DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12775, 27 January 1905, Page 5

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN WELLINGTON.

1D.1.C. . WAREHOUSE BURNED. 3- ! ' D.I.C. WAREHOUSE BURNED. INSURANCE OVER £$5,000. ' PRACTICALLY TOTAL LOSS. ; _ E ECONOMIC DRAPERY ESTABLISH- ' MENT DAMAGED. ;%;'■./'. ~ • ■ ■...'"■..■■:.',, HEAVY LOSS THROUGH .SMOKE AND WATER. IK : i: fat TELEGRAPH -OWN ('OHRKSt'OXI)KXT.] Wellington, Thursday. At about, four o'clock this morning, one of the most destructive fires which have occurred in Wellington broke out in the fine three-storeyed, building occupied by. the. D.1.C... and! in about an hour and a-half the valuable and comprehensive stock was completely reduced to ashes. The fire swept through the place from end to end with amazing rapidity. The building was one of the largest business houses in the city. It. ran through from Brandon-street to Panama-street, with frontages to both streets, and formed the middle of a considerable block hounded by Lambton .Quay, Panama-street, Feather- " -stou-stieet, and Brandon-street. The premises on the back of Foatherslon£l street .side of the block are mostly old structures, some of them of wood or iron. The middle of the block, right from Pana-ma-street to Brandon-street, was occupied by the D.I.C. building, filled with drapery . and general dry goods, and on the front, or Lambton Quay side, of the block are buildings of a mixed character, wood or brick, one of the. principal being the Ecoy T nomic (Messrs. George avid Kersley) dra- -' '■ pery and millinery establishment. ONLY THE WALLS LEFT. The fire went, completely through the 8.1.C, the finest building in 'the. block, completely destroying the valuable stock, •\ik! leaving merely the walls. It overlapped into the Economic, and much damage was caused there by fire, .smoke, and water :■•' before it was stopped, and, curiously enough,' whilst- it raged with intense fury within the brick walls of the D.I.C, it spared the old wooden buildings on either • side. '-;-'■';■'■'.".." " Fortunately when the fire broke'out there was comparatively 'no wind, otherwise it is hard -to say where the limits of destruc- ,. lion would have been reached. Huge drapery stocks were packed on the ground floo: of the D.I.C, and here the Harries travelled as amidst .so much tin-der,-so that when the brigade arrived the interior, of the building was already practically a huge cauldron. GREAT PRESSURE OF WATER. , Seven or eight leads of hose, with a great pressure of water, were taken into this furnace, but the flames defied all efforts to hold them in check, and quickly made their way through the three floors to the roof. ' • It was daylight, and there was thus little reflection, so. that very few people were aware that a great fire was in progress. But, as the morning was calm, the flames bursting through the roof shot up perpendicularly to a great height, and continually masses of burning material, 'drapery, books, and upholstery were sent- up, and whirled high over. th<» block, and down into the ; streets below. .. ... It became a fight then, not to save the D.I.C, which was obviously doomed, but to prevent the flames from making their way into the drapery stock at the Economic :■•:•:•.' store". ■. ' ■.-.■■ ' ' A GREAT FIGHT. This great fight the brigadesmen waged gallantly, and they won. After about an . hour and a-half the fire was got under. 1: .■ How it started is not known. Signs of g - ! fire weie first observed on the first floor of the D.I.C. by .Constable Sweeney,-.who was &;: in Panama-street. He walked round to Brandon-street, where he found another person had noted the same signs from that side. ' Evidently the fire was even then firmly.established in the first floor, where it '■ is understood the tailoring department was located. . Employees had been working in the building late last night, and it is understood they left everything secure. The \ window dresser was the last'at work, and when he left there was no sign of fire. A BIG CLEARANCE. • The employees were preparing for the annual bargain sale, which was to have begun this morning. In the advertisements on this subject,, the D.I.C predicted a big clearance of bargains to-day, and this predition has been fulfilled in .an 'unexpected ij7v££ fashion. ''""',' The stock of the D.I.C comprised drapery, ',:■;■'■ crockery, furniture, boots, and shoes. The employees numbered from 200 to 300, many of whom assembled with the crowd this ■ morning and gazed ruefully at the bare walls and the smoking ruins. ; v-;V V The floors and roof have disappeared, even the heavy beams and rafters in the lower •'■■,.:.:'• floors are scarcely in evidence. The party walls stand fairly plumb, but the large parapet of the Brandon-street front is badly cracked at each end, and is hanging. ■ The city engineer has had the street below barricaded in case of a downfall. The three-storeyed building of the D.I.C .was flanked o. each side in Panama-street • by two-storeyed brick buildings, also occupied by the company. The stock in these places has shared in the general destruction'. On lie corner of Lambton Quay and Bran- .. Don-street, adjoining the Economic stores, •/"ft :is the Dresden Piano Company's store, and several suites of offices. These have escaped. Had the fire been allowed to get away in the Economic, it must have swept ■ ' - .the'offices and the pianos right out. A WONDERFUL ESCAPE. ; . An old wood and iron two-storeyed building in Brandon-street, next the D.I.C, lias had a wonderful escape. Jt is occupied by Andreae and Co., and other tenants, and nothing bub the brick wall of the D.I.C. towering high above could have saved it. A'» it was, the fire got into the roof and C'ime through the ceiling in the upstairs room - rented by the Bankers' Institute, which -ids suffered to some small extent by the Invasion of fire and water. Xf' Opposite the D.I.C, in Brandon-street, is a high. brick building, part of the drapery wtablisluueut of Kirkoaldie and Stains. ' • This has practically escaped untouched. .. , - Next to it- is tho two-storeyed wooden - miihliug of the Tourist Department. All the face of this building lias been blistered by the fierce heat from across the street, and every window on the front was cracked. ■ Hud there been a strong wind, this place, ami the wooden buildings adjoining, be- ' tween it and Fcatherston-street, must have gone. There are in the Tourist Departv..' meat's premises curios valued at £3000. p-iaSS'-H' ; ' : ' v

A smell of BURNING. 1 The manager (1 the D.1.C.; Mr.' Com-., gan, told a Post repreneutative that, early-! last night. before nine o'clock, employee's;! on the premise noticed -a smell of burning, , and; an inspection; was made, hut nothing untoward was found. A smell of burning j ■M,' says the manager, nothing unusual. J It' is almost a daily occurrence for such to be wafted hi; ftoai adjoining establishments, hotels, arid such like. / "■, . ; . With characteristic enterprise the-.mana-ger of the D.I.C. has already arranged for temporary premises to carry on the business of the firm. Mr. Corrigan was on the scene at half-past four a. in., and ■ saw hat nothing could be done to save the building and stock, and immediately set to work to secure fresh premises. By dint of getting the parties out of bed he had /arranged for the. temporary place of business by dx a.m. Fortunately the firm's/ furnishing and upholstering shops, in Borhampore and Panama Streets, are intact, , They will be kept going, and their output, along: with the s.s. l'apanui's shipment of goods, now on the wharf, reinforced by other shipments which arc now at hand, and by assort merits oi goods to be obtained from 1 the D.I.C. Southern warehouses, will enable the ■ firm to speedily equip itself for resuming business. Tho D.I.C. building was constructed by the late Mr. R. Carmkhael, in 1830 or 1891, and has been extended several times. The Economic slate that, they carry-a (stock of drapery, etc., valued! at between £50,000 and £40,000, and they further state that nearly''the-' whole of this is damaged by smoke, and water, while a portion of. the stock is completely destroyed. They are not yet able to estimate their loss; Tim INSURANCES. , The insurances on the D.I.C. total £85,700, of which £30.000 is held at Home. The insurances. are made up as follows: — Stock. £60,000: building, £21.500: fixtures, £5800 plate-glass windows, £400. " Mr, Corrigan. the company's manager, estimates the value of the stock at about £70,C00. The insurances on the D.I.C. are. in the following, offices: — Lloyd's (London), £28,700 Central - (London). £2000 Alliance, £4500: Commercial Union, £2000; Guardian. £2500: Liverpool, London, and Globe, £4000: London and Lancashire, £1500; Law Union and Crown, £1000; Northern. £3000; New Zealand, £6000; .North British and s Mercantile. £1500; North Queensland, £?000; Norwich Union, £3000; National. £1000; Phianix, £1500; Royal, £6000: Royal Exchange, £3500; Standard. £1500; South British, £2500; Sun, £4000.: United. £1500: Yorkshire, £2000; Victoria, £500. " The above are practically total loss, nothing being saved. . The insurances on the Economic stock are as follevs-.— Alliance. £2500; New Zealand. £2000 Royal Exchange. £2000; Commercial Union. £1600; Norwich Union. £1500; Guardian. £1500; Law Union and Crown. £1000; Liverpool, London, and Globe. £1000: South British. £1000: North British, £1000; Ynrfcduro, £1000; United. £600; IMiamix. £500; Victoria. £500 ; North Queensland, £500: total, £18,200. [BY TKLKtinAI'II.—rRKSS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Thursday. 1 It is estimated that th° loss on the Economic stock is 60 per cent, of the insurances. , The City Council decided to give the D.I.C. a temporary lease of the old corporation offices, at a rental of £600 per annum. The company will carry on business there for the present. .'.• ' A CONFLAGRATION IN 1887. BLOCK OF BUILDINGS DESTROYED. [IIY TKLEGRAI'H.--PRESS ASSOCIATION.] - • Welmxgtox, Thursday. . In connection with"'.' this morning's fire mention has been made of a disastrous conflagration which took nlace ovt the:morning of 'Sunday. February 27, 1887, on the same site as that affected by this morning's blaze. Almost the whole of the block bounded by Panama and Brandon Streets on the south and' north, and by Lambton Quay and' Featlierstori-street on the west and cast;- was swept awav, the damage being«estimated at over'. £100,000. This fire was then considered the most disastrous in Wellington's experience. It was half-an-, hour before daybreak that tho fire was discovered, and by eight a.m., when it was subdued, the block was a mass of black and smoking ruins. The principal buildings affected were Laery and Campbell's produce store, Huxley's tailor's shop, threestorey shop and dwelling, Baraud and Son's chemist's .shop and premises,' Buckley, Stafford, and Barton's law offices. Parker and Co. '& drapery warehouse, T. K. Macdonald and Co.'s premises, Thomson, Shannon and Co.'s drapery warehouse, and .Johnston and Co.'s bond and mercantile offices. The morning . was ■: calntf. but the flames had gained a hold that could not be loosened, and to add, to the difficulties of the firemen the Wainui water supply reservoir had been cut; off, only the Polhi'll Gully reservoir being available. The accounts in the newspapers, of the day showed that the scene was a particularly magnificent one, and was witnessed by he-, twecn 7000 and GOOO people. A striking feature of the ■fire was the assistance rendered to firemen by 30 marines and!. 120 bluejackets from H.M.s. Nelson, which was lying in the harbour at ■ the time. Under their officers th*se men did some particularly good' work, and to their duties as firemen they added the functions of police, keeping back the great crowd, and | guarding the salvage and salvage corps with fixed bayonets, a precaution rather more . impressive .'.'and spectatcular, ,it was remarked at the time, than necessary. The total losses by the insurance companies were £63,050, but the losses of. stock and buildings to owners were well over £100,000, owing ;,:o some of the destroyed premises having been used as dwellings. There were- some narrow escapes in the work of rescuing the inmates, but fortunately no lives were lost. • • . The following are among the largest fires that- have occurred in New Zealand during the past five or six years:—D.S.C. (Auckland. February. 1893), £18.000 L. > I). Nathan's bond (Auckland, 1901), £60.000; Bruce Woollen Mills (.Milton. April, 1901), £35.000; P. Dayman's. (Wellington. 1901), £40.000 or £50,000; Kempthorne. Prosser (Wellington; 'March'. 1904), £36,000; and T. and' S^Aiorriii (Auckland; May, .1904).' The figures, given represent the m W -—