THE DUNEDIN FIRE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5803, 26 January 1887, Page 2

THE DUNEDIN FIRE.

FURTHER PARTICULARS. . [united press association.] Dttnedin, January 24. Shortly after three o'clock the fall of • ■tHe^uppVr'floofa'of-ifie'lrbnmoTSgerjrdepart-: merit and [their ponderous contents caused a ydlosg'of life. The basement of thi3 -department, .was „ used,, as^a ..store, .and ... it_ could b¥ entered from the basement of the farnitura department adjoining by a low arched opening - some eight -feet -or -_so an width. A number of people entered this way and made their way up3talrs, pushing out articles within reach.;/ Esquilant and Wallace were among the volunteers, so was Miller. The party also included Mr Pearson (of the Railway Fire Brigade), several members of the Fire Brigade and Salvage Corps, and Donaldson of the Naval Brigade. M'Kenzie Beeine the unsafe state of matters in the hardware department, called to the workers to desist ; most of them did so, but one or two of the hindmost delayed to pass out a rack of shovels, which stood just inside the archway between the hardware and furniture departments. At;; thai' moment the first catastrophe occurred^ .-The strain to which the floors above had been subjected was tremendous, an* the topmost, with its contents had 'fallen on the one beneath, that upon the 'next one, and so on until at this juncture 'the whole fell with one great crash into -the basement. Those on the bright side. of, the archway on the base of .the furniture depv iment escaped, moBt ? of them unhurt, but fell back horrorstricken and enveloped in smoke arid fragments of debris. They had- barely time to -recover -themselves when a cry for help 'informed them that one or more of the lay buried beneath the bu: .ling raaW^Jßeturping to the spot,' the body of Athe, sailor Wallace was seen half exposed, the lower limbs, c jly to the waist being covered. He was conscious ; and r implor'cd. them to. [release him. He lay just inside the archway to the right hand 'side jammed against the wall in a peculiar attitude, and evidently in great pain Disregarding the imminent danger, for only a portion of the upper j floors had fallen, as yeV, several men set fearlessly about the task of rescue. Pearson Donaldson, and one or two firemen directed the hose at the burning heap^ and saved the man' from instant! death by fire, while a few others made an attempt to extricate him. Constable' Chisholm had hold of him by the arms, and Millar and others were trying to prise the weight off the prostrate man with a crowbar, and piece of timber, which they used as levers', when the second and more fatal fall occurred burying several of the rescuing party. Immediately the ismoke and confusion allowed a number... of people, to return to the scene ,they,f ound the dreadful condition of affairs intensified. Wallace's body was' still half exposed, and a little distance away and to the left-hand- of-the-archway part of the headland one shoulder of Esquilant were; io-.be^. seen. He, like Wallace, was conscious] and appeared to suffer more terribly than^Millar. Of the other' dead body, which was afterwards recovered, nothing had been seen. None of the debris fell outside ;the archway, and when the second . crash came Bridges and Wallace sprung -from the wood ware into the furniture warehouse, "but; a piece of the material that fell struck Mr Bridges on the ankle. . v ■■• ..-. ;■ .;•■ . .-, vl ; :: ; . ■ ■-, The manager, Mr Henderson, cannot conceive any way in which the fire origin-, ated accidentally. Everything was safe when the premises were left on Saturday, at noon. The watchman was down at ten o'clock on Sunday' morning, and found everything right then. He was on his way to pay another visit of inspection when he heard the firebell rung. One of the clerks walked down from church at half-past twelve, and called at the factory office to get a book, and there was no sign of fire. The fire must have originated at the back part near Bond street boiler and engine house. They were separated from the factory by a strong brick wall, and there was nothing of an inflammable nature in these/ rooms, all the waste and oil being locked up in a safe. One result of the destruction of the property will be that about 150 hands (the best workmen of the company) will have io be thrown out of work.

Andrew Millar, who lost his life, was an old and respected servant of the company, and had for years been the head carter. He leaves a wife and eight children. Wallace spoke from time to time, and bore up very pluckily, but _was evidently suffering intensely.) Esquilant was in even greater pain, and murmured an entreaty to those around him to put him out of his misery. He aho begged for chloroform, and this Dr Brown sent foe and administered a large 'quantity to him, but still he. was conscious for the greater part of the time. His father and brother were amongst the onlookers. A little after six o'clock Wallace was freed, but his condition was terrible. Half of the rescue party were now engaged in digging for bodies on the right hand side of the archway, eight or nine feet from where Esquilpnt lay. As they worked a man was presently, uncovered, ani immediately beneath this lay the head of another dead man crushed, face downwrrd. After half nn hour's additional work, the bodies were dug out and proved to be those of Millar and a man whose name is unknown. The bodies were literally blackened and disfigured. At halfpast 7 the work of freeing Esquilant was accomplished. He had beep jammed between the upright support of the staircase, about a dozen or more grates falling upon him. The lower portion of his body was practically lifeless when extricated. Great precautions had been made in case of the possible outbreak of fire. Walls had been built as closely as possible, and where an opening was required Iron doors had been made, and perforated iron pipes' fixed to the rooms in each department j and through these water or steam could be applied so as to have the whole placa flooded. In the day. watchmen were formerly employed, but recently owing to retrenchment the services, of a day watchman were dispensed with.

It is generally understood that the building was not insured for half its value, the insurance companies not caring to take heavy risks on such buildings. The total of the insurances is stated to be £76,000. Half of the property destroyed is estimated as worth between £150,000 and £200,000. The only definite information obtainable is that the South British Company have Hnes amounting io £20,000. The National loss ia £10,000,

the United Insurance Company £17,000, and the New Zealand Companies £15,000.