FIRE AT PENROSE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23490, 30 October 1939, Page 11

FIRE AT PENROSE

JOINERY FACTORY MILLING SHED OUTBREAK MAJOR DAMAGE AVERTED WATCHMAN'S DISCOVERY A milling -shed and part of its plant were considerably damaged by fire at the Government Housing Department's joinery factory at Penrose shortly after J p.m. 011 Saturday. But for the discovery of the outbreak in its early stages and the prompt action of firemen from three metropolitan stations, the loss, which was estimated at about £3OO, would have been substantially greater. . The fire originated in the southern ond of the shed, a timber and ironroofcci structure standing a short distance from the main joinery shop and other large buildings heavily stocked with timber. The floor and a small stack of timber alongside the open sides of the shed were well alight when the watchman discovered the outbreak. Firemen's Prompt Work Engines from the Great South Road, Onehunga and Remuera stations answered the call and when they arrived the flames, fanned by a strong | south-westerly wind, had reached alarming dimensions. Under the direction of Superintendent W. L. Wilson, the firemen connected two leads to the 10-inch water main which runs alongside the Main Trunk Railway line and the outbreak was speedily suppressed. More difficulty was experienced in extinguishing the smouldering sawdust underneath the floor of tho building and several firemen remained on duty to prevent a recurrence of tho outbreak. The wooden floor of the shed and part of the roof structure over a length of about 100 ft. and two saw-benches, circular saws and two electric-power motors were extensively damaged. Some of the timber in near by stacks was also considerably charred. Suspected Cause The outbreak was thought to bo caused by sparks from passing locomotives, the factory being situated beside the main line and the site of the fire was just over 50ft. from the down line. The firemen had to deal with a minor outbreak near a timber stack at the southern end of the factory, the cause of the fire being also due to sparks. Since the factory was erected a few years ago several fires had been similarly caused. The prevailing wind from the south-west carries sparks across tho roofs and yard of the factory. The roofs are constructed of a fire-resisting material and a destructor disposes of tho shavings and sawdust, but in spite of those precautions there is always a certain amount of fire risk, due to sawdust accumulating in inaccessible corners.

BABY WAKES MOTHER

ESCAI'E FROM FLAMES NEW LYNN FAMILY DESTRUCTION OF HOME The crying of a one-year-old baby, which wakened her mother, saved a whole family when a house in Golf Road, New Lynn, was destroyed by fire early on Saturday morning. _ The occupants, Mr. and Mrs. L. Subritzky and their two children, lost everything they possessed. When Mrs. Subritzky ran into the baby's room in answer to her cries at about one o'clock, she found flames already coming through the wall from the kitchen. She called Mr. Subritzky and then tried to get the baby, Lenice, and her three-year-old son, David, out of the house. Her task was difficult because David did not wake, and the baby had to be lifted carefully from her cot owing to a spinal injury. In the meantime Mr. Subritzky ran half a mile to the nearest telephone and rang the fire brigade and the police. Tho Avondale and Point Chevalier brigades answered the call, but their task was hopeless, as the house was already ablaze from end to end. Only the chimney and a heap of charred ruins wore left. Tho Subritzky family found refuge with neighbours, and later accommodation was provided for them. The house was owned by Mrs. C. Timmins, of Waiuku. There were no insurances.