Fire at the Ketemarae Hotel.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 2747, 14 June 1894, Page 2

Fire at the Ketemarae Hotel.

The origin of the fire is, a mystery. It was first observed in an upstairs room by some natives residing at the neighbouring pa ; bat Mr O'Brien, the licensee, who was in Hawera at the time of the outbreak, states that he cannot account for tbe fire occurring upstairs unless it were owing to a defective chimney. On Tuesday night he went through the hotel before retiring and found everything safe, bat about midnight he got up and fixed a fire in tbe commercial room for a lodger who left about 5 a.m. Mr O'Brien got up about 6.30 and cleaned up the bar, and left for Hawera about 8 o'clock on business. When returning he learned on the road that his bouse was on fire, and it was down when he arrived. There never was a fire upstairs. A native named Tommy Tonga was the first to give the alarm, as he saw smoke coming out of a window. He and Miss O'Brien ran upstairs, and on opening the l door of the eitting room the fire rushed out, and they were compelled "to retreat.* Miss O'Brien bad been upstairs previously, and had done her usual work among the bedrooms, and had Been no sign of fire. Mrs O'Brien cannot understand how the fire originated ; and Mrs Mathieson, of Norman by, who was' 'in the sitting room upstairs (in which tbe fire broke oat) the previous night, cannot give any information to throw light on the origin of the fire. Immediately the fire was observed natives and Europeans in tbe vicinity commenced , the work of salvage, and a quantity oi stock and furniture was removed to a stable, but there were no means of saving the boose. Mr O'Brien estimates ; that his loss will be £300, taking everything into consideration. The insurance on stook and furniture, as stated yesterday, was i>2so in tbe North German office ; and, tbe building was inenred in (be New Zealand Office for j£2oo: Until very recently the insurance was ,£SOO, bat the owner, Mr Wilson, allowed i-300 to lapse, and as £203 would not go far in rebuilding Mr Wilson will have sustained ■ considerable logs. „ ■ ,