BLAZE IN CITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 96, 23 April 1940, Page 11

BLAZE IN CITY

CABLE STREET BUILDING

. WORKROOM GUTTED

EARLY MORNING GALL

Considerable damage to Summers Building, Gable Street, was done by a fire which broke out early this morning. The top floor occupied by Schneideman and Sons, Ltd., manufacturing tailors, as a workroom was gutted, and severe damage was also done to Turnbull and Jones's workshop on part of the floor below. The remainder of the building did not suffer to the same extent from fire, but the great volume of water required to get. the blaze under control and extinguish it necessarily affected the other.; sections of the premises, together with their contents. The fire at its peak made a spectacular . sight, but so promptly and-effectively was it tackled by the brigadesmen that it did hot last for long, the fire being brought under control in what appeared to be a remarkably short time.

The alarm was received at 2.35 a.m., and within a minute Superintendent C. A: Woolley and his men from the Central Station had arrived at : the scene. The glow "from the fire, such

was its hold,; could be seen from the

fire, station, and immediately the superintendent left the station he decided it was an occasion for a "brigade^ call," which means, in brief, 'a general muster of fire-fighting re-, sources and the consequential backing up of stations that have answered the call. He gave his instructions accordingly, and within a few minutes the scene, was one of great activity as more fire engines arrived and their appliances were brought into "action. ATTACK FROM ALIV SIDES. Many leads of hose had soon been paid out, the blaze being attacked on all sides. The building is a ; brick and { ■ concrete structure - and its situation is such .that the brigadesmen were not faced/with great difficulties in bringing numerous leads ..to bear, the_ area around the building soon becoming a labyrinth of hose. A large open space on the western side of the building at the back of the Westport Coal Company's premises enabled a very, vigorous attack to be made.on the top and middle floors, from the windows of which flames were leaping out. Thick black smoke rose high through the roof in the! still morning air and great tongues •of flame were also shooting upwards, the glow illuminating the buildings-and-streets in the vicinity. The blaze was seen by people living on - Wellington Terrace and in other nearby residential areas, but in'view of tb.e early hour, and probably also- because of ther quic.k work of the the .fire* did not attract ".a large-crowd, although there were some people who made a special trip to the scene,; and they mingled with night workers who stopped to see the spectacle. FLOOR GIVES WAY. A* remarkable feature of the outbreak was the firm hold the fire had befpre Jt.,>yas,_npticed. It .was no time after- the: alarm was given when a large part of the roof went, and shortly afterwards dull thuds showed that the wooden flooring in one section of the top floor had-given way and that the heavy pressing machinery in the workroom had fallen .through, to the flqor belo-wi Breaking windbw panes ' added to the roar of the flames, and the hiss of the steady streams of water from the hoses'' heightened the. spectacular effect. ': . Despite the favourable situation of the building .and the stillness of the morning,, no chances : were taken by the brigade. The building was surrounded and immediate attention was paid to covering the light area between the. rear of the; building and Austin House, four-storeyed reinforced concrete premises fronting on. to Wakefield , Street., Leads were .taken ' through Austin House on two floors, but,the main attack was directed from the vacant land behind the coal company's .. premises, from . where heavy jets were poured on the blaze. Later 'the brigadesmen used the fire escapes on" the front of Summers Building to direct Water on to the flames. PROTECTION OF STOCK. , Well inside the hour there was practically no sign of flame, but much serious work remained for the brigadesmen, who were assisted in various ways by about twelve volunteer Fire Police, under Captain F. J. Ballinger and Deputy-Captain J. Short. Extensive use. was made of tarpaulins for covering up stock from water damage, a considerable quantity of water having come down the stairs ' and through the ceilings on to the floors below. In Austin House brigadesmen were also soon at work mopping up water which ' had escaped ..from the leads taken through the building. Most of this water was in the furniture storeroom of Kenner's; Ltd., on the second floor. There' was a.large, quantity of furniture here, but it appeared to have escaped damage. Some water also found its way into part of the premises occupied by "New Zealand Truth," but did ho damager In addition to the loss of clothing already made up, other articles in

course of, manufacture, and stocks, of

materials, Schneideman and Sons suffered heavily' through the loss of

machinery and hundreds of patterns, which Mr. Philip Schneideman later described as irreplaceable. He also stated that the fire would have a serious effect on the carrying out of orders

for military uniforms,

The firm also

occupied part of the middle floor for its offices *and stock room. The other section of the' middle floor was occu-

pied :as a • workshop by Turnbull and Jones, Ltd., electrical engineers and merchants, and it was here that a.great deal of the .fire was concentrated when

the flooring above gave way.

The ground floor was occupied as a store-by Faber's Furnishing Company, Ltd., and by A. G. Healing and Company, cycle and motor importers. Although to, bystanders, the firemen appeared to have do* -; a splendid job in a yery ; short time,'. Superintendent Woolley, before he. returned to the station, was inclined to regard the fire as presenting no special difficulties. He explained the tactics which had -been necessary and . which were adopted 1 romptly, and then added that after that it was just a' straight-out routine job of extinguishing a fire. The building is owned by Mr. E. ASummers, -of Christchurch. It was built in two sections, the first in 1923, and the - second. a few years,, later; Schneideman.and Sons, have been tenants, in the building since it was first erected. . '•..."•

For wilfully damaging a showcase, Archibald Thomas Begbie, a labourer, aged 28, was fined £2 by Mr. A. M. Gouldihg,' S.M., in the Petone Court, yesterday." He waV ordered to make good the damage to the extent of £1On a charge Aof drunkenness, he was fined 10s and costs.