MYSTERIOUS FIRES.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 10478, 7 December 1896, Page 4

MYSTERIOUS FIRES.

Sta,— lt la with sincere regret that I have i this afternoon heard of the destruction by : fire of Mr Tanner's fine reildence, near Hastings. The origin so far appears to be i a mystery and very probably will remain so for ever, but the fact remains that a very fioe house, of which there are far too few about, is now a heap of cinders and the inmates, or come of them, had a remarkably narrow esoape from a horrible death. How to avoid auoh catastrophes la the point at which to aim. In my pro fesslonal ohoraoter as o,n arohlteot, I have been called In by insurance companies to report upon many losses by fire, and have repeatedly discovered soot on the outside of the brickwork as well as In its proper place— ln the fluen. How does this come about ? " Defectively bnllt ohimneyi, of course," says the public In some cases, yes; in ranny others I say "No," for 1 have noticed these accumulations of soot I on the exterior of ohimneys where bnilt substantially with good materials. Before pointing out how easily this bbilour state of affairs may be avoided, I will itate what is the oanne. To be brief : Brickwork la very heavy and In a shake or earth tremor moves very slowly. The wooden framing of the style of bonne almost universally adopted in this colony 1b light, and, as It were, very elastic. Now when a shake occurs, and we have many of which but littile notice 1b taken, there Is more or leas rapid motion of framing and alight motion of brlokwork R3fult, more or less severe jar to joluts of brickwork, consequent lnOßeniog of mortar and also of Interior plastering of fine, technically known aa pargetting. In oourse «f time smoke gets through to euoh an extent as to deposit anot and heat to ohar the framing and the lining by the chimney. These are pimple facts, gathered In my ten years' colonial experience ; and in effecting alterations to honaos 1 have discovered studs charred one and a half Inches deep. What more natnral than for the shower of sparks caused by the careful ocoupant who etlra the fire to eoatter embers and put out the fire before retiring to rest, to find their way through the now open joints of brlokwork, to the lining (olten with widely gaping joints), and the already dry-as-tlnder sorim and paper, A little later tbe outburst ocenrs, and cobody knows how! The remedy! Expensive, I suppoae. Bays the public. I say no; emphatically not especially in this district, and moreover, the style of building I am about to suggeat is essentially beautiful; It makes the housies cooler in summer, warmer in winter ; free from draughts through walls, doors, and window frames, and beoause the walls are heavy like the chimneys the joluts of the brlokwork are not jarred and gradually opened by shakna and earth tremors, hmcc safer from fire. Q.E.D. The style —the old halt- tlm ber styls— a combination of timber framing and concrete (or brlok nogging). One moro advantage— to those nob already acquainted with this style— ib Ib now quite the fashion at Home, both for suburban residences and country mansions. With the view of asslatlDE the publlo tn decide for Itself the advantages of tbe hnlf timber style I will, with yoar permission Mr Editor, In * future issue, givn a few notes upon this subject, confining myeelf at present to Informing the public that snbtanthl bonnes in thla etyle oru be erected In this diatrlot for the same money as the very ordinary wooden house (please print these Hat few words In big letters Mr Editor),— l &m, &c . C TILLEABD NATUSCH. Napier, December 2ad, 1896.