FIRE DAMAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22010, 17 January 1935, Page 11

FIRE DAMAGE

QUEEN STREET LOSSES TOTAL OF OVER £35,000 ADJACENT BUILDINGS SUFFER THE WORK OF RESTORATION The premises of Wool worth's (N.Z.), Limited, in Lower Queen Street, the scene of Tuesday night's fire, continued to be a point of great interest to the public yesterday, and the police on guard had contiuually to be moving the sight-seers on. As a matter of fact, the shop windows, which were all the public could see, were the least affected part of the building. Upstairs all that remained the huge stock of fancy goods was small heaps of sodden, blackened rubbish amid which' china was one of the few recognisable lines. Through the effective work of the combined brigades the ground floor remains somewhat surprisingly intact. The long counters laden with wares are sodden and disordered, and yesterday the water was still pouring through from above on to the tarpaulins that have been spread o\-er them. Assistants Were making a beginning at stock-taking with a view to discovering what might be saved from tho wreck. In tho basement there is water to a depth of four feet. That the precaution of having trained firemen standing by is no mere formality was shown yesterday afternoon, when the deputy-chief of the brigade, Mr. G. Avenell, noticed a beam catching alight high up in what remains of the roofing. The small beginning was soon effectively checked. Insurance on Building The building, which is owned bv Mr. Charlton Dawson, of Auckland, is insured for £IO,OOO with the* New Zealand Insurance Company, Limited, and the stock and fittings for £26,300 witE the Royal Insurance Company, Limited* For the present the employees, to the number of about 100, remain on the pay-roll. Information is still too incomplete to enable an accurate estimate of the total fire Loss to be made. Wool worth'a are as yet unable to estimate their position, but if the insurances are taken as a basis of calculation in their case and addition is made for damage to and in the adjoining buildings the total would appear to be between £35.000 and £40,000. Damage estimated at between £2OOO and £3OOO was done to the stock and furnishings of tenants in Cooke's Build-, ing and Imperial Buildings, on either side of Woolworth's premises. In addition, Cooke's Building itself was damaged to the extent of about £1500« nearly all the windows on the side nearest the fire being smashed, and some of the metal frames distorted.In some suites doors will have to be replaced, and a certain amount of painting has also to be done. The buildups is insured for £45,000 in the State Fire office. ' Clearing Away Debris The tenants of the two buildings adjoining - the scene of the outbreak made an early start yesterday in clearing away debris and ordering such new furniture as is required. Water and charred fragments of, curtains, chairs and floor coverings, as well as the burned remains of stock in some instances, made a great deal of cleaning up necessary. Insurance assessors were early on the scene, and before long dozens of rubbish-bins .were filled with debris for removal. In some instances, tenants decided to opea fresh premises in the same building, to avoid loss of trade while their burned offices were being cleaned and made fit for use.

In Cooke's Building, some of the tenants had been unable to form any estimate of their losses, although others had details available. On the second floor Mr. G. Allan, silk importer, had stock destroyed. He estimated the damage at about £250. The stocks "were insured with the South British Insurance Company for £soo*Another tenant, Mr. S. Lephert, tailor and furrier, suffered about . £2O damage to furniture and stock, which were not insured.

Tenant's Loss ef £SOO On the third floor the principal sufferer was Sister Janet Doull, hygiene expert, who estimates her loss of stock, records, books and furniture at about £soo.»Her goods were insured for £l2O with the General Accident, Fire and Life Assurance .Corporation, Limited. On the same floor its. N. Austin, modiste, lost about £3O worth of uninsured furnishings. Extensive damage, estimated at about £3OO to £4OO, was done in the premises of Beltona, Limited, on the fourth floor. The stock was insured for £l2O with the Insurance Office of Australia, Limited. Damage was also .caused to, the stocks and furnishings of "Jocelyn," gown specialist. The salon of Madame Amie, beauty SO. specialist, on the fifth floor, was almost completely destroyed, together with machines and furniture. There was no insurance. Slight damage was caused to furnishings in various offices on the same floor, while on the storey above tenants also suffered varying losses. A Photographer's Losses No estimate has been made of the damage caused in the De Luxe Billiard Parlours on top floor, where curtains were burned and two billiardtables slightly affected. . In Imperial Buildings the. principal loser was Mr. A. Blakey, photographer. Although the greater part of the valuable equipment was saved, there was a heavy loss of stock, and considerable damage to furnishings by fire, smoke and water. The contents were insured for £I4OO with the National Insurance Company. Considerable improvement occurred yesterday in the condition ef Mr. James Broadfoot, the fireman who was overcome by smoke and fulnes at the fire. His condition is no longer serious. Mr. • Arthur Henderson, of Park Road, who was struck by a tramcar while watching the fire, is still in a serious condition. The difficulty experienced in controlling the crowd was referred to yesterday by Mr. J. J. Kingston, chairman of the Metropolitan Fire Board, who said the police, assisted by the fire police, had acted efficiently. They guarded the fire hydrant and plugs, but it- was difficult to keep back the crowd. Mr. Kingston said he thought it was a mistake for the news of a fire to be broadcast as that had resulted in attracting many to the scene and adding to the congestion. He had been informed that the news was not broadcast by either of the national stations.