FIRES.

Evening Star, Issue 12094, 15 January 1904, Page 1

FIRES.

* AUCKLAND, January-I*. A fixe uoourred at Kankapakapa on Wednesday night, -when the Bndge Hotel, containing Kventoen rooms and botth. tho property of Mr B, Drinnan, were com-' pkteiy destroyed. The fire was discovered by Mrs Innes, -wife of the licensee. She quickly roused the other inmates—Mr J. limes, two guests, and' the domestic servants. The occupants made their way on to the roof of the verandah in a half-suffo-cated condition by means of a -window, being too dated to nee the escapes. They remained on the verandah until Mr Drinnan rescued them from a position of great danger. Nothing whatever was saredfromi the hotel, the inmates escaping with merely the clothes they stood up in. > No cause can be assigned for the outbreak. The total insurances on the hotel, stock, and furniture amount to £I,OOO, but as the value of the house and contents is estimated at nearly double that sum both the owner and fioensea are heavy losers. The bakehouse was vbinsured.

OSBORNE, January 14. _A fire broke cut this afternoon in the premises of Cox and Co., grocers, Gladstone road. The brigade got smartly to work, end suppressed the fire, but the wooden building, which was owned by the Bank of New South Wales, was so damaged that it wfll probably be condemned. The stock was nrach damaged. The building is insured for £2OO, divided between the National and Norwich Union Offices. The insurances on the stock .'are: £2OO each at the Sun and Loudon and Lancashire, £4OO in the Victoria (reinsured), end £3OO in the Law; Union, and Crown; total on stock, £*UIOO. The stock was removed from the adjoining buildings, occupied by Messrs Primrose and Leslie (saddlers) and J.W. Bull (fruiterer). , A farther examination of the "salvage shows thai the damage to Cox and Co.'s stock by fire was not.so great as was at first anticipated. ' The loss on the \stock is estimated at £350. The fire started in «hj» lining boards of the upper storey, and Lf. supposed to have been caused by rata.