GUTTED BY FIRE

Northland Age, Volume XVIII, Issue 15, 19 November 1948, Page 1

GUTTED BY FIRE

AWANUI GARAGE

KAITAIA BRIGADE’S GREAT EFFORT

In the early hours of this morning, the garage and service sta-

tion premises of Mr. Ron Vazey in Awanui, were razed to the ground by a fire which had taken a strong hold before being noticed by residents. At 12.25 a.m. the fire alarm in Kaitaia sounded its warning notes, and with remarkable promptness, the brigade’s No. 2 engine with trailer pump was on its way to Awanui, arriving at the fire only 14 minutes after the first sounding of the siren.

Unfortunately, owing to the fact that the Awanui Fire Brigade had no premises in which to house its firefighting equipment, they had had to house their gear in the premises which were so far gone in fire, and thus no effort could be made to stem the advance of the flames.

When the Kaitaia engine arrived the adjoining premises of Mr. M. F Dean were burning in the ceiling am roof.

Brigadesmen were under the handicap of having no reticulated water supply, and had to run their pump to the Awanui river some hundred yards or so from the fire. The pipe line was run to the seat of the fire, using in all some 1800 feet of hose to get two heads of water to play upon the fire.

It was seen that there was no hope of saving the garage which was alight from front to back with an intensitv that was almost frightening from the point of view of the safety of the whole of the business area of the township, so the firemen concentrated their efforts on saving other premises, both business and private, in the immediate neighbourhood.

Willing helpers, in the form of local residents and citizens of Kaitaia who had been brought out by the sound of the fire siren and the vivid glow in the sky, were busy removing stock and fittings from the threatened shops, and taking furniture from homes to a place of safety.

Despite the magnitude of the conflagration, there was a complete lacl of confusion.

Members of the Power Board were early on the scene to make disconnections of power lines, as was Traffic Officer Kingdon who assumed control of traffic almost as soon as the fire engine arrived.

Police officers from the Kaitaia police were early in attendance, and Superintendent McKinnon of the Kaitaia Fire Brigade quickly had his men and equipment working as a freely moving machine. Mr. Vazey’s loss is estimated at some £3,500, and though he was covered in the Insurance Office of Australia, to what extent is not yet known as all his records were destroyed. The loss could well have been greater, as he had had in his garage three cars and a truck, but all these were quickly removed by the men who had first seen the fire at about 12.20 a.m. Cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, but the concensus of opinion in Awanui is that, had it not been for the prompt action of the Kaitaia Fire Brigade, the dawn might have seen the whole of the business area of Awanui nothing but a smoking shambles. It is to be remarked that fortunately the high winds which had prevailed through the district for the last week, had died away to a mere zephyr.