle of Alain Street, opposite tho company's office, and a lead had to be.run from another plug some two chains; away. About ten minutes elapsed beforo the firstnanied and most serviceable plug was discovered, it having been covered thickly with road material, and even then it was found that tho iet obtainable scarcely reached to tho top of the building. . Another delay occurred in turning on the high pressure from the town, so.that nearly half an hour elapsed from tho time "the alarm was given until the various lines of hose were in full and forceful play. In tho meantime, hdwever, members of the Spit and Napier fire brigades, a contingent of tho latter having been hastily summoned, were doing all that could be done with axe's and other appliances, and were working strenuously under circumstances sometimes extremely risky. When tho water was brought into full operation the fire was soon mastered, and shortly before 1 p.m. there was no danger Df further damage. The buildings' destroyed wero the en-gine-house and new cool store, a portion of the old cool store being but slightly if at all affected. On these three buildings there was an insuranco of .£2800,' but of that sum .£BOO ■was on the old cool store, so that the actual insurance on the two'other buildings was 412000. In the engine-room and new' cool store there was some costly plant on which there was no insurance, the . company taking the risk themselves. This consisted of a 200 horse-power engine, two gas engines, two suction gas producers, an 18-ton freezer, a large electric dynamo, a. quantity of electric coil, and many tools and appliances. • All these were Tendered practically, useless, so that the firm under their own insurance risk are lieavy losers, probably to the extent of about .£SOOO, as estimated last night by Mr. George Nelson, managing director. The whole of the buildings were insured for ,£4395, and the stock of machinery, etc., for ,£12,705, making a total of .£17,100, the. risks being divided among the following eleven offices:—New Zealand,. South British, National, Liverpool and London'and Globe, London and Lancashire, Queensland, Alliance, Sun, Victoria, Atlas, and Commercial. These offices i are- only affected, however, to the extent of the JE2OOO on the two buildings destroyed, the others . having escaped damage and the whole of the valuablo itock being unharmed. There seemed to be, at one stage, a danger of the refrigerating chamber being seriously affected, in fact tho back wall had begun to give way, and, as a consequence, haste was made to remove the goods deposited therein by various owners. The Hawke's Bay Farmers' Cooperative Association, and Ellison and Duncan, were speedily at work rescuing their supplies of butter. Drays were .busily engaged carting away boxes of jfish' and other produce, and in veryf short time the refrigerating chamber ,«vas cleared. Although the chamber was (not: materially damaged, these promptly Jtaken precautions wero advisable, and lessened the possibility of very , heavy floss.'' The .North British and Hawke's jßay Freezing Company had stopped their only on the previous day,' and sent what stock they had on hand to jjfiven and Company's store. As a repilt -of the fire it was expected that,[temporarily, at any rate, the North British, machinery would have to be regtarted, and not only their own produce, l&ul that of all others, accommodated £n their own freezing space. Arrangements for this being done were being! made this afternoon. So fur the cause- of .outbreak'is not 'definitely known. It is supposed, howover, that the chimney of the engine-' tooid had become so heated during tho work going on, that a heap of coko close ■by became ignited, and in its thru set. tiro to the woodwork of tho roof. Carpenters ; working in the back-yard wero the.first to give the alarm, having noticed smoke issuing from the roof nearly over' the boiler. During the progress of the fire several accidents occurred. Tho fall of one of the walls •of the engine-room brought ■with it a platform from which a fireman named F. Smith and a moulder named "W. Napier wero descending. Napier .was lurlcd against a door, and narrowly escaped being pinued against its frame by the falling mass.. He sustained some flesh, wounds and bruises. Smith was pinned for a time by a falling beam, and had some difficulty in getting clear, but also escaped with a few- braises. Arrangements have been made by the firm to continue their work in all its branches to-morrow morning, so that none of their many hands will suffer from loss of employment. DWELLING DESTROYED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Wairoa, Stay 24. i. five-roomed residence at the Heads, owned by Phillip S. Hill, was burned last' evening, and nothing was 'saved. The owner went to lay poison for rats, and the room being dark struck a match, which caught some loose scrim. The place' being old and dry it burned fiercely. Insurances—,£l6o on tho dwelling and .£SO on the furniture, in the Victoria Office. [The Minhnax Hand Fire Extinguisher has extinguished thousands Df actnal fires. It is indeed a friend in need —A. T. Bate, Nathan's Buildings, Wellington, is tho agent.—Advt.] A TOOWOOMBA MOTHER TELLS HOW SHE, HER HUSBAND, AND CHILD WERE ALL CURED BY DR. SHELDON'S NEW DISCOVERY. "In our family we had a wonderful opportunity of judging of tho merits of Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery, and the effect it lias had in our cases is most .wonderful," writes Mrs. George Thomas Atkins. Euthven Street, Toowoomba, Q. "My little boy, 11 years old, had Bronchitis for 10 years, arid he was so bad that I had to take him to the hospital. The doctor there said he would never get better, and I really thought he would have died, for he used to go black in the face when he coughed and.then fall down, and I often thought him dead, as the result of the coughing and fall. The doctor prescribed all kinds of medicines, but none did him any good, so 1 brought him home from tho hospital, and, cave him a dose, of Dr.' Sheldon's New Discovery. It seemed to do him good at once, so. I got. a .large bottle and gave it to him nine times a day, and you would not know lfim now. 1 ean safely and honestlv say that it saved my boy's life. "I also had an opportunity to try Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery myself, for I had Quinsy and my throat was very sore, and I was nearly choking with it when I tried Dr. She'.don's New Discovery, and it also effectually cured my in a very short time. Likewise one of my children Buffered from a hard, dry cough for some time, and Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery also cured him. Then my husband had a bod attack of Influenza, and I gave him Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery, and it cured him as well." . Dr. Sheldon's New for Coughs and Colds is an unequalled preparation for tho euro of all Chest Complaints and Lung Troubles. All suffering as did Mrs. Atkins's family should give Dr. Sheldon's New Discovery a trial, and they will never be without it again. Pri'ov Is. 6d. and 3s—Advt. 15.