FIRE IN PRINCES STREET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11195, 18 August 1898, Page 6

FIRE IN PRINCES STREET

j ■ By 'an-outbreak of' fire iiv Princes Btrect ! South last night, four shops built on corpora- ' tion leaseholds were.. more or less seriously damaged. The pre .originated .in the shop of Mr Thomas Weir, hairdresser, and was discovered at 10.35 p.m. by Mr W..Catter, hairdresser, whose shop is two doors further south, and who at once rushed across the street and gave.the alarm by telephone-from the Empire Hotel.. The fire had by.,this time obtained a strong hold of Mr.Weir's shop, which was manifestly doomed,, and it spread .on both sides, attacking the tinsmith's shop of Mr. A. Deacon on-the south-side and those of the Co-operative Agency : . (a . branch of Mt A. Thompson's sail and,. tent-njaking business) and Mr H. R. Bell, saddler, on the north side. The construction of- the buildings was not favourable to the work, of the Fire Brigade in coping with the. fire,, and the-efforts of..the men were rendered all the more difficult by the dense volume of smoke that was produced by the burning ..titnber and stock. Fortunately, however, there was no wind, and. the brigade was able to confine the fire "id ".the four shops named. .Each of these had a.small frontage to PrinbesA'street,', but: the builduisr comprising them was divided upstairs 'into two ■ flats only, 'which were , portions' of 'Mr Deacon's and Mr Bell's hbklinks .respectively. Mr Weir's shop was reduced to a'skeleton, and considerable damage was done to each of the other shpps,; but in : them 'the chief loss will be on the stock, tlie extent of which cannot, however, be at presehtestirhatcd.' Mr Deacon owned1 the shops- occupied by Mr Weir and himself, and had a policy of insurance on the building and oil his own stock and machinery for £150 in the; Sbiith British office; and of tlie other two shops, Mr Sew 'Hoy was the ground" landlord. ' The'insurances, however, on ' these' premises, -and on the .stock, contained: in them, were-not available last night. As to the origin of the : fire no clue whatever was obtainable. - Mr Weir closed up his shop' at 1 o'clock .for the Wedi nesday half-Loliday, and, so far:as.was known, did not return to it again.