EXPLOSION

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 23 September 1924, Page 5

EXPLOSION

AT AVONDALE

DESTRUCTION OF TOTALISATOR. CAUSE UNKNOWN. tB Y TEI.EGR APil —Pis ESS ASSOCIATION. J AUCKLAND, Sept. 22. A terrific explosion, the. cause, of which at present is not known, occurred about a quarter to nine o’clock this evening in the totalisator building at the Avondale racecourse, resulting in heavy damage and the destruction of valuable machinery. Following immediately on the explosion a, lire broke out in the building, but this was promptly mastered by the Avondale Volunteer Fire Brigade, which came on the scene with two hand reels. Unfortunately, one of the hoses was pub out of action through the breaking of a hydrant, and but for this the fire would have been extinguished m even less time.

The first, indication that anything was amiss was the sudden sound of an explosion and a shaking effect was felt m houses throughout the district. Then came a sheet- of vivid flame, lighting PP-.the racecourse and giving a clear indication as to- the scene of the trouble. Captain L. Watson, of the local brigade, hurried to the spot with nine of his men, and they found the centre of the building enveloped in flames.

All round lay sheets of iron, which had been blown from the roof. Some of these sheets ' vei'pi home’ distance away. . For a space of about 50ft. the roof covering had gone,, leaving thegirders naked to the sky, while 12ft. of : the front wa-ll had also been blown out. The building’s windows were shattered, and inside the expensive machinery used in connection with the • w-orking of the totalisator lay in a confused heap of twisted debris. When the fire was put out the scene was one of destruction on the floor—masses of sodden paper and old totalisator tickets, pieces of charred timber and wrecked furniture. Immediately under the hole - in the roof was the ruin of machinery, with pieces of office furniture piled up against it at all angles. The machinery had been reduced to scrap metal by the fo!rce of the explosion, and is beyond all- repair. Senior-Detective Cummings, with Detectives O’Sullivan and Barling, motored to the scene immediately rt was known that a- catastrophe had happened and wgre busily investigating the interior of the building with the aid of electric torches, whilst the hose was still being played on the heaped-up ruins. Practically the bulk of the damage to the totalisator was done by the explosion, that ' arising from the fi'-ro being comparatively trivial. It- was the middle of the building, the vicinity of the machinery, that suffered most. The two ends of the lohg building escaped, except that they were heavily flooded with water. There :ivas a good pressure of water, and even after the first hose had been put out of operation the firemen were able to throw 7 a solid stream on to the smouldering nortion of the building. Undoubtedly damage to the extent of thousands of pounds has been occasioned by. the explosion. It is understood the building and contents were fully covered by insurance, but the exact amount was not ascertainable to-night. The loss of tbs totalisator machinery is, of course, the main item, and the replacement will be very costly.

Apart from the deafening noise, the effect- of the explosion was felt w r idely in the district. At a house' two and a half miles away it was reported' that the concussion was sufficient to throw a standing -umbrella down in the hall. The first arrivals found the totalisator with the lock forced inwards with a bracket torn from the . wall and the tongue of the lock still produding. This door was a considerable distance from the scene of the explosion.