WILLIS STREET FIRES

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 9, 6 October 1941, Page 8

WILLIS STREET FIRES

Two Outbreaks Last Night Before all the machines had returned from a minor outbreak of fire in Willis Street, Wellington, last night, a call was received'to a more spectacular fire in the same street. In neither case was there any major damage. Flames mounting from an old wooden building behind the Y.M.C.A. in Willis Street, attracted a large crowd of onlookers at 9.45 o’clock. The building, which is owned by J. Me* Ilraith and Co., Ltd., was used as a store for empty bottles. Thought the framework was old, the building itself did not ignite, the flames being confined mainly to boxes and straw inside. Four machines from the Central station were quickly on the scene, and though nq time was lost in setting out the hose leads, the fire had got well under way and was reflected on the walls of surrounding'buildings. Flames were extinguished before nearby residences aud sheds could become endangered. Little damage was done when fire broke out in a storage shack adjacent to a garage at 279 Willis Street. Four machines answered the call at 9.20 p.m. The fire, it is thought, began on the floor and travelled to the ceiling. A number of books and old furniture were damaged.