FIRE ON BOARD THE S.S. WAMARIE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12527, 21 March 1904, Page 6

FIRE ON BOARD THE S.S. WAMARIE.

AN ALARMING SITUATION.

PUTS IN TO THAMES.

DAMAGE TO SHIP AND CARGO. [BY T3SLF.GKAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Saturday. The Northern Steamship Company's steamer Waimarie met with a rather unfortunate experience whilst bound from Auckland to Paeroa this morning. It appears that she left Auckland at midnight on Friday, with a considerable number of passengers and a full cargo, the latter including 25 tons of unslaked lime, which was stowed in the bottom of the forward hold. On the passage down rather rough weather was met with, arid when coming through the Sandspit the full force of a strong northerly gale was experienced, which caused the vessel to toss and roll about very considerably. However, everything seemed to be progressing satisfactorily until about five o'clock in the morning, "at which time the steamer was about ten miles distant from Thames. At this juncture one of the crew detected a smell as: of something burning, and tfie matter was at once reported to Captain Bettis. The latter caused a search to be made, with the result that when the fore-hatch was lilted quite a volume of smoke and steam j came forth from the hold. On investigation it was found that either through some bilge water getting into the hold, or a j leakage having occurred through the tossing | about the vessel had been experiencing, the I unslaked lime had become damped, and had heated to such •an extent that some of ■ the sacks in which the lime was packed had ignited, and had caused several adjoining cases to smoulder. :; The heat and smoke at this time were so great that it was impossible to work the hold for any length of time, but sufficient was seen to convince the captain and his officers that it would be advisable to re- j move the cargo from the hold with as little i delay as possible, in order to prevent seri-. i ous damage being done to the hull of the vessel. Consequently, after doing all that < could be done then to check the progress of the fire, Captain Bettis altered the course of his vessel and made straight for the Thames wharf, which was reached shortly before seven o'clock.

: A start was at once made to discharge the cargo in order to get at the seat of the trouble, and as the work progressed it was found that the' damage sustained to the cargo considerably exceeded the first estimate given. It is now estimated that the total damage sustained will amount to a considerable sum, especially as the whole of the 25 tons of lime will be a total loss. The hull of the vessel adjacent to where the lime was stowed is slightly charred, but the damage is not- anything of a serious character. When '■ the outbreak was first discovered Captain Bettis and his officers saw that everything was ready in the event of the fire getting a serious hold on the vessel, and it should become necessary.to take to the boats. i There was no confusion, the passengers being asleep at the time, and they were eventually landed at the Thames wharf and proceeded by the.morning; train to Paeroa., ' ,V-During the whole of the day the officers and crew of the Wuimariej ably assisted i by Captain Mcleod, of the Terranora, and : his officers and crew, r were hard at work in getting the general cargo and lime out of the ho'd. This proved a very slow and tedious task, as the men were unab'e to stay long in; the hold at' a time, owing to the fumes and smoke arising from the burning lime ,' v and, they had to be worked in relays. It was not until , a late hour this ! evening that : the. vessel was free ; from i danger,' and -'then not until after the forward hold had been flooded with water. /REAPPEARANCE OF THE FIRE. , [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Sunday. ■: About seven-o'clock last evening matters on the steamer Waimarie very unexpectedly assumed a rather serious aspect, notwithstanding the fact that everything had been done : during ! the day which was thought necessary;: to prevent any further damage | being done. All the general cargo had '\Seen removed, from the forward hold, and' also all the bags of lime which had shown sighs of being in a heated condition, as veil as the payment of attention to other r/ecessary- details/ At the: hour mentioned, however, the heat arising from the remaining portion of the lime in the hold had become so great that it set the bulkhead of the vessel on fire, and so quickly did the flames travel that those employed in the task of battling against them could not master the fiery element. Captain Bettis was therefore compelled to telephone to the fire brigade station, and request that the brigade should come at once with their reels and hose to assist in quenching the flames. The captain's request was quickly answered, and Superintendent Burns and the members of the brigade with a lead of hose about 2500tt in length, brought a supply of water from the main fire-plug at the head of the wharf down to the steamer, and brought it into play into the hold where the members of the brigade worked in relays of about fiveminute spells for fully an hour before they got the fire under control. , Captain McLeod, of the steamer Terranora, also brought his vessel alongside.the Waimarie and used that steamer's fire-hose in , helping to quench the flames. The damage done, however, was confined chiefly to the bulkheads, and the deck of the hold. The former was burnt through in three or four places, but the overhead deck was merely charred. Otherwise the hull of the vessel was not damaged to any great extent. .; " : "

It was considered advisable, however, to | keep three members of the fire brigade on I the vessel all night, in order to be ready for any emergency ; that might possibly occur, but fortunately nothing occurred to call forth their services. '.Captain Bettis speaks highly with reference to the great assistance rendered by i the fire brigade and Captain McLeod and the crew of the Terranora, without' whose timely help there is no doubt but that . greater damage would ! have occurred to the ; steamer. This (Sunday) morning steam was got up,; and the Waimarie left for Auckland about seven o'clock, it being considered advisable to take this course, in order that the requirements of the vessel for cleaning and repairing may be attended to without delay. Owing to an interruption in the telephone service, Mr. Charles Ranson, general manager of the Northern Steamship Company, could not be communicated with, and he made arrangements for the Waitangi to proceed to the Thames yesterday afternoon, in order to tow the Waimarie to Auckland. The Waitangi left Quay-street Jetty shortly after two p.m. yesterday for the Thames," but on getting past the Railway Wharf the Waimarie was discerned making for her usual berth, and the Waitangi at once returned. As soon as the Waimarie berthed at the jetty,, a consultation between Mr. Ranson and Captain Bettis, of the Waimarie, and Captain Sullivan, of the Taniwha, was held, when it was decided that the Taniwha should proceed to the Thames, take in the cargo landed by the Waimarie, and take it on to Paeroa. _ In the meantime an examination of the lime in the hold of the Waimarie was made by Mr. J. Wilson, who had shipped the lime for Waihi for the Waihi Gold Mining Company, and Mr. C. Ranson and Mr. S. Hesketh (solicitor for the Northern Steamship Company), .and Captain Bettis being present. After examining the lime, which was still in a heated condition, Mr. Wilson gave it as his opinion that there need be. no further fear of danger from fire, as the lime, owing to the quantity of water poured- into it. had become quite slaked. An interview was then held with Mr. A. Rose, Collector of Customs, and after mat-ters-had been explained to him, he referred the matter to Mr. Wetherilt, Government inspector, and everything being reported in good order after his examination, the Waimarie proceeded on to Paeroa early this morning. In consequence of the accident there will be no steamer from Auckland to Paeroa to-day, but the Waimarie, it is expected, will take up her time-table running ©q Wednesday next.