FIRE AT REMUERA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 5995, 3 February 1881, Page 5

FIRE AT REMUERA.

Those who had occasion to pass through Remuera yesterday, more especially those wlio' atttended the sheep fan: at the Remuera X"ards, were, astonished to observe a number of : stacks of , :hay smoking helplessly into ashes at a short distance from the Great South' Road. The stacks, five in numberthree small and two large—were beyond hope of saving. They were the property of Major George, on the paddocks formerly occupied by Mr. J. May. The residence is at present unoccupied, as contractors are employed making extensive alterations, and new stables and coach-houses are in course of construction. Major George and his manservant had been round the stacks at 5 o'clock in the evening, and there was then no trace of fire, bat soon after 8 o'clock they . burst into smoke, and nothing could be done to save them from total destruction. One of the large stacks had previously heated, and a gap four feet wide made from top to bottom had to be cut out to prevent fire from generating. It was not from this 'stack, however, that the fire burst out, and the fact that it occurred at the bottom .of a stack—not in the centre —leads to the impression that it might have been caused by some tramp or other person carelessly throwing down a match. There is no suspicion that it is a case of incendiarism. The stacks, which contained over 60 tons of meadow hay, worth about £300, were insured in the South British Insurance Office for £200.