LIMITED DAMAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26471, 27 May 1947, Page 4

LIMITED DAMAGE

FIRE IN INVERCARGILL HOTEL CONFINED TO SMALL AREA i P.A INVERCARGILL, May 26. What threatened to be a fire of disastrous proportions broke out in Invercargill’s leading hotel, the Grand, about 7.25 to-night. Starting in an inside wall at the rear of the lounge bar on the first floor of the building, the fire, rapidly rising to the next floor, had a firm hold when the brigade arrived. Dense columns of smoke were followed a few minutes after the outbreak by flames. Quick work by the firemen, however, had the fire confined to a small section of the building within half an hour. „ , Structural damage was confined to the Federal Building and portion of the hotel about the lift- shaft from the bottle store to the lounge bar. The only datnage to the hotel proper was done by water and smoke. Carpets and furniture, ceilings and walls received a thorough soaking. The lilt shaft ends at the ceiling on the first floor .and the flames swept down and up it causing considerable damage to the walls, floor and ceiling around the bar area and the walls, floor, ceiling and roof on the second floor adjacent to the dormitory. Parts of the ceiling of the dormitory were damaged by fire and smoke and similar damage was done to parts of the ceiling of the lounge. The dormitory itself was not damaged to any extent, but bedding and floor coverings suffered from Only one guest was accommodated in the dormitory which is used to take any overflow of guests from the hotel proper and he was not in hi 9 quarters at the time of the outbreak. The dining room and guest rooms were not in danger at any stage of the fire but it was thought at the beginning that difficulty would be experiencedin saving the Federal Building The guests, who included two supreme Court judges, were in various parts of the hotel \yhen the smoke began to pour in. Some made their way with bags and rugs to the back yard and others preferred to wait and see the result of the firemen’s onslaughts on the flames. The cause of the fire was unknown to-night. ,