THE CHRISTCHURCH FIRE.

North Otago Times, Volume CVI, Issue 13984, 21 November 1917, Page 2

THE CHRISTCHURCH FIRE.

i HOARDERS' EXPLniENCBC. THE SILVER GRID. CIIHISTCHURCII, November ID. The Silver C.'i-i,{, which 1: situated a I 117 'Manche.-.tcr tit reef beluccn '('nam am! St, Asaph ::lreel«, i.; a wci'l-known ljoai'ilinjr.iioiui! ami h camp iii i'er Mine notoriety al.on. 1 eight or I nine years: ago, being ihe I'crno of a very tolil blooded murder in Odobw, ' "J i*oi>. A young man named Arthur I Jchn William Robert.; shot a young ' woman, who was a servant at. ihe I boarding-home, the crime faking place iu ft passage near (he -pot where Mr Hatch's body was found. Roberts w::.': Citvktod of imii'iler en November IK, 1110!), ami coitcnecd to dcilli, bul Ihe ;:entcjico was commute,.! to. imprisonment for life. A Mystcriom: Origin, Tlie ori; ; in of the lire U unknown. I The lessee state;: that before letiring to rc:-t on Sunday evening, . at abou. midnijlil, he iiitpivicl (lie pl.icc am! immd cverythinf" all right. It is Haled, however, by one or tivo of the boarders tha: fliovtly before they were aroused' I by the (lames they were disturbed by a mysterious explosion, There have . been r.everal fires in Ihe Ikainimi of late, many, oi". v/liieh have been unaccounted for, and it i< claimed by many people that these fires have been' called by r;c;mri)) ,-pics.or members of the f.W.v.". Whether this he ?o or uot i. i if. sdal'.'d Ihr..': i! ha- in : Ausl:.'.::.-. that mernb.':.- of the. I-.W.AV. •'•<' " J r «."i:l then::i;;l for t-any'ag nut , ik'!: l.: I :':;iicii; v.ivk. ati.l Hint .hi :; i !; . , _ ii'tr-s. :■■■• the re all of aa oxplo.-iuii. Hxi't by Hrq Ec:apo, ' !i Mr P. I'crin, who was-laying ni i; I'hft pl.Jce, '(i.-ci,.;iic.,| a l.ciiidota i,y J. iia- it .-•elf I'n.liie middle on. the miriiirn. ji,j ( . .! '-'I think if was,ebon! a <,;: a.-;<>:• U> S three, "tie said in relating hi:. n]iiV [. \\ oiires, "when I was r.vukWd bv'the ,-i Fcmiil of TcJling [;l;i.-:-.' Only 'half awake, 1 iiioiiiilit Hint '!:e nob w:>s paused by a, dust cart taking rubbish away at the back, Jniincdhu'.'v after i wards I heard the cry 'Fire! 'J the;- ut became wide awake, 1 had flint the -' c door and,the window of my room, con- ,')'' requcntly there wn3 no smoke inside. but the passage was filled, with smoke and the air was h0t..;.-! heard people '"' saying, 'This way to the.fire .escape!' »' and-followed in that direction, Others -h: had gone there before me. It.was the ' (ire escape n't the back of the building. •.•» U'e. let the iron ladder down and 'got }'Pnt'oly to the ground.' Jktween fifteen-.•!'! iiul sixteen persons were paved by'] -' hat escape. I was ihe last to leave I lic it chose who were not. severely injured. j' r saved ray clothes, but-bet .'£2-1 10a in - i: - ash. It, was muter jbVpillow of my '-'!' 'eel, and in my haste; I^.not think ot }'/' h Still, ffhen ; .r.thinlcv;opiie';hnf9r;u- .•!.<? nte-.ppop_lc',.wiio']ftye .or in-, xVeil,;.l epiisider ver|imlimnte. ; ■}■< >•■ was an .awful • Dxperii!np,ci|i*'.^oivjV / ? '«'(■ icajicii it went rouhil to.tliiJ.'fMnVaiidl; X iw'-finmP'of. thn vinttmshi'mrtrhlrmi' l.'ive;

, ing- but their shirts, and some cf these ! were singed, I Oi.'e young man, when awakened, (went tii.t to the bab'onf, walked along io ?.Ir Dodd's shop, close lo (he de- . stioye.l baiiding; and got through one I of Mr iic.bl's '.viiidovvs am] then on lo iiherlnel. I . _" Willi J awoke me," anidher Imarder j'-ii, '•..::.: the clashing ami siwashiiij; | ; ''-' :--mvl,i:ig, I raided myself iiji in I jb"'!. ::n.'. '.ay room mate shouted: II I'The.e':; a Idanky fire.' Without say--1 i",: :*• word, i.e was out of the loom like ? a ll:i--li. I; .iiil not, wait to put my r eh.lhe.: on. but followed, (a-flic passage] 1 ihere v.-a.i a lot of people. The smoke i came ch.ng in clouds, and I fell n,y '•' gfiiiig. Ikneu' enough, however. : !') f.'ill down, riiid tSeii got roiief. I '•nuvle.l alon:; the passage on u,y hand.-, •' ; i"l k::cis, and iiltiniately -'reached ih<> iiiv'(s,;: ; ie at Ihe back. There were a i number'ul me.i iheie. We at once lot down the ladder and reached Ihe iM'Cinid. V, r e had to be precious .slick, of course, bu. we did not show any panic." It is .-tafed that one boarder, who seeme.| : n i OH . his head slightly, blocked the way with a portmanteau, but only for a short time. ■*ii C Clark, photographer's assisfan.. with ,\!r W. llarvie, Manchester sheet, ■was one of (he bflar.der.s at ihe Silver Gul. lie escaped out of a front win- ■ <lw, along the planks, and through Ifr Dodd's window,- "1, heard the'erash of glass," he said, "and I opened my bedroom door, The smoke and (lame came lonml the corner of ihe passage, , I and before yon could say 'knife' the ivkole place was in a' blaze, | y,.|| C( | •' on! '.riie!' and I could hear other's giv- :::;.. tii:'.alarm iiiside Hip himae. After , hat,' 1 : .was 'Cut for your life!' four I, or li;••'■'. of n- .jot out of a window,.and ' .'.eat along the li-y'escape along the " •e.a:i;!a!i to Mr Dodd's window. I s had. In straighten the planks which had ■■'' 'ir-eii dk-placed by.others, .'One of (he '' men would not stop a! .Mr dodd's win- " ■low, and walked u n over the glass, ''. Several.people puf f lu-ii- (Ve. through !',' Hie j-iai-'s, and snslaiued some nasty 'III;;."'

Note: and Incidents. i'i'.e of the people escaping from the, i'\er Grid were able to creep along the oatv.-ay on the verandah until ihey cached the upstairs windows 'of the Willises of Mr and M.rs T. Dodd, and ''ere assisted .through to safely. One i!'.'!. however, was in suolt a fr.biii;y li:it he would, not_stop, but, pushing i',. ■"■ epped on to the glass and crashed nongh to the ground, • The scene of the :firc was viewed ; ith curiosity by hundreds of people, "sferda'y. .The briek;walls, 'did not innr to bo greatly damaged,, bitt inde w.'u a scene of desolation,', (hough e pots in the kitchen'ami other-uten- , 1.-j remained serene upon their platters, . U'kity the rafters' in the .building wore ■ry .'-libr'nntial, being about 10 inches '-!■ inches, and though .charred by c ilarac;, they did"not..collapse, .and . us.ihey held np-Jlie (loors,; '■'-' w . Later, -in the. day'the;irpnt;.of the l : jVaiiig' was.board'ed'up,;:,' • ."-,' •■■• I '.'o. fierce, were: the/(iaincs that;they ',l llliflfnred '.t'lih .nnint in'. tW f.i-'n 0

! is believed not to have slept on trie piemises:. In addition there were Mr and Mrs Smith,' Miss Joyce, and Mra Clack. There was very Utile lire at tiie back of the building. ]f the llames had properly got to tlie rear the fire-escape.-; would have been cut oil', and the lYilalilies would have been larger. II was the fact of one man discovering the absence of flame in ihe tear, though (he smoke, was denser, that enabled so many to escape that way. Two attempts besides those; of the iire lirijradesiiien were made to save Mis ' t'.'ack. .1. O'KoefV, a relumed soldier, af:er escaping from the building, at■leinpled to rhsh back when he heard of iiis Slack's peril, but was pulled bad; by another man, who said it was mad-i-ess lo make the effort. A constable, whose idenliiy has not been diselo.-ed, t-isd tried to rush through Ihe (lames, pulling off his coat, but was forced,to desist, " * ! .Mrs Stack leaves two young children, , aged three years and twelve months, ( I o mourn their loss, Her.people are be- , lieve.l to live in Southland, 1 At one stage it appeared as if Messrs | I'liller might stiller the double misfor- ~ tune of losing the Opera House as well '„ a.; His Majesty's Theatre by lire,, for ' v one or two of the eaves of the theatre p building caught fire, but Ihe (lames t were subdued before iliey could become „ dangerous. A .sum of over £9O was saved from „' the building, most of it belonging to fi Mr Smith, the proprietor. In addition. • !lie sum of £37-]oi, was found on Ihe .. I'cdy of Mr Hatch, all of it being in « go!il." . Brigade Snperiatoudcnt's Opinion. j f Tii view of the facr that so ninny if i"e; have happened in various j,-art.s of -,i N't-.v Zeaiaud of tale, a great number '\ '•' people have jumped lo the eoiiclit- ut 0:1 that ineendiarism has been iakiii" .' '■•■"•('. of (In) recent Christ "' hnrcli lire:,, Superintendent Warner re';ar!ii'i! Hi.'!,- he did not (hink Ihey had il lieen quite accidental, and he in- 'h : lined lo (he belief (hat (hey trele more h iie'resuit of design, * ,|,

THE FIFTH- VICTIM, DEATH OF MR BELRE. (Per Press Association)^ CHRISTCiIUKCII, November 20. t Henry Herbert Bcere died in the lios iital to-night,, making the fifth deatl n connection; with the Silver Grit ire.