FIRE ON ADELAIDE-ROAD.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 156, 30 December 1898, Page 5

FIRE ON ADELAIDE-ROAD.

DESTRUCTION OF THE TRAMWAY HOTEL. The Fire Brigade has been given, ample opportunity to show what it can do under its newaiemporary commander, for again, at an early hour this morning, it was called upon, for the second time within 24 hours, to battle with its natural enemy. This time, another hotel — the Tramway, at the junction of Adelaide - road and Drummond-street — has been destroyed. Soon after a quarter past 2 the alarm was received by Assistant-Branchman Woolcott, and he, at the head of the Newtown contingent, was soon on the scene, and had two jets of , water playing on the burning building, which on the Drummond-street side was practically a mass of flames inside. It was notflong before the main contingent of the Brigade, under Acting-Cap-tain Adams, 'dashed up. Two more streams were directed upon the flames, which ate up and spread through the old wooden structure at a rapid rate. .However, there was a good pressure of water, and the brigadesmen, within 20 minutes after the arrival of their chief officer, had the fire well under control and had prevented its spreading to the adjoining buildings, the only damage to which was the breaking of a few window-panes. The upstairs bedrooms of the hotel were completely demolished, and so were all the back rooms. The hotel contained about 30 rooms, and the bar and dining-room were not burned, though flooded by water. The fire originated in the pantry, and was discovered by the barman (James Bartley), who was awakened by a choking sensation, and on hastily jumping out of bed felt the flooring to be scorching hot. He immediately gave the alarm to the inmates, but the dense smoke which filled •the street, as well as the rooms and passages of the hotel, was almost suffocating. The licensee (Mrs. Annie Ryan) first ran downstairs to the back, and seeing flames leaping up outride the wall in only one place, thought the fire had been smouldering, and had flared up just then. She accordingly threw upon it several buckets of water, but at that moment the flames burst through the wall in several places. Mrs. Ryan hastily rushed to the bedrooms again to see if her five children were safe, and in doing so she narrowly escaped suffocation. But for the timely assistance rendered to her by Bartley, it is probable that another fatality would have to be recorded. As it is, Mrs. Ryan has been confined to her bed all day, suffering from the effects — she is staying at the Prince of Wales's Hotel, the licensee of which, Mr. Corby, is her brother. One of Mrs. Ryan's children was suffering from rheumatic fever at the time, and was being looked after by a nurse from the Hospital, who seized the little one with blankets, and conveyed it to a. place of safety The other* children were rescued by means of a ladder. There were about ten people in the hotel when the fire broke out, and all escaped, though very scantily attired. Some of them got out by means of the front verandah. One of the two boarders, a young lady, only came to Wellington by the late train last night. It is understood that she managed to save all her luggage. Mrs. Ryan took over the license of the Tramway Hotel only, nine weeks ago. Since then she has refurnished the building and had it re-paper-ed, re-painted, etc., and thoroughly overhauled. Aa to whether or not there were any fire escapes, our representative has made special enquiries. There was apparently but one ladder escape leading from the top floor— the building was a two-storied one. But the door made to open from the passage to this ladder, it is stated, was nailed vp — a board being fastened across it. The reason for this seemingly strange proceeding we have been unable so far to ascertain. The small platform from which the ladder descended was unrailed. If there' were any ropes in the upstairs bedrooms they would, of course, by now be quite destroyed, but as one of the female employees, Miss Jane Fitzpatrick, jumped from her bedroom window on to the footpath in Drummond-street, it is inferred that there were no ropes there. The young woman would doubtless be considerably alarmed, as the fire was" roaring in the room beneath her, and in her excitement may not have thought of any other means of exit. Had there been a rope, the height was not such as to render descending by it with care at all dangerous.. Miss Fitzpatrick fell on the ground with great force, and was taken to the Hospital, where it was found v she had sustained a fracture of the right arm. Sha is now progressing satisfactorily, and is otherwise' uninjured. The loss of the licensee alone would probably be over £500. The building was owned by Mr. Chas. Plimmer and insured for £500 in the Commercial Union and £500 in the South British, £250 of the latter being re-insured in the National Office. The South British Office also holds a risk of £550 on the contents. Mr. Bartley is deserving of commendation for his conduct throughout the fire, and he was ably assisted by several civilians. As to the work of the Fire Brigade only favourable reports have been heard. So far as this particular building is concerned, the fire will simplify to some extent the widening of Adelaide-road, as arrangements will doubtless be come to whereby it will in re-erection be placed back on the new frontage of the street. One of Mrs. Ryan's daughters, in attempting to escapp broke a window pane with her hand, which bled so profusely that the child was in a serious conditi«n A and. medical aid had to be sought.