FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5657, 5 January 1880, Page 2

FIRES.

On the night of Tuesday, 2nd December, about 11 o'clock, a fire broke out in an attic DVui the furniture shop of Mr. C. T. Rickett, cabinetmaker and upholsterer, Tc Awamutu. Luckily, a settler, Mr. Holden, was passing at the time when the flames burst through the shingled roof, and his cries o£ "Fire "were promptly answered by the appearance of Constable Gillies and a blacksmith named Wilson upon the scene. The constable, with great presence of mind, first ran to get out the apprentice, William Crawahaw, who was kuowuto sleep in the burning portion of the building. He found the boy stupitied and unconscious of danger, his bed being Burrounded by burning materials. O.ving to the constable's experieuce in the.-c matters, and to a plentiful supply of water at, haud, the liro was soou extinguished, the davaage to property being very trifling. There is no doubt that the boy, Crawshaw, hada narrowescape fromaterrible death, as from hij unconscious condition, and the fury with which tho fire waß spreading, it would have been impossible to enter the attic a few minutes later to rescue him. It seems that the (ire originated through the carelessness of tho boy himself. He had gone to sleep, leaving his candle burning, suspended by a string from the ceiling, and the candle falling upon some bags of wool on the floor, close to the bed, ignited them. I

Mr. Packet's establishment is ia close J proximity to the dwelling-house and store I of Mr. Teesdale ; also to the dwelling-house and smithy of Mr. Wilson j and if the fire had not been discovered before ifc bad gained ahold upon the inflammable materialsin the furniture shop, it would have been impossible to stay' it* progress or prevent tha destruction oi the adjoining buildingß, which, I believe, were not insured, nor was the house or faraiture of Mr. Rickefc. We are justly proad of our useful, active, and intelligent con3tibie. ThU is the second occasion on which ha kas rendered invaluable services here at a fire. He seeins to be übiquitous, and alw-iys ia the right place at the right moment.—[?">cca=ionai Correspondent."} About 1 a.m. on December 10 sv Kre br-ke out in the promises of Mr. Raffcon, Upper Queen-street. Mr. an 1 Mrs. Rafton, with the ; r three children, had retired to rest several hour 3 b:fore the fire was discovered, but at the above bour the baby woke, and Mr 3. Rafton lit a candle. She observed smoke in the room, snd awoke Mr. Ranon. He went downstairs, bnfc was unable to reach the lower floor, where the fire wa3 burniog. Returning to the bedroom, he seized two of the children, and made his way into the street — the fir; not having reached to ths street floor—white his wife followed with the baby. He then alarmed the neighbour?-, aud tbe at the junction was Toe wife and cbil-lren foun 1 shelter at Mrs. Moller's lintel, and Mr. Rafcon wa? able to save some of his fancy basketwork he had n?ar the street door. The F>rc Brigade were soon on the ground, aud in a little time ha-'l put an ecd to all danger of the fire spreading. Tne sho.» next Sir. Rafcon si 3 occupied by Mr. Co;k, saddler, but the fire did not reach ir, owing to the lower stories i separate 1 by a scoria wall. Neither were the prerr.i es of Mr. Evitt, guamaker, on the other side, injured by fire. M". Kafton states that he h»d not been working all the afternoon iu the place where th*j fire originated, a»nl the only way in which he can accouut fur the fire is. by supposing that someone had carel=3sly thrown a match into his lower wo?k«room, which i 3 the level of Q*i ;en street, through a broken pane in the window. Mr. Rafiou's stock and furniture a*e insured io tlie Colonial ottiue for £'2i)o. Th-s building brlon'js t*> Mr. LeifjVloo, bo 'kbinder, and is 1 in the South British. There is every bke'ihood ib -t I>a : the b\by not awoke, this lire woald have bnea accompanied with l ss of life. About half - j a-sttour p.m. ou Decim';er 9 a serious accident occurred in th-i lnw-r pir£ of Queen-street, direc.ly oppos t* The aco;de'it i* inivuiy attribute 1 to that habit «>f re_-k! or driving which is too commou in our erowdcl thoroughfares. Mr. James Smith, liverv-s'&ble keeper, aud Mr. A. Murray, of Xapier, wore coming up Q leensfcreet iu a buggy, drawn by Connaught Hauler, at a god spesd, and when a\>rea3t of Fort-stre t encountered two c\rtr», .one goiagupand t'.ie othe* down, and in attempt to pass them, came in contact with the one g'in.» down, or on-the west side. The effect of the collision was so smart as to pitch Mr. Soiith from the front .■jeat, and t > throw him again3t the wheel of the other cart, the wheel, unfortunately, scalping him. Mr. Murray was also thrown out from the back against the wheel, and his right leg through the spokes, but, fortunately, the cart was drawn up sharp, and he escaped with a few bruises and a shaking. Mr. Smith was picked up, bleediug profusely from the crown of the head, aud taken into a druggist's shop, but the serious character of the wound was apparent, and he was at once removed to the hospital. The buggy and horse escaped without much damage, a shaft ouly being broken. A flie occurred iu Pollen street, Thames, early on Dec. 10, destroying two shops, owned by Messrs. Brien and Wood. Brien, who was a furniture dealer, &c , was insured in the Royal for £175. Wood, fruiterer, was insured iu the Norwich Union for £50. Notbiug was saved. On December zO, at a quarter to 11 o'clockj the commencement of what would have been a very dangerous conflagration was fortunately checked in the bud, in consequence of its being observed at an early It appears that at the t : me stated, a boy named Alexander .Scott, about 14 years of age, residing with his father in Mount-street, observed a reflection of lire through a window in a six roomed woaden house adjoining his father's hou?e, and occupied by a man named Stephen Darby, his wife, daughter, son-in-law (William Nichol), and the three children of the latter. The boy at once calied his father's attention to the blaze, and on going iuto Darby's house, he saw the contents of a work-box, including papers, &c., on fire. The only person in the house at the time was a child three years of age, who was in be i asleep. The boy promptly shut down the lid of the box, thus preventing the flames from spreading, and be then called the attention of Mrs. Darby aud Mrs. Nichol. Mr. Soott brought Serjeant Clarke ou the scene, and he found that inosh of the articles iu the box were burued, but that the lire was not quite extinguished. It had burned through the bottom of the box, and the toilet cover of the table on which it rested. Mrs. Darby exjda'ned that she had left a lighted candle ntar the open work-box when she lefc the room, an .1 it is suppose 1 that as there was a bu;h "wind outside, and a strong draught through the house, some of the contents of the box must have been blown into the flame of the candle. No alarm was given, but it is no doubt due to the prompt action of the boy Scott and his father that the flames did not spread further. Had the lira taken a good hold, it would have been almost impossible to have saved the child who was asleep in the room. Mr. Darby, who is night watchman at Fraser and Tince's foundry, was absent ou duty at the time. The house is the property of Mr. Butler, of Hub?on-strcet, and is uninsured.

A destructive fire broke out in Pollenstreet, Thames, about 2.30 p.m. on Dec. 21, by which five shops wire burnt down. So far as can be ascertained, the fire commenced in an empty building, owned by Mr. Ehrenfried, in which a young man, an employee of Mr. threufried's, was living by himself. A strong wind was blowiog, and, although the fire brigades were on the spot in a f=w minute?, the flames were not subdued un'il four of the adjoining buildings had been either burnt, or pulled dowD by direction of the fire inspectors. It was only by the utmost exertions that draper's shop, which was to windward of the building in which the fire originated, was saved. The losses are : — J hr=nf>ied's buildings, uniusurel; Martin and Son, drapers, insured in the Norwich Union for £500; Greeuwood, general dealer, stock aud building ; Avenell's butcher's shop, empty. A large portion of Martin's and Greenwool's stojk was removed. Messrs. Foy Brotoers, photographers, and Norbury, grocer, also suffer serious loss by removal. Hetherington's loes is confined to a quantity of blaukets, whi.h were of great use in saving the property. Of the properties des'royed, Martin's was the only one kuo.vn to be imured. An in-que-t was held, when an open verdict was it turned, nothing indicating Low the fire originated.

At a'.oufc 20 miuv.tes to 12 o'clock on 21st Dec., a lira broke out in Pousonb}', which created a good deal oL alarm, *nd r-. suited in the total destruction of a five-roomed house, o*ne;d and occupied by a man named Theodore Brown, a poulterer. The house consisted cf a cottago of four rooms on the ground-floor, and a kitchen at the back, which was reached by a staireasc from one of the back room?. It was situated in a narrow stre.t called William-street, which leads off the litter running by the corner of the Suffolk Hotel, opposite the road fading to St. Mary's Convent. The Fire Brigade mustered very quickly, and brought tbeii ar pliances, hose, &e., to the city boundary - * Freemaa's Hay, beyond which it was usol-.aa to proCLcd, as the water mains do not extend further. A detachment remained in charge of the traps, and the rest «pe 1 on to the lire to render what assistance was possible. The Salvage Corps, undtr Captain Butler, the police, uuder Sub-Inspector Pardy, and a detachment of the Sav.il Brigade, under Sub-Lieutenant Smith, were quickly on the spot, but previous to this a number of tho neighbours -had como to the rescue, and saved aomc furniture and bedding from the front rooms. Amongst the first on the scene was Mr. J. R Mac-donald, District Judge and Re-iideut Magistrate, who, with all the instincts and "feelings of a fireman, having been for many years superintendent of tbe Shortland Fire Brigade, turned out speedily, bringing with liim a powerful garden-engine and hose, which, by the way, has seen good service at many fires. With this appliance he kept the flames in cheek as far as possible, aud aided in saving the furniture. The local constable, Jones, was also promptly present, and rendered gnod service; but for want of a supply of water no eff.-c'ual steps coiild he taken to save the house, and it had to burn to the ground. .Fortunately it was a detached house, but the fenca and houses on the opposite side of the street were severely scorched. The poultry (about 100 iu number), which were in a detached

building; were all saved. Mr. Brown gives tli-; following explanation of - the origin of the fire : — hi 13 fa* her-in-law, Mr. Drobnn, slept iq one of . the back rooriiß, Ilia wife in the front bedroom, and there was an unoccupied room at the back. Brown had been into his father-in-law's room, and was coming towards, his wife's bedroom when the bo Jy of the kerosene lamp, which he held in his band, dropped off the shank and exploded on the floor. The fl ime spread with snc-h rapidity towards the rear of the premises that he rnshed t> safe bis faiher-iu-law, and was only just in time. Mr. Drohnn was unible to face the flames, and jumped out of a ba;:k window which, owing to the sloping ground, wa3 here a story high from the ground. He was seriously shaken by the f*3l, but is now progressing favourably. Brown further states that he had about £30 in a box ia the back room, and that this is all loot. He purchased the house about four months ago from a Mr. Stichbury for £235. The house is iusured for £120 in the Liverpool snd London office, and the furniture for JCI.O in the New Zealand office. Shortly before noon on Dee. 22 a Sre broke out in a house off Cobi.rg-street, close to the rear of Mr. Harbuct's brush factory. The alarm was first given by the Princes street be'], and was qu;ckly taken up by those of the citv. There was an instantaneous outturn of c't : z n», a? the locality of the fire could be at once discerned by the thiok volume of smoke an 1 dame which ascended, j The hou'e on fire was a two-stjry fourrjomed building, situated at the rear of a other building frontiug It wa occupied by Mr. JVhu and his wife, the former b-: 11 the owutr of the front tenement, as well as a large wooden building two stories aud an at'.iu, with tour rojms on each lloor, and twi> oa the attic. The alarm brought the Fire i>rigide, under Superintendent Hughes, spc-edi y on the spjt, aud a lead was taken from the main in Coburg-stre-t, and in a few moments what was a tierce aud threiteuing b'aze was reduced to a volume of steam. The Police force, Salvage Corp?, aud some members of the Brigade were also quickly ou the sp'H, and tendered all the a:-sisl3nce po=3ible. The !oeaii:y is a crowded one, and had prouipt measures not been tikeu the fire might have proved very destructive. It that Mr. Harper, who waa in oa ha-anes*, was sent for froni -Mr. Thome's office, aud his wife WvUt in sea-ch of him. As sue w.13 retorni:iL. home the alarm ■! given. There was no" one in the at the time, and she alicsfs th.it there whs no tire iu it when she left. The fire o:cu:r:-d in the root of the building and it is said to have beeo c iused l.y a sjjark from the iron chimney of Harbutt's en«ins to the shingles. The chimney in que&tiyn ia only about seven yards distant, and its top is on a level with the roof. It has 110 spark-citciier, and the wiud was blowing in a direction which would carry the sparks. A go id deal of the furniture and effects from, the lower floor were saved, bat the two rooms of the upper portion were gutted. Mr. Harper had both prcperiies insured jointly nnR policy in the Norwich Union Office fur £200.

Between 10 and li o'clock on the forenoon of New Year's Day, a tire broke out in a four roomed cottage io Bath-street, Paraell, which, but for its timely discovery, which have been a very destructive one. The cottage in which it occurred was occupied by Mr. Wane (foreman at the Paraell soap factory) and his family. When, the fire was discovered by Mr. John Burns, Mr. Wane had gone to tlio ra:e?, and no one was ill *the hotue. It appears that before Mr. Wane had gone away he had been cleaning his boots in a small room, and it is conjectured that ill lighting his pipe or cigar before leaving, the match may not have been extinguished when it dropped on the floor. This conjecture i 3 rendered probable, as the fire was first noticed about 20 minutes or half-an hour after he departed. However this may be, the fire began in this small room under a window, and had been smouldering for some time before the smoke was discovered. Mr. Burns was soon joined by Mr. Edward Spence, who, by the application of a few buckets of water, soon extinguished the fire. Sergeant Jackson was also soon on the spot, and saw that ail danger was prevented by the complete extinguishment of the embers. The damage done is comparatively trifling, but a very short delay in observing the fire would have ensued the complete destruction of all the buildings connected with the soap factory, b.-sides several dwelling-houses in the neighbourhood. It is believed that an expenditure of £5 will repair all the damage done.