ARREST ON CHARGE OF ARSON

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 98, 19 January 1935, Page 9

ARREST ON CHARGE OF ARSON

Sequel to Big Fire In Dunedin FURNITURE FACTORY DESTROYED By Telegraph.—Press Association. Dunedin, January 18. A curious form of “running amuck ’ was exhibited to-night by a man who has since been arrested. When allegedly in a vengeful mood he threw three bricks through the plate glass windows, of the furniture warehouse of A. and J. Watt, in Princes Street, and then dashed across the street into Manor Place and set fire to the firm’s factory. Shortly after the brick-throwing incident tire was seen to break out simultaneously in half-a-dozen places in the factory, which was surrounded by stacks of seasoned timber and wellstocked with completed and half-made furnishings. With such fuel in such quantities the tire soon had a strong hold, and when the brigade arrived the whole building was a roaring inferno of flame, although from outside it had merely the appearance of a giant-mouthed chimney-stack belching dense volumes of dark smoke. But neither the corrugated iron roof nor the brick walls could for long withstand the irresistible fury of the flames, and within a short time they burst their way through and leapt high into the air.

Four leads of hose failed to make any immediate impression on the blaze, which moved steadily backward through the factory. The brigadesmen were seriously hampered in their operations by the layout of the. factory and the position of machinery ami plant, as a result of which the most spectacular period of the lire came when to the crowd outside tire blaze seemed to be well under control. The whole of the back portion of the building was blazing inside when the rafters collapsed, giving egress to a solid wall of flame 30 feet high and nearly twice as wide, which enveloped everything and successfully withstood the onslaughts of four hoses for several thrilling minutes. Thanks to an excellent water pressure, the fire was under control in a comparatively short space of time, and a great deal of seasoned timber stacked around the factory was saved.

The Fire Brigade found on arrival that the fire had such a strong hold in the interior of the building that it was impossible to determine the origin of the outbreak, but there was no mystery concerning the affair, as before the firemen had finished their task an arrest had been made and a man was taken into custody by Detective Marsh on charges of mischief, with respect of £GO worth of damage to the plate-glass windows, and arson, with regard to the burning of the factory and contents, the damage to which Is not exactly known but expected to run into thousands of pounds. The building was insured for £l5OO in the Yorkshire, State and another office not ascertainable this evening. The insurances on the contents of the building and the machinery were not available, nor is it possible this evening to estimate the damage to the plant. The alarm was received from a street box and phone a few minutes after 8 p.m., when Princes Street was crowded with thousands of Friday night shoppers, and even before the brigade arrived a large gallery was present. The fire-fighters were fortunate in the situation of the factory, which was wmll back from the street, making it an easy task for the police to keep the crowd at a distance, so that there was no hindrance to the firemen.