PLANTATION FIRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2955, 2 November 1910, Page 41

PLANTATION FIRE.

DISASTER AT NEW BRIGHTON GALLANT FIGHT BY RESIDENTS. CHRISTCHURCH, October 31. One of the largest plantation fires in the history of Canternury occurred today. It has swept a south-easterly course from North New Brighton, near the racecourse, to the rear of New Brighton, which was threatened by the advancing flames. It is impossible to say at present how many houses have been destroyed or damaged dujjjng the onward rush of the tire, but it seems certain that a number have been obliterated. People have been driven from their houses carrying with them such little trinkets as could be easily secured. The origin of the fire, as is the case with most bush fires, is unknown, but people in Xorth Now Brighton bitterly ascribe it to careless campers. It started somewhere about half a. mile north-east of Mr Allan Kcpkins's residence " Soltaire," on the Racecourse road. It :> believed that it commenced its yesterday and burned slowly all night. A vehement nor'-wester which sprang up this morning gave it an electric impulse, and it simply swept down in its course, destroying everything in its track.' .Strenuous and sometimes success i'ul Battles with the flame* arc recorded, but it seems certain that some houses are burnt down.

! The fire seemed to concentrate its i efforts on Bowhill road, where there were ; a number of. small houses. This road ! is on the tram line which is just being j excavated for construction. On the road j there were seme pathetic scenes. Women I leading little children were fleeing from the flames, which threatened their lives ! and homes, and away from the suffocating j smoke which threatened to stifle them. ! Then the houses were emptied, the little j household goods being spread over the road. Above all was the van-coloured I pall of smoke and the dnlL rear of the I fire. The houses in most danger were ! those occupied by Mrs Torryj Mrs FaulkI ner. and Mrs Winkler. On the other side of the line was Mr Duff's house, which was burned down. The state, of the atmosphere precluded an investigation being made by a Mrs Robertson had to leave her home, which is in the same locality. Mrs Frank Needham. , with several young children, also said farewell to her home. Whether the houses have escaoed or not remains to be seen. The fire rushed towards New Brighton, entered the Domain. This was the thing which was most dreaded, it was feared that once the trees and undergrowth in the Domain caught nothing could save the town from damage. The New Brighton Fire Brigade was a bright sDot in "tlie day's disaster. The men, helmeted but not uniformed, worked like Trojans all day. The method of fire-fighting in the plantations was interesting to observe. If the fire had not too strong a hold a gang of men would work at it with shovels, pitching sand on it, endeavouring to suffocate the flames. One fire in a. fenc« was extinguished in this way by a couple of men and several women, the ladies being armed with ordinary fire shovels. Grimy with smoke and dust and perspiring with the vigour of their exertions, they worked with a fierce energy. It was pathetic to see the exodus of women and children, whose ;at e homes in the plantations may now be nothing more than a memory to them. Thev trudged along, the women leading the" children and all carrying some precious little household god with them- something which must have had a more sentimental than intrinsic .value. There were no hysterics or tears about the women. Thev had stout hearts and the faculty of being able to contemplate burning-out with some equanimity. Occasionally one would encounter a vehicle carrying husband, wife, and ohalcven, and all that had been saved from the apparently doomed homes in the flSantation.. A ho«t of nre-fig'ii.ters struggled valiantly to subdue the flames, but apparently with iittle success. At 2 o'clock along the shoreward side an area o£ some seres undoubtedly saved a number of houses, and a number of men were busily engaged in an attempt to suppress the flames. A howling nor'-wester rendered all efforts at fire-fighting puny in the .extreme, and a thick pall.-of smoke made the work dangerous as well as difficult. A walk through the plantation with the flames licking the undergrowth on either side of the track revealed the flames here and there blazing mercilessly, and leaving nothing but the gaunt, emoking skeletons of the trees in the track. The position hourly grew worse, and the rapidity with which the conflagration spread rendered it dangerous to venture far bevond the safety line. At 2.30 p.m. the conditions were, if anything becoming worse, and the inferno was driving the fire-fighters before it in its wild career towards the township. In Lonsdale and other streets adjacent to the plantation the tenants of houses, realising their danger, were carrying out their furniture and preparing for the worst. Later reports are to the effect that houses in north _vew Brighton, owned by Messrs Griffin, Brooks, and Duff, have been destroyed. It is understood that Mr Hopkins's house was saved with difficulty although several of his outhouses Were burned. \ good deal of machinery owned by another resident in the same locality has rlso been destroyed. The flames had swept across the plantation till they were close to Park road, the southern boundary of the domain. As long a* the fire kept low down among the undergrowth and the spindles from the pines there was hope of keeping it in check by smothering the incipient flames •with sand and digging up the ground in f™nt. but the fact that there wer* •. num.

] ber of dead pines in the plantation, which | had become as dry and inflammable as I matchwood, enabled the flames to run up some o- tat trees and t>.ui> spread from, patch to patch. At one time .these v?as an advancing wall of fire between three and , four chains wide, and its wild, swift on- -, ward rush remanded one forcibly of the ; sweep of the prairie fires of America. j Once started on their course the flames 1 siixead upward and onward with a sound lake the swish of falling rain driven before a gale. What gave hope that the houses in Lonsdale street that were on the same eide as the plantation would escape destruction was the tact that the conflagration appeared to advance in patches and then burn itself out for a brief space ber fore it gathered fresh strength from the howling nor'-wester. The residents of Lonsdale street living on the side of the road on which the domain was situated provided against calamity as well as they could by removing their furniture to the far side of the street or to a more remote spot. The unfortunate property-owners and householders residing in this neighbourhood were praying fervently for a OK<sa'cion of the gale. At 4 p.m. a reporter made another tour through the Domain and North New Brighton when the fire was under control, and "there was little further danger of its spreading. A lire snranz ud at -Marshlands at midday, and the iocal fire brigade received a request, for assistance, as the State School was in danger. As, however, the brigade had sent, ail the material it could spare to New Brighton, the request could not be complied with. A tour of the area between Bowhill road and Jubilee avenue showed that the destruction of and damage to property was considerable. Ray Blank's whare narrowly escaped destruction. The fire got in through a closed window, and damaged the contents considerably. The whare was saved by the members of an adjoining camp. Behind these places and adjoining the boundary of the plantation originally stood Mr A. C. Duff's two whares, which were completely destroyed. One whare was insured for £SO in the Atlas office, and the furniture, valued at £l5O, was also insured in the same office. The plantation has been practically destroyed, the fire having swept through il at a terrific rate, as was evidenced bj the fact that a rabbit roasted brown was found on the ground on the northern boundary of the plantation, fronting Jubilee avenue a number of camps were destroyed. Mr J. J. Cornwall's whare was destroyed. Its value is estimated at between £SO and £75. It was not insured. The whare of Mr Herbert Griffin, adioining, was aiso destroyed. It was valued at £IOO. Mrs 'Clifford's whare of four of five rooms, valued at £151). and Mr C. S. Brookes's hut, which, with its contents, was valued at £25, were also totally destroyed. With the exception of Messrs Duff's and Brookes's cases, the estimated values given as those of the buildings only. No estimate was obtainable. of the value of the contents destroyed. Roughly, the damage done in the area mentioned, as far as ascertainable, totals close upon £SOO. Further north. Mr Allan Hopkins estimates his loss at £2OO, and Mr Marriott estimates his at £SO.