FIRE AFTERMATH

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 25, 29 December 1942, Page 4

FIRE AFTERMATH

SMOULDERING SACKS. CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 28

The danger to Lyttelton in leaving bales of smouldering and burning sacking in Rhind's store after the big Christmas Eve fire to be dealt with there by brigadesmen and auxiliary workers, and the need to remove the bales from the congested area, were stressed in message sent this morning to the Minister of Supply by the Mayor of Lyttelton (Mr F. E. Sutton) who is also chief warden, and by the assistant warden and head of the fire committee (Mr T. L. Young). Messrs Sutton and Young leave asked the Minister to have the bales moved, as it is feared that il they are left in the ruins of the store they may ea'sily start another fire. It is suggested that bales should, be transported to the other side of the hills to burn themselves out on waste ground well away from any building When the wind freshened this morning extra leads had to be employed to combat the fire. On Saturday and yesterday sea water was continuously pumped on to -the sacks, a trailer pump being used. On Christmas Day and again yesterday soldiers from the fortress command were engaged'from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in moving bales of sacks from the dump to facilitate the work of the brigadesmen in flooding the sacking. The soldiers did excellent work, and it is likely that hundreds of pounds worth of sacks, some of them practically undamaged, will be saved. A problem which arose out of the lonj hours of pumping by the Lyttelton Fire Brigade's main engine and fifteen trailer pumps on Christmas Eve was the petrol supply for the engines. The main engine pumped continuously for twelve hours, the engine running at a speed equivalent to that needed to drive the vehicle at 40 miles an hour. This problem was solved by the man in charge of a petrol pump. He filled tins with petrol, all of which had to bo pumped by hand as the electric power was off, and took the tins in hie car< to various engines. The attraction of the Lyttelton _ fire ruins for sightseers and the ordinary holiday traffic have given railway officials on the port line a busy time. Over the last three days the passengers to Lyttelton have averaged over 5000 daily.