FIRE AT PORT CHALMERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1323, 7 April 1877, Page 7

FIRE AT PORT CHALMERS.

A fire that at one time threatened most serious consequences broke out at Port Chalmers shortly after 6 o'clock on Saturday evening. It originated in the shop of Messrs Thomson and Ross, painters, sitnated between Mr Forsyvh'B butcher's shop at the corner of George street, and Mr Dale's store in Grey street, and was caused by the bursting of a kerosene lamp which Mr Thomson waa carrying from the shop to the sitting-room. The flame of the burning kerosene quickly ' communicated with and ignited the inflammable material of the stock, and in a very Bhort time the interior of the premises was a mass of fire. Th? proprietors, assisted by Mr Dale, at first made strenuous exertions to beat out the fire, but as it was soon evident their efforts would be unavailing,' an alarm was raised — the members of the Port Brigade were quickly on the spot with their hose reel, and before the fire made much progress had attached a hose to the main, and brought a powerful stream of water to bear on the building. But unfortunately the hose, an old one borrowed from the Dunedin Brigade until the Port Brigade's new hose arrived, burst in two places, and hence the water fell short of the fire. Scnres of willing helpers were, however, present, and did good service in forming chains of buckets from every available water tank, which luckily had been filled to overflowing by the heavy rain of the day. The juncture, however, was most critical, in the large and closely packed block of wooden buildings extending from Mr Forsyth'a shop along George street to Mr Kettle' 3 etone ■tore were placed in imminent jeopardy, and the worst being feared, a telegram was flashed to Dunedin for help, this bsiug resolved upon, consequent upon the bursting of the hose. Meantime, however, Lieut. Flynn, and one or two other sailor men belonging to the Brigade, worked hard to repair the hose by parcelling it with bags, etc., whilst Captain Dale and others of his men brought up the Shand and Mason hand pump, belonging to the .National Bank,

which, Bmall as it was, proved of the utmost service. By this time, it was evident that nothing could save Thomson and Ross's shop, and to confine the fire to it was the next consideration. This, however, was not quite accomplished, for a sipall building belonging to Mr Haddock, tinsmith, and r6nted by Mr Forsyth, took fire, whilst the flames from the painter's shop were licking the walls of Mr Dale's two-storey store, and threatening it with destruction. Several men, headed by Captain Lowden, got upon the roof and poured buckets of waterdownthe walls, whilst Captain Dale, with the hand pump, just succeeded in throwing a small but steady stream of water in the same direction. He and his men, however, worked at a-great disadvantage, for the wind being fresh from S.W., blew the _ flames and smoke right in their faces. Whilst this waa proceeding, a single length of hose from the main played upon the small building of Mr Forsyte's premises, and checked the fire in that direction, and the efforts of those who were engaged in attending to Dale's store were also happily successful in saving it from the flames, but not before it had been several times on fire, as the scorched walls testify to. Whilst the fire was progressing the excitement was intense, for nothing less than the destruction of the block of buildings above-mentioned was anticipated. The contents of the shops of Haddock, the tinsmith, Fogo and Beck, bootmakers, Watson's restaurant, and Falconer, hairdresser, were emptied into the street with marvellous celerity. The Dnnedin Fire Brigade, with their hose reel, were ready to proceed to the Port by the 7 o'clock train ; for the moment the telegram reached Captain Sincla ; r, he rang out an alarm, mustered his men, and reached the station just in time to catch the train ; the latter, in fact, waited 10 minutes for them. Happily, however, their services were not needed ; for when the train reached Pelichet Bay, a telegram from the Port was there* announcing that the fire had been extinguished. There waa, however, no time to remove the hose reel from the truck, and so the Brigade ccme en to the Port, and returned to Dunedin with the same train. 1 Very great credit is due the members of the Port Chalmers Brigade for the smartness and efficiency displayed the first time at a fire, and but for the bursting of the hose we are sure that Thomson and Ross's stxop would not have been totally destroyed, whilst the fire would have bee a checked before it even threatened the adjoining buildings. Eventually the hose was patched up and utilised in deluging the mass of burning embers with water, effectually extinguishing them. The Dunedin Naval Brigade who happened to be at the Port with their launch, mustered under P. O. Jamieson, and with the Police, tinker Sergeant Hanlon, formed guard over the property piled in the street The large crowd of people attracted by the fire were more than mere spectators ; all worked well and heartily, and order and earnest labouring was the rule of the evening. The fire only lasted about half-an-hour. Messrs Thomson and Ross are insured in the Norwich Union for L 350, stock and f nrniture • but th«y estimate their loss in stock at L4OO, and furniture at Ll5O. The building contained six rooms and the shop in front. Mr Dale's store is insured in the Victoria for LBOO, and in the South British for L2OO. He estimates the value of the damage done to his stock by removal at LSOO, much of it having been hastily taken into the street and piled there.