DETAILS OF FIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 16 January 1939, Page 7

DETAILS OF FIRE

RIMUTAKA AT AUCKLAND CARGO DAMAGED IN ONE HOLD fUnited Press Association! AUCKLAND, 14th January. With her foredeck piled with burnt and damaged cargo the New Zealand Shipping Company's Rimutaka berthed at 8 o’clock ending a voyage marked with a sensational outbreak of fire which endangered the ship for nearly two days. The story told by those aboard was remarkable for lack of sensationalism than any other features. That was because the fire, which reached serious proportions, was confined entirely to the hold and was fought from the enclosed space of one cabin. Captain C. B. Lamb remained on the bridge for over twenty-four hours. The chief officer, Mr R. L. Warren, and the second officer, Mr J. Trotter, descended into the burning hold and led a heroic fight against the fire. While the passengers were in one of the lounges listening to an impromptu violin recital by Mr Maurice Clare, late of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the officers and members of the crew were fighting a grim battle from a pasenger cabin on C deck, immediately above the burning hold. Through a hole bored in the steel floor they were pouring in carbon dioxide from cylinders, and also jets of steam. So intense was the heat in the cabin that the paint melted from the walls and floor. The fire fighters worked on for nearly 24 hours and were in serious danger when a steam hose broke loose from a hole in the floor and thrashed about with its 1801 b pressure of steam. “We gqf out from there in a hurry,” said Mr Warren. “The second engineer, Mr H. Duckworth, got a crack in the back from the hose, but luckily for him he didn’t get any steam. It was a very narrow escape for him.’’

From 2.30 on Sunday afternoon until 3 o’clock on Monday afternoon Captain Lamb remained on the bridge. No SOS was sent out. but in response to a request the American tramp steamer Yomachichi came and stood by for some hours. DISCOVERY OF FIRE The fire was first observed when smoke, was seen by Mr Trotter coming from ventilators on the foredeck. At the same time, Mr R. Fenton, a town councillor of Dundee, who occupied a cabin on C deck, saw smoke coming from a ventilator leading from the hold and heard the crackling of flames. The captain was informed and steps were taken to locate the fire. The top of No. 3 hatch was lifted, and Mr Warren and Mr Trotter were lowered into the hold. So dense was the smoke that they could not see more than a few feet about them, but eventually they saw flames arising as the air from the hatchway entered the hold. Rumours were cur* rent that Mr Trotter had been overcome by smoke as he was lifted out of the hatchway, but the fact was that he had been knocked on the head as he was being drawn up and was temporarily dazed. EARLY DISCOVERY Mr Warren said that the fire originated in some bales of woollen goods in No. 3 hold in the upper tween-deck. It was undoubtedly a case of spontaneous combustion. In that hold also were manufactured articles that could not be identified, bales of pulp paper, paint, linseed oil, and cased motor-cars. That no further damage was caused was due to the fact that the fire was discovered soon after it started. Every day precautions are taken and Sunday morning the temperature in No, 3 hold was normal, and the fire could not then have been burning.

The passengers remained unaware of the extent of the blaze, but they knew that part of the ship was on fire. By Tuesday all danger had passed and admiration of the splendid handling of the dangerous situation by the captain, officers, and crew were expressed last night when a testimonial signed by every passenger, w'as presented to Captain Lamb by Vice-Admiral Sommerville, a passenger from England. The damage to the cargo cannot yet be estimated. Apart from the pile of damaged cargo on the foredeck, a quantity of inflammable goods was jettisoned at sea. The underwriters and Auckland consignees are inspecting the cargo as it is being unloaded. The ship’s hold is fairly extensively damaged, mostly by heat, and bulkheads are also buckled.