SPECTACULAR FIRE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 6, 6 December 1930, Page 5

SPECTACULAR FIRE

FIERCE BLAZE AT HASTINGS. ABOUT THIRTY CARS DESTROYED. Per Press Association. HASTINGS, Dec. 5. A two-storeyed wood and iron annexe to a garage at the corner of Eastbourne Street and Karamu Road, Hastings, also about thirty cars, only two or three of which we/o new, were completely destroyed by fire early this morning. The fire, which was apparently caused by. benzine, it was attended by a violent explosion—was one of the most fierce and most spectacular seen in Hastings during recent years, and in hardly more than ten minutes it had done its destructive work.

The flames lit up the whole neighbourhood so vividly that it seemed at first as though even the buildings across the street were ablaze.

The brigade were quickly on tlie scene and did magnificent work against heavy odds. The main part of the garage, in

which a very large numbers of cars were- stored, was separated from the annexe by a thick brick wall and was not affected except by smoke and water. The annexe was an old building. The insurances are not available.

A resident nearby said that she was awakened by an explosion, which was followed by another a few minutes after. She then saw that the building was a mass of flames. The fire while it lasted was an aweinspiring spectacle. The heat from the blazing building was intense, and the explosions shook the police station —about 160 yards away. It was fortunate there was a thick brick wall between the two buildings, otherwise the damage would have been more extensive.