FIRE ON THE R.M.S. TAINUI.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1235, 18 September 1911, Page 4

FIRE ON THE R.M.S. TAINUI.

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DEALT WITH IN TIME.

(By TclccraDh.-PrcES Association.) Christchurch, September 17. About four o'clock on Saturday morning a fire was discovered on the main deck of tho Shaw, Snvill, and Albion Company's liner Taimii, then lying at No. 3 wharf, Lyttelton. It appears _tli.it a basket containing rubbish—principally waste from tho bottom of tho hold—wns standing on tho foT© main deck, opposite No. 2 hold, aud directly under the officers' quarters aud the vessel's bridge. By sonic means tho oonteuts became ignited, and tho flames shot up. The firo was first observed by one of the Harbour Board's nightwotchmen, and an alarm was raised on board tho liner. With tho use of the up-to-date (ire-light-ing plant on tho Tainui, tho flames were immediately extinguished. An inspection showed that beyond the scorching of somo paint on (lie ironwork of the officers' "Mrtcrs tho vessel had sustained practically no damage. Tho origin of the fire is a coinplcto mystery, but it is thought that it was caused by .1 match accidentally thrown down by someone into the basket on the previous evening, and winch gradually smouldered, eventually bursting into (lames.