DESTRUCTION BY FIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19764, 11 October 1927, Page 10

DESTRUCTION BY FIRE.

NORTHCOTE HOUSE BURNED. OCCUPANTS OUT AT TIME. DAMAGE TO SHOP AT NEWTON. An eight-roomed wooden dwelling in Lake Road, Northcote, owned by Mrs. 11. H. Adams, and occupied by Mrs. Kathleen Brown and her son and daughter, was destroyed by fire on Sunday evening. The contents were also lost. The building, which was an old one, was formerly the residence of Mr: W. N. Rushbrook, and was situated on the outskirts of Northcote, adjacent to the Takapuna boundary. No one was at home when the outbreak occurred. Mrs. Brown and Miss Brown went out after tea and the son, Kenneth Brown, shortly before nine o'clock. At that time a fire was bnrning in the grate. Not' long afterwards Mr. Raymond McKenzie saw flames breaking through the roof and he motored into Northcote to give the alarm. When the Northcote Fire Brigade arrived the building was a mass of flames, and any attempt to prevent the total destruction of the premises was hopeless. The insurance on the house is not available. The furniture was covered by a policy for £250 in the New Zealand Insurance Company. Mr. Charles McCormick, who was employed in renovating the place, lost a kit of tools valued at £lO. Severe damage was done to a shop and workroom occupied by Mr. J. Rasmussen, saddler, on the first floor of the Newton Arcade, Karangahape Road, through fire which broke out at an ea.rly hour yesterday morning. The building was insured for £I2OO in the Ocean, Accident and Guarantee Corporation, and the stock for £2OO in the same company. A half-ton motor-truck, owned, by Messrs. Ellis and Paton, butchers, of Dominion Road, was destroyed by fire in May Road, Mount Roskill, shortly after 6 o'clock last evening. When the Mount Roskill brigade arrived the firo had gained a strong hold and nothing could be done. The honse of Mr. J. G. Knight, in Norwood Avenue, Bayswater, which was destroyed by fire on Sunday evening, was insured in the Guardian Assurance Company for £SOO, and the contents for £3OO in the same office. COTTAGE BURNED TO GROUND. LITTLE CLOTHING SAVED. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] TAIEIAPE. Monday A cottage at Utiku, five miles from Taihape, owned by Mr. A. Rayner, and occupied by Mr. J. Somers, was burned to the ground yesterday-morning. Mr. Somers, who was the sole occupant, escaped with a few articles of clothing. Nothing else was saved as the building was quickly destroyed. Although the building was insured, the furniture and effects were not. OUTBREAK AT TE KUITI. TEAROOMS AND SHOPS SUFFER. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] TE KUITI, Monday Fire broke out in Prosser's Buildings, Rora Street, Te Kuiti, shortly before midnight on Saturday, and premises occupied as tearooms were gutted. The building is of brick, and it was occupied upstairs bv Mr. K W J. Wood, proprietor of the Rose Tearooms and Cabaret, and on the ground floor by Mrs. Bennett, home cookery shop, and"Mr. W. Calver, boot and shoe dealer. The brigade effected a good save, confining the flames to the rear portion of the upper floor. The kitchen and'part of the dining room were gutted. A quantity of crockery and a large gramophone in the cabaret were destroyed. The stock of the two shops was damaged by water. The building .is insured for £2250 in the British Traders' Office; Mr. Wood's furniture for £75 in the same office; Mr. Calver's stocks for £BOO, in the State Office: and Mrs. Bennett's stock and equipment for £IOO in the Union Assurance Office. FARM HOUSE NEAR TAUMARUNUI. FLAMES SPREAD RAPIDLY. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] TAUMARUNUI. Monday A farm house of five rooms at Taringo motu was destroyed by fire on Saturday evening, together with men's quarters of two rooms. The house was owned by Mr. G. A. Stanton, and was occupied by Mr. W. Carter, who was manager of the farm. Mr. Carter was in Taumarunui at the time of the outbreak, but Mrs. Carter and other members of the family were at home. They had been working in the men's quarters, and when they returned to the house it was on fire, the ceiling and walls of the kitchen being in flames. Assistanco was rendered by neighbours, but the fire spread so quickly that little could be done when they arrived on the scene. The family lost all their personal belongings. The insurance on the house and outbuildings was £6OO, and on the furniture £l5O.