£70,000 Loss in Great Fire Af Napier Hospital

Northern Advocate, 6 November 1946, Page 6

£70,000 Loss in Great Fire Af Napier Hospital

(P.A.) Nr Damage estimated at £70.000 occurred when the most disastrous Ore in the history of the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board broke out shortly before midnight last night. It completely destroyed the entire laundry block, gutting the major portion of the double-storeyed building housing the hospital's bulk supply of essential stores. Within a few seconds of the alarm being' given the entire laundry block burst into a roaring inferno of flames reaching 100 ft in the air. Showers, of sparks cascaded on the roofs of nearby wards. Not before three o’clock was the threat to the main portion of the hospital removed. The hospital is situated on the summit of Bluff Hill, and the wind, roaring in from the south, fanned the burning portion into a blazing inferno visible from Hastings, 13 miles away. So suddenly did the flames belch up flint five male porters accommodated in the basement under the laundry were forced to beat a hasty retreat under a shower of glass from smashing windows above. NO PANIC Twice the flames licked against the double-storeyed Midgley Ward from the actual seat of the fire, but volunteers and firemen kept the flames at bay. Meanwhile, valuable documents, furniture and other effects were removed from the danger points. Billowing smoke surged through the hospital corridors and wards, but due to the splendid behaviour of the nursing staffs no panic was evident among the patients. After sweeping through the laundry block and causing damage to machinery estimated at £20.000, and wiping | out the buildidng, the fire penetrated j the storage block housing the board’s ' j bulk supply of linen, surgical appli- ! i ances, groceries and hardware.

NAPIER. This Day

[i is possible that a Large portion of the linen will be saved, but it is damaged by smoke and water. The full extent of the loss will not be known until later today. emergency water supply

Several times the fire broke out with renewed ferocity, but through the „ o od efforts of the combined brigades tn the district the flames were brought under control three hours after the outbreak and the threat to the mam hospital wards finally removedd. The laundry and portion of the storage block are nothing more than a heap of glowing embers and red-hot metal.

As part of the wartime emergency precautions the board constructed underground a reservoir capable of holding 000,000 gallons of water to meet an emergency similar to that experienced last night. It was this reservoir which was the main factor in giving the fire brigades ;m opportunity to stem the main blaze before .the fire reached the . nerve centre of the hospital.

Preparations had been made to evacuate all patients in the hospital to a nearby school had the lire spread. The most serious aspect of the fire today is the loss of valuable laundry machinery.

It is stated that there is no more similar machinery in the Dominion. It will lake at least six months to indent replacements from England. The loss of linen may also prove a serious factor.