FATAL FIRE AT LONGBURN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1247, 23 January 1896, Page 29

FATAL FIRE AT LONGBURN.

A MAM BURNT TO DEATH. At 2 o’clock on Monday morning Mullins’ Longburn Hotel was burnt to the ground. The Palmerston Times says : The fire is supposed to havo originated in the kitchen, where a fire had been burning in the range all day. Mr Mullins, his wife and a baby were sleeping upstairs, the only other occupant being a middle-aged man named Michael Power. Mr Mullins states that ivhen he woke up his room was full of smoke, and he had just time to rouse his lodger and drag his wife and child out before the fire reached the upstairs portion of the house. Power was, however, apparently dazed with the smoko, for he made no attempt to open the door and escape, and when Mr Mullina attempted to return it was too late. The charred remains of Power were recovered in the morning and conveyed to the Junction Hotel. Willing hands lent all the assistants-) they could, but all attempts to rescue Povk were unavailing. Very little was saved,na the wind being high the hotel was soon consumed. The building was the property of Mrs Walklo.y, and was insured in the Palatine office for .£BOO, half of which sum is re-in-sured. The furniture was insured in the Alliance for .£125, and the stock for .£25 in the same office. So far as is known Power had no relatives in the Colony. A Longburn resident, who was one of the first on the scene, informs the Palmerston Times that Mr Macpherson and Mr Mullins made several attempts to enter the bedroom occupied by Michael Power, but they were driven back by the fire. An attempt to enter the bedroom window also failed, owing to the ladders being too short. Mr Mullins ran to the door of his room asi soon as ho was awakened and called, but received no answer. He had only just time to rush back and drag his wife, who was almost suffocated, out of danger, before the staircase became impassable. When he woka his room was so full of smoko that a match would, not burn, and as Power’s room was more in a line with the smoke there seems no doubt that he was suffocated before Mr Mullins could reach his door. Mr Walker who has undertaken to bury the body, has informed the police that deceased had a wife, living at Dublin.