GREAT LONDON FIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17112, 18 March 1919, Page 9

GREAT LONDON FIRE.

FOOD STOCKS DESTROYED.

DAMAGE oyer one MILLION. , ( The -whole of London was made gorgeously j brilliant by a great fire in Shored itch on J New Year's night. It was the largest ' / Haze in the metropolis since the Wood v'j Street conflagration due to a Zeppelin |'j bomb, in 1915. ' j The fire was at the Great Eastern Rail- '| way and general store, two huge buildings , / of sdven floors in Pedley Street, of! Com- • mercial Street, and before the first fireengines could reach the spot the fire had a j good hold. Within half an hour the entire neighbourhood was as light as day. A J " brigade call" brought dozens of fire- vj engine?, to the scene, but for an hour their 1», work was ineffective so far as hundreds of \ •housands of Londoners in ail parts of the . ! metropolis could judge hv the bright glare . in the sky, Those who watched the fire , I from city and West End bouse tops several .<i miles distant occasionally heard the clarg 1 j of the passing fire-engines that had started their rare half-a-dozen or more miles dig- , tant from the scene, and it was not until j ten that the sunset effect began to fade and reduce interest to a local character, J," The premises held great quantities of flcur, eggs, butter, and cheese, besides J i grain and other foodstuffs The fire E started on the ground floor and the inflam- t j mable nature of the material enabled the flames to spread with remarkable rapidity. The efforts of the firemen were directed ;• to keeping the fire within bounds, but the & situation of the property impeded their .] ifforts. The danger of the flames spread- |? >ng to some cottages in the vicinity was |:j apparent not long after the outbreak be- ,| gan, and the occupants of those premises , ? got away in good time. Great Eastern II main line traffic had to be held up owing jj to the fierce heat. Happily, although the building is got- jj irunded by densely-populated narrow |{ streets. there was no loss of life. Horses til which were stabled almost immediately !\ below the burning buildings were removed |.{ is soon a 5 danger threatened them, soldiers If and sailors in lame numbers rendering k fine service in this and other efforts to f-i restrict the damage. ij The damage by the fire is expected to i' ; run into a million pounds, and some pot ft! it as high as two million. The damage fj to the buildings alone is reckoned at £ £500.000. and the lo«3 of food is regarded jf as a serious item. W