THE NEWCASTLE FIRE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1908, Page 9

THE NEWCASTLE FIRE.

+ AN EXTRAORDINARY SCENE. GALLANT RESCUE FROM THE RUINS. A sensational occurrence at Newcastle, already bothered sadly by "creeps," wa-s the disastrous fira (briefly referred to in the cablo messages from Sydney), by which Messrs. D. Cohen and Co.'s fine four-story waiehoose, in the henrfc of the city, and containing an extensive stock of drapery, grocery, ironmongery, furniture, china, and fancy goods, was destroyed!, the damage, it is estimated, being over £150,000 , The scene, according to the Herald's correspondent, was an extraordinary on© when the flames were at their height. Great heavy supports between, the floors were consumed like matchwood, and corrugated iron girders were twisted in agrotesque manner. As the floors fell in more fuel was added to the fire, and the roar of the flames, completely drowned the voices of the 'firemen,' who could bo seen gesticulating to one another. Sudsdenly above the' din several explosions were heard, accompanied by dense clouds of smoke. The thousands of that crowded as near -to the burning building as they possibly could fled precipitately back, -on the intimathm that gunpowder was in the building. A 6eries of explosions quickly followed, -and It is believed that, tiiese cam© from a number of cartridges s.tore'd in the sporting department. These explosions lasted fully a quarter of an hour, the' deep .reports being varied by .a jsuccession of - sharp reports , like the rattle of musketry. ft was at this stage that the first sensational incident occurred, 'and buty for the alertness of a number of firemen there would undoubtedly have been loss of life. The- gioafc wall fronting Scottstreet was suddenly seen . to bulge outward., and gave signs of falling. Thousands of people who saw it shouted to' the firemen immediately below, and hardly had they escaped when with a mighty crash the whole wall fell over the street and the railway line, coverinc; them with debris several feet thick. Cheat blocks of masonry ploughed the ground, and some blocks of biickwofk which fell solidly must have weighed a ton. 1 When the Scott-street wall fell it could be seen that the whole of the interior was a. cauldron of flame, and so hot were the walls' that as water struck them a great cloud of 'steam -rose. It was not long before some of the remaining walls began to look dangerous. The eastern one, towering above the # Shortiand Hotel, became very shaky, and'suddenly crashed on to the roof of the hotel, carrying everything before it, and completely wrecking the upper portion of the building. The noise created by the falling wall could be heard by people some miles away, andi the- "eight was a terrifying one. The southern wall, left without support, soon followed, and great henvy massas of brick and stones fell into Keightloy-street, crushing, several new structures to the ground, and piling up red-hot debm. The firemen worked under great disadvantage. They 'had to exercise great, caution in approaching the burning building on account of the falling walls, and 6tray bricks and pieces of wall, which were continually coming flown with t9rcific force, and shattering on the paverajnt. As it was, several firemen were more or less hurt in this way. As the flames diminished in fury the interior of the building presented frightful disorder, and it was while •the i firemen were busily engaged in confining ' the- fire that three men mot with a serious mishap. A few bricks from the western wall, overlooking the* School of Arts, had fallen 1 - on to that building, leaving' holes in tha roof, and great efforts were being made to save the library of the institution from destruction. Three men — Henry Crandle (caretaker), Edward | Dockety, and W. G. Kirchner— were iv the building, together with a. number of firemen, ■when, without warning, a great portion of the wall fell with a noiso likethunder, and buried them beneath the hot debris. The roof of the School of Arts broke the fall of the wall to a great extent ; otherwise tke men. -would have been killed outright. When it was ssen what had occurred several fiiemen rushed towards the moaning men, and succeeded after some difficulty, in extricating them They were found to bo considerably burned about the body, while blood was flowing from wound's on their heads. They were hurried off to (he hospital. At about 5.30 a.m., when the fiiemen had succeeded in their efforts to confine the flames to Cohen's warehouse, one of the men was injured by a, live electric' wire. Henry Ramsay, a fireman, belonging to the City Brigade, _was, in company with other men, woiking i in Keightleysfcreet, after the southern wall had fallen. . The men had bpen warned about tho electric wires, .ilthnugh \L was reported at the time that the current had been cut off. Ramsay climbed on to a heap of bricks, and by some means slipped. A wire was lying half buried* in the debris, but his hands fell clear of it. One of his ankles was, however, 'caught ia tho wire. A lrurftber 'of his mates promptly came to his assistance, but when they touched! the prostrate- man' they, also received shocks more or less severe. They then secured a piece of wood, and managed to wrest his legs free f i,om the wire.