MAWHERA QUAY FIRE

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 May 1940, Page 5

MAWHERA QUAY FIRE

EARLY MORNING DISCOVERY FAMILY’S HURRIED ESCAPE < When the- Greymouth Fire Brigade received an alarm at 2.15 this morning, a quick turn-out was made to Mawhera Quay, where it was found that flames had a strong hold on the premises used as a women’s hairdressing salon by Miss Marshall, next to the Albion Hotel. Hearing a noise downstairs, Mr H. Marshall on investigating discovered that the building was on. fire, and the flames were extending to the upper floor. Mrs Marshall, Miss P. Marshall, and the Misses Foster (2) made their escape from one of the front windows, and were lu.cky toescape injury. They were unable to save anything, and in night attire.

A box, containing cash and personal papers, was saved, having been thrown out of one of the windows.

Breaking through the rbof, the flames extended to the' upper storey of the adjoining building, occupied by Mr L. A. Inkster, stationer and photographer. Considerable damage was done upstairs, while the stock on the .ground floor was damaged’ by smoke and water. Mr Inkster was visiting South Westland, and returned to Greymouth to-day. One bedroom in the Albion Hotel received some damage, but the concrete building prevented the further spread of the. outbreak in the direction of Albert Street. The fact that the wind was blowing from the direction of the Gorge, and' not in the opposite direction, was .also a factor in confining the damage, - A good pressure of .llOlbs per'square inch was available-from’the reservoir, and the Brigade did not find it necessary to use the water from the river. Two Dennis engines were in action with 800 feet- of hose, one lead being run from the main in. Mackay Street, and two from Mawhera Quay. The fire was fought from the inside of Marshall’s premises, and good work was done by the firemen, who had to cope with dense smoke, and the fact that the flames had gained a strong hold on the wooden interior ,pf the building. It was 5 a.m, before the Brigade members returned to the station, two men being left to guard against a further outbreak. In the circumstances, commented the Chairman of the Fire Board (Mr W. to-day, he regarded the work of the Brigade in preventing the further extension of the outreak as their best performance for some years. Mr Parfitt added that he wished, on beHalf of the Board, to thank the Brigade, turned out at full strength; also those ex-firemen who- gave their services. An inspection of Marshall’s premises, to-day, revealed that the contents will probably be a total loss. The occupants were fortunate in that they escaped before being overcome by smoke, and it- was obviou,s that a tragedy had been narrowly averted. Details of tfie insurances are as follow:—Marshall’s building, £650 in the Alliance Office; stock and furniture, £5OO in the Phoenix Office. ■" Inkster’s building, £B5O in-the Alliance Office, £2OO-in the State Office, and £l5O in the New Zealand Office; stock, £soo'in the London and Lancashire Office, £lOO in the Mercantile and General Office; stock and fittings, £5OO in the Mercantile and General Office.

It is recalled' that the premises now occupied by Mr Inkster were the scene of a fire on the evening of December 21, 1923, when-the photography busines was conducted by Mr J. Ring.

FRONTIER INCIDENTS. (Recd. May 7, 12.55 p.m.). LONDON, May 6. The Associated Press Ljubljana correspondent says: Revelation of two frontier incidents has heightened Ital-ian-Jugoslav tension. , One Italian soldier was killed and three seriously wounded last week, when a patrol attempted to disarm a Jugoslav sergeant in Jugoslavia. The sergeant resisted and threw a grenade. The second incident also occurred last week, when - a Jugoslav antiaircraft gun brought”down an Italian plane near Fiume. POPE’S - LONDON, May 5. The Pope has made a new plea for world peace' in which he urged Italy to keep out of the-war. The appeal was made during Pontifical Mass. His Holiness said the hour had come for all Italians to pray for peace. At the -end of the sermon the Pope received'' a tremendous ovation, and the congregation, which packed the church, cheered for nearly five minutes and shouted, “Long live the Pope.” The Pope’s prayer for peace reads: “Jesus, descend from the mountain, walk on the billows, halt winds, calm the storm, help the ship of Your disciples, and lead us into the port of peac§. Make men see the light, make men'lay down their arms, and make the discordant wills and minds of those controlling the destiny of the nations offer You peace with reciprocal “trust and sincerity, restoring through justice and love honour and harmony among peoples.”

ITALY’S SUPER-BATTLESHIP (Recd. May 7, 12.55 p.m.). GENOA, May 6. The builders have handed over Italy’s new 55,000-ton battleship, Littorio. * ECONOMIC MISSIONS. BUCHAREST, May 6. A Turkish-economic mission headed by the Director of the Ministry of Commerce has arrived here to arrange for an 1 exchange x of wool for timber and oil. ' A message ;frQ?n Ankara says that the Balkan Entente Powers will hold an economic conference at Belgrade from May 27 to June 2. , OIL FOR GERMANY (Recd. May 7, 12.55 p.m.). BUCHAREST, May 6. The Russian oil-tanker Sakhalin is ‘unloading eight and a-haif thousand (tons of fuel oil at Constanza, for carriage by rail to Germany.