FIRES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5597, 1 February 1879, Page 5

FIRES.

The following additional facts have been ascertained in connection with the fire at Fitzgerald’s boarding-house. Tho fire was first noticed by a young man named Arthur Johnson who, with two companions, was f oing home to Smart’s road, near the Dublin iakery. The fire was then' in tho south-west corner of the upper storey. The young men raised an alarm, and knocked loudly at the door. In a few minutes Mrs Fitzgerald came down stairs in her night dress, and she was shortly afterwards followed by Mr P. Thorpe, the only lodger in the house. The servant girl, whose name is Mary M'Donald, jumped from an up-stairs window some ten feet from the ground. The three named were the only occupants in the house, and they slept in separate rooms,Mrs Fitzgerald on the south side and the other two on the north side. Mrs Fitz-. gerald had been awakened by , the noise of breaking glass, and had discovered that the house was on fire by noticing a glare under the door of her bedroom. The fire appears to have originated in the room next to her’s in which nobody slept. ■ Mrs Fitzgerald, states that she cannot account for the fire in any way. She knew of no matches being left to lie about, and there had been no. fires lighted up-stairs during the sunnier. When she and the others retired for the mght, at 11 o’clock, there were onl* A. smouldering in the kitchen grate. She estimates her loss at quite £2OO over the amount insured. The following ore the insurances on the property destroyed:— Fitzgerald’s house insured in favour of the mortgagees, Messrs Louisson and Co., in tbe Standard Office for £250, in the South British for £500; Fitzgerald’s furniture insured, in the name of Rogers, in the Standard -Office —furniture, £265 5 piano; £35. The empty house, which was the property of Mr Denis Block, was insured in the National Office for £l6O, Mr M’Mulliu’s house, occupied by Mr Gundersen, was insured in the National for £100; the furniture was uninsured. Mrs Fitzgerald states that she has lost a sum of money which she had in her bed. It may be added that Mr Fisher, agent for the Standard Insurance Company, inr speoted the furniture last year, when it considerably exceeded in value the amount for which it was insured. An eight-roomed house, the property of, and occupied by, Mr William Henry Miller, builder, in New street, Sandridge, was burned down about noon yesterday. Mrs Miller had been cooking the dinner on the kitchen range, and had a quantity of wood lying m the fender, also a bag filled with, shaving* not far from the firo-pUoe. At about twenfcj-flye minutes past eleven she-crossed the read in order to procure some milk from a neighbour, and had not been absent more_ than a few minutes i when she saw that the house yra* in flames. Her husband was at work building a house on a section at the back pfhi|own, and noticed the fire at abqut .diba -j»me time. 1- He immediately ran to the#,quj|fi«ud with the assistance of his neighbours succeeded in saving part of his furniture, and a small portion 01 his own and hie t**-’* “***’••'— His furniture and clothes w<

and he estimates his loss at fully £IOO. His house was insured in the Liverpool and Lancashire office for £4OO, the policy being held by the mortgagee—the Permanent Building and Investment Society. The house was built of wood, and was totally destroyed in less than half an hour. The nearest house to it was at a distance of five chains, so that there was from the first no fear of the fire spreading. As a window in the kitchen was open and a pretty strong wind was blowing it is surmised that the wood in the fender or the bag of shavings was ignited by a spark blown from the fire. The Grange, Ellesmere, was destroyed by fire at 2 a.m. on Thursday. The house, which was the property ef Messrs Frankish Bros., contained 10 rooms, and was occupied by the proprietors. The family retired at 10 o’clock tho previous night, and shortly before 2 the alarm was raised by a friend who was on a visit. By this time the fire had taken so complete a hold that the inmates had to escape without their clothing. A piano and a few articles of furniture were all that were saved. The house was insured for £SOO, and the furniture for £3OO, in the Union Insurance Company. The damage sustained will fall short of the amount of insurance by £4OO or £6OO. Yesterday afternoon, Mr Fountain Barber, bookseller, Colombo street, noticed some cases in his back yard to bo on fire. They were extinguished at once, and little damage was done. It is probable that the fire originated from flakes of burning soot from the chimney stack of Mr G. Trelcaven falling on the cases. On Thursday a house, the property of Mr Thomas Hide, of Swunnanoa, but occupied by Mr T. Sellars, was completely destroyed by fire. The fire originated in the chimney, which caught early in the day, but it was thought to be subdued, and it was not till three o’clock in the afternoon that the roof was discovered to be on fire. Some workmen at Dailey’s farm observed it, and attempted to rescue the contents of the house, but were only able to save a portion of the furniture in the front room. The house was totally destroyed. It was insured with the New Zealand Insurance Company for £l5O. The furniture was not insured, and Mr Sellars is a considerable loser.