FIRE ON THE RIMUTAKA.

Evening Star, Issue 12881, 2 August 1906, Page 3

FIRE ON THE RIMUTAKA.

ANOI HER WOOL CARGO DAMAGED. CONFLICT WITHFIRE BRIGADE.. [From Our Special Correspondent, j , LONDON, June 30. W) t k ther from New Zeafire, tins time on board sf^ l mA eW p- Zea^ a f ld Shl PP in S Company’s Won f t> ois, l i JLis makes the seventh outbreak m the course of two or three months, and in each case the fire has iV Carso , of , “ a \ e consulted several wool ffS® 1 ! 8 r f n jl slu PP In K officials on the sube,onJy theory which they can put forward to account for this constant the wool has been loaded in a damp condition. The sea-son in New Zealand is understood to hj T T SUally wefc °"e. and it is shee Powners have allowed damp 1 ” 3 S ° ° n wiule the %VOC)1 was The fire on the Rimutaka, which occurred on Saturday night, is chiefly remarkable for a conflict of authority between the ship s captain and the Metropohtan Fire Brigade. It is alleged that the well-mtentioned efforts of the fire brigade were chiefly responsible for the damage that was done. The marine insurance correspondent of 4 The Times ’ gives an account, which 1 have verified bv inqmry at the offices of the company and in other quarters. It appears that the officers on board the Rimutaka discovered a small fire in the lower hold, and that at ten q dock the steamer's gas fire-estin-giushmg apparatus was started. Threequarters of an hour later the fire was practically extinguished, and the superintendent of police who came on board was told that no assistance was required. The superintendent, however, sent for the fire brigade, and they came at 11.45 p.m. The officer m charge of the steamer says I told the firemen there was no need for them: that the Clayton machine was at work, and if they took the hatches off they would undo all that had been donebut they took no notice of me, went down below, took o5 the hatches, and commenced playing water all over the lower hold with three hoses till 1 a.m., when the gas was very strong, and they asked me to stop the machine. I replied that I would not. and as they .were there on their own accord they would have to put up with it. They continued down the hold until about 2 a.m., playing water all round the hatchway.” , The second engineer of the vessel also reports that he teld the superintendent of notice that the fire brigade were not wanted. An officer of the New Zealand Steamship Company who went down when ho heard of the fire states that he turned off the quay hydrant three times himself in order to stop the water, but that it was as often turned, on again. This gentleman adds : 44 The superintendent of the brigade asked me to stop the Clayton machine, otherwise he would have to bring his men up out of . the hold, when I told him that was just what I wanted him to do.” Underwriters are much interested in this case (says 4 The Times’s’ correspondent), since, as the result of the pouring in of water by the brigade, considerable damage_ was done to the Rimutaka’s cargo. It is contended that practically no damage would have been done had the officers of the steamer been allowed to extinguish the fire in their own way. A somewhat similar collision between the officers of the Turakina and the dock authorities occurred at Wellington, but with a different result, since the officers eventually did their own fire, extinguishing, with very small damage to the cargo. Steamship owners fit modem gas-extin-guishing appliances in order to obviate the wasteful damage to cargo caused by water extinctionbut if water is introduced against their will by fire brigades on shore ranch of their efforts to save loss must go for nothing. 'Die whole affair in the case of the Rimutaka is probably a well-intentioned but unfortunate blunder, A collection of 5 per cent, on account of general average is being mad© from the underwriters of hull and cargo of the Rimutaka, and this represents about £15,000. The vessel 'herself sustained very little damage by the fire, and will sail for New Zealand on her time-table date. A survey of the carao discharged from

No. 5 hold shows that the damage is fortunately not so serious as ■ was anticipated. The case may give rise to interesting .developments.