A FIERY VISITATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10114, 23 October 1917, Page 6

A FIERY VISITATION.

DANNEVfRKE'S BUSINESS CENTRE DEVASTATED. SIX ACRES OF BUILDINGS 1, . ; DESTROYED. DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT OVER £•200,0011. (Pub Press Absooution.) DAN'NEVIRKE. Oct. 22. Pamievirko will htivc'gbdcl cause to long remember Labour Day of 1917. a most disastrous lire devastating the heart of the commercial area, which is now a scene, of desolation, only brick walls and gaunt chimney- stacks indicating: whore the busincris' places did a flourishing business. Tho blow to tlio town is most, disai-trous, as, ! (spurt from the structures and stock which , perished; • hundreds of employees will bo tvorkjess and great dislocation in business must- ensue before tho loss can be made good. . ,ii Andrew's Hotel, an immense old wooden <e.!'ucturo; was one of- the relics of days When coachos played a part in the through trip to ■ •Wellington. The westerly galo Plowing fanned tho Haines from the rear of j the hotel. Within throe minutes tho whole j of thi> tipper; portion was wrapped inj Homes- licking up greedily everything in. their pat*'. The occupants ol the place Par.lv had time to make their exit, and some/ housemaids had io be rescued from l-aleouie.s. ■ Though the brigade was early at work. the primitive appliances and the gigantic nature of the eonllagration made, their efforts appear puny. Within n few mm-" Uteis the whole place was a holocaust, and the flames jumped tho wide street to the Dunrrevirke t'o-op. Association's big storehouse .opposite, and soon this was a roaring inferno endangering also the Nub Hotel,"FacinH" tho railway station. Fortunately the wind was blowing away from thisy and-though the Building was in. grave ttangW 'l'or a time, ir escaped. Not so the Mfasohic Hotel, another ancient wooden' landmark on the east side of High street This caught as the (lames from MillerV shop spread south, and soon both | hides of [the main thoroughfare were be-] i'ng demolished. ;,. , . . ", With incredible rapidity, and despite the effdrtVof the lire-lighters, tho flames spread, ua-t and-west, north and south. Ihe Dan-1 u.virko Gas Company's gasometers on.a ,-etion to the rear of the, Masonic Hotel; •v.W' right within tho danger zone, the fences all round-.being destroyed, but the! flame* .wore kept "hack from, tho gaso- j motors. ■ , , • i ?. o : ■> i r\. \ 'The'lire started shortly alter I o cloclc. ] Ir was well oh towards 5 o'clock before, if could be said that the Pa.nnevirke ancC Woodville '••brigades had got the tipper, hand. ' Fven then the danger was not all over huge musses 0 f burning dehns Jjemg visible in all directions.- ..There was noloss of life, and no serious accidents. I laces not far from the scene of the, conflagration we're salvaged, "by hundreds of onlookers, and it was the busiest Labour Day the helpers [ever put in. Furniture .drapery. crocket*—in fact, an unimaginable collection : <-f" articles' of all descriptions littered the %arou'ghfurek. highways, and byways. within half a mile of the blare. " Dannevirke has undoubtedly received a terrific blow commercially-• and an estimate of the loss is absolutely impossible at present} but will run probably within the vicinity of £200,000, if not more. The "places destroyed were all practically -i total loss, and were as follows:—Androw's Hotel: Harris and Son. livery stables; John Englebretscn, draper; Iheoijjbrt draper; Wvsocke, tailor; 'Richard Kouke. auctioneer; Eec Wong, laundry; •Dannevirke t'o-op. Association. Ltd.; Arthur Henrv Hill, tobacconist; Peter J. Nvmand, jeweller; Rosso, tailor: lhos. j'Flvnn bbotni'akor; B. 0. Ihomsen, hairdresser; Edward K. Prior, chennst: James Neagle, motor importer;' Rose s, I'd building; Joint l'ercival Dodds, music ■ .low" Lnev Miller, confectioner; Lionel i> Bartlett, bootmaker; prummonrt. llodVfer and 'Co., ironmongers; P. r H?oper, hairdresser and tobacconist; Geo. L Bartlett: hairdresser and tobacconist; Arthur ■l' ' Webber, bookseller; fleorge A t harlo'au renauranieur; Malcolm MeCallum.. -.vatchinaker; Masonic Hotel: Kuing Kee and Co., fruiterer; Armstrong and Morn"■son"' " drapers'; - Daimonrke-Horbertvillo •.Cpacjiing Co.; Collett and Sons, iron fotui- '•• In addition io these the 'sample rooms and outbuilding of all -descriptions were added to. the 'llamcs, and even tlio roadWay took fire. . . • The Dannevirke Co-op. Association were nrobablv the biggest losers. The stock ■valued "at present prices was approximately £50,000, while the whole insurance totalled alxMit £25,000. This firm employed 70 bonds. Andrews' Hotel is owned by Messrs Andrews and Mrs Lavelle, and was insured, but tho amount is hot available. Tho Masonic Hotel is owned by the Allurdic.e Estate, and was also insured, but tho details are unknown. Most of the other places are insured, also the stocks, the policies running into many thounands -: Practically all the insurance companies are heavily hit, while the loss is many thousands in excess of the insurances. Two out of Four hotels were burned, three out of four tobacconists." and praerieally only one. grocery business of any ~ tlio is left." Business must be greatly dis-

■located;- nw i™»,-'l'" "«»"v ,", account'of the shops being heavily stocked in view of the Christmas trade. > Some pi the sufferers will be financially i BAXNEVIIiKE, Oct. 23. Danhe.virko is busy to-day, contem;riatinKtho ec&no of yesterday's disas- ■ irons blaze.' But little, remains to add to- tho message previously sent. I ho 'debt-is burned' all night, but the bnirrade confined it to the area over winch tho flames bad' ravenously swept; and despite tho there was no .further Spread. Nothing remains ol what was yesterday morning the centre ol' toe town but the hare brick walls, totteiinir ehimnevs, twisted galvanised iron, and charred sticks. A track lias been tout- right through tin- centre or the wwii on .an ot the area devastated comprising about two to three acres. Stops are being taken by the Mayor and the Chairman ol the )ami"virko OSuntv Council, the President ct the Chamber of Commerce, ami Mr Geoi-KC Hunter, M.P.. to organise relief for the sufferers, and a special appeall is being made to old Dannevirke resident' throughout the country to rally and help the sufferers. Most ot the representatives of the insurance companies arc on the scene of the disaster Three pilferers of salvage appeared in Court to-day. Two were fried £lO each, and one £o, in default 11 days' imprisonment. HOW THE FIRE ORIGINATED. (Special Correspondent.) DANXEYIKKK, Oct. 20. Often prophecy has been idly uttered as to what would happen to the business portion of Dannevirke with so many ancient wooden buildings in its midst if a ire were, to start at, sav, Andrews Hotel or the DC A, when a westerly gale was raging. \lanv a vivid picture has been painted m imagination of what such a spectacle might he like. But not even the wildest imaginings (snild have conjured up such an awful sight as that-which win seen in ihe towns main business ■ block yesterday. The (ire .started at tho back of Andrews' Hotel. This is the one r.hinsr about the disaster that; everyone is agreed on; but just as to which portion of tho structure it originated in there- arcvarious.- opinions! the most popular, and orobablv the, most correct, being that it eUu'tcd 'in the old billiard room, on Hie station sireel side of the western end. fine of tho maids gave, the alarm, and .Mr S. Andrews, the licensee and part owner, made an ,'i.ttempt to subdue the fire with an extinguisher, but this proved as ineffective :es If he had done nothing at- tt.ll. Making remu.rkable headway, the flames quick y asfuined command, and in an incredibly short time some onlookers who saw the -■♦ art aver that in less than three minutes tjie whole of the upper storey of -ihe building was a seething mass of devouring flames. That the Tire..must ,have literally ntn through the building is shown by the fact that Mr Andrews only had time to twice visit tho office oh the ground floor and rush Into the street, and it was then too laty and f<x> dangerous to make a third attempt. Ho trot out with whet he stood up in, arK l without his hat It was merciful thai the outbreak occurred when it did. If it had happened after the occupants had retired to

Irosfc n terrible tragedy would Jxavo been. enacted, Even in daylight somo in the liou.se found great difficulty in making good their exit, and two or three of the. maids WMY.I rescued, none, too soon, from the .balconv, on which they had taken rcfltge. Thbsb who did not actually see the lire from the commencement can have no conception of how it spread. , A prairie lire, would certainly Have rivalled U for speed, but would not have beaten ii. by much. When the blaze first assumed threatening dimensions at Andrew'::. Hotel, v Mr Geo. Alder, managing director of Collet* and Hon, ran down to the foundry building in Banaud street, with the intention of placing the office liooks, mechanical drawings, and other valuable papers in the safe. He had barely timo to complete this and lock the door before the hotel and stables op- [ posite were rapidly vanishing-, and then the I (James overwhelmed the place, .and it was a. I case of get but. The building belonged to Coliett. and t 0., having just been purchased from Messrs Knight, and tho deeds arc even now awaiting execution. There was over £SOO worth of belting in the firm s Stack, but owing to laclc of help and the speed with which the lire came, nono of it was saved. Nearer at-.hand, for a time, there was little realisation of the danger at the D.O.A. '■ promises. Mr \V. Edwards and a friend I were- helping a client of tho firm, residing I at, :i distance, to load a motor lorry with I purchases he had come in to get, • quite ■oblivious of the fact that ii. was Hahour Day tin.) load had been taken, and the second was despatched as the flames burst through tlie hotel roof. Even, at this tune there. wa s little apparent danger,, but the precaution was taken to make a hasty clean up of the. ollico papers and bundle them into the safe. This had not long been done when suddenly the windows facing the hotel gave way with the heat, and the flames began to'liokacross Uie ceiling, and .soon they were gobbling uV every comer and floor, the occupant's having made a speedy exit. Good work was done at tho Masonic Hotel by the. staff ami some of the boarders. . Mr '¥. Tooincr, the manager, rescited a good round sum of money from the safe on the ground floor, while Mr Ross, the licensee, also succeeded in getting I-monev in his possession upstairs safely out, while' some of the boarders Rescued most !of their personal ell'ects, and probably (could have got the. lot had they risked a i final trip, but this was only courting mishap. Miss Mackenzie, of the. Post Office ! stall', was one of the fortunate ones in this respect. Mrs Anderson (ne'e- Miss i DuflinV of the DA'.A., who had only recently shifted to y«e-?Masonic Hotel, and | who happened to Do'away in Napier, was | not so fortunate, and besides losing her i own valuable belongings, also had the mis- [ fortune to have many of her husband's | private papers, which were in her keeping ,: while he. is away on active service, de--Ist roved.