BLAZE AT WINGATUI.

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 29

BLAZE AT WINGATUI.

DISASTROUS OUTBREAK. STEWARDS’ STAND DEMOLISHED. A disastrous fire, which accomplished the complete destruction of the stewards’ stand at the Wingatui racecourse, occurred on. Saturday. The building, which _ was a threericoreyed brick one, comprised the jockeys' dressing rooms and iooms and the general offices on the ground floor, the stewards’, owners’, and trainers’ stands, the press room and stand, stewards’ reception and luncheon rooms on the second, whilst the top flat was occupied by the members’ stand. The first indication of anything wrong was noticed from the lawn, about five minutes past 2, when a thin wisp of smoke was seen issuing from the southern end of the roof of the building. The attention of those in the stand was quickly drawn to this, and in a short space of time the upper storeys were vacated, but not before the blaze had obtained a good hold. The efforts of a plucky band of volunteer firemen with an ordinary garden hose proved unavailing, and alter several attempts to get at the seat of the fire with a puny stream of water the fight was abandoned. Another quarter of an hour saw the blaze spreading along the upper storeys against the strong north-east breeze which was blowing, and in half an hour the whole of the upper portion of the building was a raging furnace. Dense clouds of billowing smoke completely obscured the public stand ond the totalisator buildings, and showers of burning cinders covered the lawns and made things uncomfortable for the spectators on the lee side of the stand. Gradually the fire crept down, till within an hour of its first being observed the whole stand was an inferno spouting great tongues of flame 60ft into the air. At this period the heat was so intense that it was difficult to approach within 100 ft of the blaze, and even with the chilly wind which was blowing, a position near the fence in front of the birdcage was uncomfortably warm. At 3.45 the verandahs collapsed with a crash, and sheets of red-hot iron sailed through the air to land 20 yards away, la another hour, what had been a hand*

some and well-constructed building was a smoking, gutted ruin, with only the four brick walls standing. The Hunt Club is to be congratulated on the way in which it carried out its programme despite this set-back. The fire broke out just as the Jockey Club Handicap was timed to start, but the horseswere got away after a comparatively short delay of 20 minutes. In the cir-

The Hunt Club is to be congratulated on the way in which it carried out its programme despite this set-back. The fire broke out just as the Jockey Club Handicap was timed to start, but the horseswere got away after a comparatively short delay of 20 minutes. In the circumstances, this was highly creditable, and was due to the fact that the officials, immediately they learned of the outbreak, cleared the ground flat of such gear and books as were essential to the successful continuation of the meeting, and established a temporary weighing-in area and secretary’s office in the birdcage to the satisfaction of all concerned. It was thought by many that the crackle and roar of the fire, combined with the smoke, would interfere seriously with the horses, but strangely enough this did not appear to be the case. Taking the animals through the bridcage was, of course, impossible, and a portion of the fence was removed near the entranec to the new stand, and the horses taken to the course by that route. The origin of the fire is a mystery,„but from the fact that smoke was first seen coming from the corner of the stand nearwhere the electric light wires entered it is thought that a fusing of the wires was responsible. There can be no doubt, however, that the bitumenous compound on the roofing and the flooring assisted materially in the spread of the blaze. INSURANCES. The building was insured in the Royal Insurance Company for £3250, and with the South British Company for £1750, but even in view of this the club will be a heavy loser, as the aggregate amount of the insurances is far below what it will cost to rebuild. The contend of the stand were covered for £250 and £IOO by the Royal Insurance and the British Traders’ Insurance Companies respectively. Mr M. C. Dawson, the licensee of the stewards’ bar, had on hand a heavy and valuable stock of liquor, most of which was saved. To a Daily Times reporter yesterday he stated that he estimated the total value of liquor and fittings which were destroyed at between £3O and £4O. Mrs C. M. Beatson, the club’s caterer, is another who lost heavily, and although no actual figures are available, her loss will run into some hundreds of pounds, for in addition to a large quantity of foodstuffs, much valuable cutlery, crockery, and table linen were burnt. _

AMUSING SIDELIGHTS. Notwithstanding the fact that a stand on fire is a sight seldom seen by racegoers, there was a remarkable absence of panic or flurry among the 8000 visitors who watched Saturday’s blaze. More than one enthusiastic ‘‘punter” was heard to revile the fates loudly, and deplore the fact that he could not see the totalisator figures. To them, the fire was merely a side-issue. One could not bet on a fire, although between the races one bright sportsman made a bet with a friend that the verandah of the blazing stand would collapse within five minutes. He won his wager. One hungry mortal, with the utmost complacency, went, into the burning building and reappeared with a plate of water biscuits and a huge cheese, remarking as he placed them well out of reach of falling material that he could not, on an empty stomach, watch the races. His - second feat was even more noteworthy, for he dashed upstairs again and, with commendable enterprise, salvaged a keg of beer. Whether this was an indication of his sense of values is not known. “That’s a tip,” declared one enthusiast as he watched the leaping flames. “Lava” will do me for this race.” Lava duly won—a sure indication that the day of signs and portents is not yet past. Greatest of all opportunists are the racegoers. BLAZE AT AUCKLAND. AUCKLAND. September 5. A fire in Palmerston Buildings, at the foot of Queen street, early yesterday morning did damage estimated at between £IO,OOO and £15,000. The brigade made a great save, rescuing the caretaker and his family before attacking the flames. The damage to the building was slight. Messrs Kretchsmar and Farmer, fancy goods warehousemen, lost stock worth £7ooo,_which was partly insured. Messrs Harris. Langton (Ltd.) lost about £ISOO worth of stock, more as the result of smoke and water than by fire. Other tenants suffered in a lesser degree.