FIRE'S GLEAN SWEEP

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1932, Page 12

FIRE'S GLEAN SWEEP

NEWTOWN BLOCK GONE

RAPID SPREAD IN GALE

WIND BEATS WATER

1:y... A fire which broke out in Eintoui ■'•street about 1 o'clock this morning ; ; spread very rapidly with the strong -southerly wind, and within three--quarters of an hour two apartment"houses and four shops, with living quarters attached, had been destroyed. -?■ Five fire engines were quickly on the : : scene, but the brigadesmen were faced with a difficult task, and they did well ;, to confine the fire within such limits. . • Nothing -was saved from the houses or ■ shops, the occupants escaping in their night attire. The alarm was received at 1.22, and ,"„ when the engines arrived the fire had \, a very strong hold, and Nos. 80 and 78 were ablaze. Six leads of hose were brought to bear on the flames in the -."■ hope of checking them before they . "reached the' shops, but the high wind -' played havoc with the jets, although ««-■ the pressure was increased by the motor pumps, and it became a question ;i, mainly of preventingjthe spread of the , '". fire across Stoke street. The water j^ made little impression on the roaring " furnace, fanned by the southerly wind, arid within twenty minutes the shops r. were hopelessly involved. ';,.. The heat was terrific, and several ; houses on the opposite side of Bintoui street were badly scorched .and their windows broken. Sparks were carried «" for hundreds of yards by the wind, ",' which also sent loose pieces of roofing ...iron flying through the air. Numerous !--■ -small fires started outside nearby houses, and constant vigilance was - necessary on the part of householders. -'At 43, Bintoul-street, some distance '*.•■ away from the actual fire, a hole was -■ burnt in the roof. ,;-. An honr after the alarm was first V given the fire had practically burnt ; 'itself out, but there was still a grave V danger of further outbreaks, and the ;": brigadesmen remained on duty1 until all -.■< anxiety was past. ■'-'-" The premises destroyed were as -^follows:— ■ ■ :■ , '"■■■ 80, Eintoui street, apartment-house of a;["«leven rooms in two floors, owned and £■''occupied by Mr. and Mrs. G. Morris and i-.family. Building insured in the Commercial Union office for £1200, contents ,":;. in the same office for £300. L-' 78, Eintopl street, apartment-house of ■ ten rooms in two floors, . owned and V;- occupied by Mr. an& Mrs. .6. Bartholo- ,;,- mew and family. Building, insured in the Insurance Office of Australia for , ~.£IOOO. . 76, Eintoui street, dairy and sweet shop with living quarters, occupied by - Mr. and Mrs. James Booth and son. .-'.'. Stock and furniture insured in the Lonr don and Lancashire office for £300.' -^ 74, Bintoul street, grocer's shop with ~ . living quarters, occupied by Mr. and 1~ Mrs. A. p. Turner and family. Stock :. and furniture, insured, but no details "_.. available. ■-. 72, Eintonl street, fruit shop with qnarters, occupied by Dahya 1. Bala, a Hindu. No details of insurance y,~ are available. , . 70, Bintoul street, butcher's shop, f occupied by E. C. Burns, with living. "" quarters occupied by his parents, Mr. ■^ and Mrs. C. J. Burns and family. No '...insurance. ~ The four shops were contained in a ;:;, two-story building owned by Messrs. '-; D. Lewis and A. Joseph. '-"I.! A large shed facing Stoke street and ' adjoining No. 70 was also destroyed; Two motor-lorries belonging to Dahya ;Bala were removed undamaged. Slight damage was done by. fire to a garage at the rear of the shops, and two small cars inside were also slightly damaged. One, owned by C. S. James, is insured for £75, and the other,, belonging to O. S. James, is insured for £180, both policies being with the Yorkshire office. No. 88, a house occupied ly Mr. F. Hughes and situated on the southern ~, side of No. 80, was also damaged to ■•-• some extent by fire and water. -:V Engines from the Central station and *■■■ Northland had just returned from a small outbreak at Kelburn when the alarm came through to the main ;:: station. ■Z. SOME NARBOW ESCAPES. - According to their stories, some of 'the householders who lost everything in the fire had narrow escapes from death * by suffocation or burning. <-■; "When we woke up the place was i--full of smoke," said Mrs. Morris. "We. just had time to rouse the two boys and escape in our night attire. The '-:> way to the front, door was blocked by n- the flames, and we had to get out down the back stairs. As we got out the whole place burst into flames. We went in next door and woke, them up. The telephone and the lights were cut off at the same time, and it was impossible to save anything in the darkness. • It was an awful experience." Mrs. Morris said she could not give :,-. cause for the fire. When, she and T;. her husband went to bed about 10 :;f;.o'clock there was only a small fire in ■j the grate in the sitting-room upstairs. * -Mr. Morris was in the habit of waking S: "up for a cigarette, and it .was fortu*','jiate he did so on this occasion, as ho .•;!_; immediately smelt smoke and was able ■Ito give the alarm in time. ;.-j., ; Mrs. Bartholomew told a. similar story =-: of being awakened just in time to J^jouse the other members of the family. ;;:' "I just happened to wake up and 'smell smoke,'.' said Mr. Booth. "I - jumped out of bed and roused the others, and then I saw that the place -"next door was blazing. We saved ...nothing at all." .^, Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Burns and their ' family had to be helped down ladders • erected by the brigadesmen. They are "heavy losers. About £15 worth of ;-.- meat stored in the shop was destroyed. :.'V"Th.e value of the furnituro and personal effects lost was about £200. The main building destroyed contained eighteen rooms," in addition to the four shops, and was owned by Messrs. D. Lewis and A. Joseph; who also owned the two-story shed and garage. The total insurance was £2780' in the . Eoyal Insurance Office.! - A company of firo police, under Captain T. Ballinger, did good work in assisting! the brigadesmen.