FIVE OF STAFF DIE IN ADELAIDE RESTAURANT BLAZE

Grey River Argus, 29 October 1948, Page 8

FIVE OF STAFF DIE IN ADELAIDE RESTAURANT BLAZE

ADELAIDE, October 28.

Five people were burned to death late last night in a fire whicli raged through the Covent Garden restaurant, in the centre of Adelaide. The blaze began when a griller on the ground floor caught alight. The flames sflbt up a flue to the second and third floors and trapped the kitchen staff and waitresses in the back of the building. The top two floors were crowded when the fire broke out, but the floor manageress ushered the patrons into the street without casualty. Six people were injured when employees endeavoured to escape from the back of the building. One girl jumped from a window into a lane 40 feet below, and another fell from a second-storey window on to an awning. The chef, aged 64, slid down a drainpipe. The victims—three women and two men—were al) members of the staff.

Three firemen were overcome by fumes from wrecked refrigerators and had to receive attention. Other firemen, wearing respirators, fought their way to the seat of the fire and had it under control within an hour.

The bodies, all of which were badly charred, were found in positions indicating that they had been cut off or overwhelmed when attempting to make their way down a wooden staircase. .