DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7343, 2 June 1885, Page 5

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

OWEN AND GRAHAM'S WAREHOUSES

GUTTED.

DAMAGE, £30,000; INSURANCES, £43,500. Perhaps the most extensive fire which has occurred in Queen-street, since the destruction some years ago of Mr. J. S. Macfarlane's bonded stores, occurred this morning about eight o'clock, in the wholesale warehouses of Messrs. Owen and Graham, Lower Queenstreet. A few minutes before the alarm was given a sort of haze was seen on the roof of the warehouse, but as the morning was frosty, it was attributed to the mist arising through the rising sun. The storeman, R. Barker (who has been 14 years with the firm), was the first to discover the fire. On opening the front door, as was his custom at eight o'clook, he found the whole of the ground floor full of smoke, which owing to its density could not be penetrated, and he at once hurried down to the Waitemata Hotel corner, and pushed in the disc at the electric fire alarm, thus warning the Fire Brigade station, where the fireman on duty promptly responded ;by ringing oat the tirebell opposite the station. There was some difficulty at first in locating the scene of the fire, owing to the dense volumes of smoke which pervaded the whole block. Mr. Barker penetrated the building in order to ascertain the true state of affairs, and found that there was no fire on ground or upper floors, but seemed to be in the third storey, where a roaring noise was heard going on. Owing to the danger of being suffocated, he was obliged to escape by one of the windows of the upper storey on to the parapet. As soon as the Fire Brigade, under Superintendent Hughes, and the Salvage Corps, under Captain Field, got on the ground, which they did very smartly, a ladder was placed at a window of the top storey, and a couple of leads of hose t-.kon up, which were played on the upper floor into the smoke, for up to this time no flames had been seen. In the meantime Barker had found out that the fire was really in the basement, in the packing-room, and that the roaring noise previously heard was occasioned by the flames going up the " well" in which the hydraulic lift worked from basement to top storey, and that the fire then extended along on the floor and up to the roof. An entrance was obtained to the packing department by the back right-of-way, and Foreman Harley, with a number of firemen, got two leads of hose to play on the contents of the packing room as soon a3 the door had been forced open, while the fire was being still attacked from the Queenstreet front. Owing to the smoke being confined in the first floor some delay occurred before the firemen could get into this compartment, and their efforts were therefore diiected to pouring in copious streams of water, the Salvage Corps meanwhile protecting as best tbey could, by tarpaulins, the goods on the ground floor. So complete a bold had the fire got of the roof, through the draught caused by the opening of the hydraulic lift, that nothing could be done to save the goods on that division. Shortly the flames burst through the roof, and it fell in with a crash, enabling the volumes of smoke to disperse, and thus permitting the firemen to effectively conduct their operations for suppressing the fire. Torrents of water were poured into the premises, both above and in the basement storey, and between ten and eleven o'clock the fire was completely got under, though a detachment of the Salvage Corps remained all day. As soon as an examination of the building and stock could be made, it was found that the damage was more extensive than had been anticipated. In the basement storey an examination of the window showed that a pane of glass had been broken, but as the fragments were not discoloured while the glass in the window was discoloured gave rise to the imprecision that the window had been broken before the fire broke out. Captain Field, of the Salvage Corps, is of opinion that the fire could not. have smouldered so long a period as from Saturday at I p.m. till the period of the outbreak, having regard to the class of goods in the packingroom. A quantity of goods in the packingroom was destroyed both by fire and water. The ground floor was used as the Manchester department, and all in the vicinity of the hydraulic lift the goods were injured by fire, while the heavy stock was sodden by water. The haberdashery goods on the first - floor have suffered heavily from water, while the upper or third storey is a complete wreck. It was divided into departments by a brick parapet wall, and the reserve clothing department wa3 in the northern division, where the " well" of the lift existed. The floors and walls are extensively charred, and will have to be roplaced. The stock was irretrievably damaged. An iron door, working on a traveller, closed the only means of communication between the two departments, but the door was not closed at the time of the fire. It was put up at the time the southern division was used as a bond and not erected for fire purposes. Had it been ' shut the result would have been the same as the fire would have got in by means of the woodwork. The i southern division contained ladies' goods, feathers, shawls, etc., and these are nearly all destroyed. So rapidly had the flames ascended the hydraulic lift, owing to the draught, that portions of the wooden lining of the shaft are singed rather than charred. No reliable assessment of the damage to the stock has yet been made, but experts put it approximately at three-fourths the stock, or about £30,000, a considerable proportion of which is owiug to water. The damage to the building is also considerable. The following are the full insurances :— Stock : New Zealand, £3000 ; Haneeatic, £1500; London and Lancaster, £1000; Hamburg, £1500; Victoria, £2000; Fire Association, £2500; Union, £1000; Standard, £1000; Norwich, £4000 Northern, £3000; National, £3000; Sun, £2500; Liverpool, London, and Globe, £2000; United, £1500; South British, £2000; Colonial, £2000; Manchester, £1000; Mercantile Union, £2000; Imperial, £3000; total, £40,500. Building : New Zealand, £2000 ; Norwich Union. £1000 ; total, £3000. SERIOUS FIRE IN VICTORIA-STREET. —DAMAGE, £4000. About midnight the fire bolls rang out the alarm of fire, and immediately afterwards a heavy column of smoke rose in the clear night air in Viotoria near Nelson-street, showing that the fire was in that locality. It provod to be in the same block, below Mr. Scutt's drapery premises, where a fire took place about a year ago. On the Fire Brigade and Salvage Corps arriving on the scene, the fire w?.j found to be raging in the two-storey premises of Mr. Dare, draper, which were in a mass of flames. The fire was rapidly extending eastwards along the two-storey block occupied by Messrs, Slaney (jeweller) and Somers (tobacconist), and westward along the twostorey blooks occupied by Messrs. J. Brown (fishmonger), Mettams (tinsmith and plumber), Mrs. Crawley (grocer), and Matthew Carr (bootmaker). The fire burned with such fierceness that it seemed as if the whole block would go, the heat being so great as to drive the firemen into the street. A lea of hose was got to the rear from the Nelson-street hydrant, and one lead from Victoria-street, and another from Grahamstreet played on the burning buildings in front. The fire had by this time complete possession of Dare's premises (which consisted of a double shop), and in a minute or so the top storey front fell into the roadway with a crash, carrying away tho verandah. The firemen stuck gallantly to their posts, mounting the adjacent verandahs, and playing from thence upon the burning debris, and also on the rest of the block on fire. Id about 20 minute? they got the fire under control, the total destruction being confined to Dare's premises, Brown's on the west were gutted, and those of Slaney and Somers on the eastern side, were partially deHtroyed. The other tenements wore damaged through the fire running along the roof, and also by water in the interior.

With regard to the origin of the fire, there are conflicting statements. It is beyond dispute that it broke out in Dare's buildings. Mr. Dave's statement is that be occupied the two shops and sub-let the back rooms to a tenant named W hi tela w, with a wife and two children. He had had a dispute with Whitelaw, and civen him notice. Whitelaw decided to go at once, and removed down the ■ street near the Red Lion Hotel yesterday. Whitelaw called at Dare's at ten o'clock p.m., and gave in the key, but would not pay the week's rent in Hsu of notice. There was a dispute, and Whitelaw threw the key down and went away. Dare went to bed shortly before eleven, and was awoke by the baby orying, when he discovered smoke, and gave an alarm to his

family. On going down stairs and opening the door leading into the other shop he saw no fire in the shop, but it appeared to be in one of the occupied rooms, either above or below. He got his family out with difficulty. Dare says that Whitelaw was one of the earliest on the spot, and endeavoured to assist in getting oat some things, but only got oat & cradle. Whitelaw's statement is that he was sitting in his new home having supper when he heard the bell go, and ran up the street. The fire was then breaking out of the windows of Dare's shop. He went round to the back of the premises, and saw that there was no fire in the rooms he had recently oocupied, and called the attention of another man to the fact. ' With regard to the insurances, as the owners of the blocks live out of town, the information as to policies could not be obtained. Dare's premises were owned by Mrs. Wallace. Dare -values his stock at £1,800. It was insured in the Colonial Office for £350, of which £150 was reinsured in the Phoenix, and £450 in the Imperial and Phceuix, making £800 in all. Messrs. Slaney and Somer's shops were owned by Mr. Robert Bartley, and believed to be insured in the New Zealand. Somers was insured, stock, furniture, and personal effects, for £132 in the Norwich Union. Slaney, stock and tools, £150 in National. The four shops on the western side of Dare were owned by Mr. Ball, of Mount Eden. Brown was uninsured ; Mettam had stock insured for £75 in the South British ; Mrs. Crawley's, unknown ; Carr was insured for £150 in the New Zealand, and is said also to have a risk in the South British of £300. The total damage to buildings and stock is estimated at £4000. Sergeants Pratt and Mahon and a detachment of police kept the ground, and aided the Salvage Corns in protecting property. The Naval Artillery also rendered valuable assistance.

FIRE AT MATAKANA. [by telegraph.— CORRESPONDENT.] Matakana, Monday. The Matakana Public Hall was burned to the ground yesterday evening, between six and seven o'clock. The building was insured in the Imperial for £150. The origin of the fire is unknown, and when first observed, was confined to the stage, but the inflammable nature of the scenery assisted the fire. The doors were locked, and before the keys were obtained, the fire had too great a hold to save any moveables. The Read Board held their meetings in the stall, and have lost by the fire the office books and records. FIRE AT DUNEDIN. Dun edis, Monday. A six-roomed house in Union-street, occupied by Mr. A. Maggett, and owned by Mr. A. J. C. Baber, was burned down this morning. The furniture was insured in the Victoria Office for £140, and the building in the Norwich Union for £250. Some clothes which had been placed before the kitchen fire to dry ignited, and caused the fire.