THE TONIC FIRE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 22 May 1908, Page 5

THE TONIC FIRE.

FLAMES SUBDUED AT LAST.

ASSOCIATION. J WELLING'TONrMay 21. After toiling' incessantly all night with chemical appliances and entertaining hopes of success, the fire-fighters on board the lonic had to admit defeat. The harbor staff continued to inject carbonic acid gas into the hold all night, and the ship's own appliances were also kept going right through the night. At b o'clock this morning success seemed to have been attained, and it was considered safe to open the upper hatch and let the fumes and steam clear away for a time. All went well; the steam, freed from captivity, curled upwards in great white clouds, but doubts soon fled, as smoke with a distinct odor commenced to mingle with the steam. Hardly an hour had passed when a laborer standing near the hatchway declared that he had seen flames, but the dense fumes prohibited any possibility of verifying his statement. There was no doujta, however, that the fire was not extinguished. It was clear that it was making rapid headway. The captain of the lonic, who climbed over the side of the vessel, let himself down by means of a rope ladder, and felt the plates of the big atvamet.- The manner in which he lifted hi§ hand was sufficient answer. "Off with the hatches! 7 ' came the order. Men knocked away the pegs and tore off a plank or two, just sufficient to admit the water. A. man called from the deck of the lonic to the engineers on the Terawhiti to "let her go," and in a couple of seconds two huge pumps and three leads of hose were forcing water into the hold of the burning steamer at the rate of 12,000 tons per hour. The fire brigade also 'ot their engine "go" to the tune of 1000 gallons per minute, projected through three separate leads of hose, and six leads were being fed off the city supply. Altogether over 15,000 tons of water were being poured into the hold every hour. In two hours and a half the hold in the lonic was flooded. A hole was made in the side of the vessel by cutting away a sealed porthole, and through this the water gushed with great energy. The company hopes to despatch the steamer for London on Sunday.