BLAZE IN WELLINGTON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 8

BLAZE IN WELLINGTON

OUTBREAK IN BUSINESS PREMISES HEAVY DAMAGE TO STOCK (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 5. Damage amounting to several thousands of pounds was caused as the result of a fire which broke out in a building in Sturdee street, off Dixon street, Wellington, this afternoon. Thanks to smart work by the Wellington Fire Brigade, little structural damage was done to the building itself, but * the stock and plant suffered severely from water. The building, with a basement and three storeys of reinforced concrete with wooden floors and partitions, is owned by the David McCrae estate. David McCrae, Ltd., mattress manufacturers, occupy the basement, ground floor, and the first floor, and Houghton's Steel Products Company and the Tatra Leather Goods Company occupy the second floor.

The fire originated at the rear of the top flpor in Houghton's premises, which were fairly severely damaged. Apart from spreading along the roof, the flames were, confined by the brigade to this section of the building. The alarm was given at 3 o'clock. Clouds of dense black smoke were pouring from the windows and-from under the eaves when the brigade arrived, and the brigadesmen had a difficult task. Once they got to grips with the flames, the fire was soon under control, and half an hour later it was practically extinguished.