FIRE DAMAGE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17436, 7 April 1931, Page 7

FIRE DAMAGE

; i LE GRAND GUTTED OUTBREAK ON GROUND FLOOR CHECKED IX UPPER STOREY Extensive damage was dona by an outbreak of fire.this, morning in the premises occupied by Mr. Charles Ferguson, confectioner and caterer, in (Had stone road, the' damage extending throughout the shop on. the ground floor and into the upstairs portion, practically gutting the Le Grand Lounge tearooms. Good work was done by the fire brigade in checking the blaze, which had a strong hold when discovered, but was eventually got in hand before serious structural damage had beau done to the building. The stock of Mr. Ferguson's shop was completely ruined, as. were also the shop fittings and a largo, portion of the fixtures in the upper floor ! of the building. ;The outbreak was first noted by Mr, Cliff. Church, who happened to be on the street shortly. after 4 a.m., and who noted a pillar of smoke rising above the Majestic Theatre. Tn tinfirst instance, Mr. Church did not attach importance to the smoke, believing that it came from the bakehouse al the rear of the theatre, but noting a. tinge of flame, he made a quick investigation,, which resulted in a call for the services of the "brigade. When the brigadesmen- arrived on the scene, the interior of the shop oil the ground floor was an inferno, and the flames had penetrated to the upper floor through the slair-well, sweeping along the beams of the roof and consuming a large portion of the lattice-work which masked the roof supports. Leads of hose were taken on to the balcony of the building,, and thence to the parapet, whence water was played into the upper floor through the louvre in the roof. The existence of this louvre r-robn'-ly had given an impetus to the blaze, for it gave the flames access to the air, and permitted the creation of a strong draught. A tremendous volume r>f water had to be poured into the building before the blaze, was brought under control, but once the firemen were able to gain an entry they limited the structural damage considerably. The work of the brigade was carried out with a degree of dispatch and efficiency which earned the commendation of spectators. From a later investigation, it became evident that the outbreak had its origin in the rear of the ground-floor shop, where the wallboards were burned through, and the damage penerallv was much more extensive than in other portions of the shop. The flames appear to have swept up throu'di the stair-well, doins* much superficial damage to the stairs, but not affecting their safety," the draught carrying the blaze direct into the overhead decorative work in the upper floor. The light lattice work fed the flames and carried, them along the ceiling from Toof-beam to roof-beam, many of these being charred to an extent which will nrobably necessitate their replacement. Smoke and water did much additional dnma?e, and the foyer of the Majestic Theatre suffered to some extent through water penetrating through its ceiling from the tea-rooms. Mr. 0. E. Bickford's bookshop stock was badlv damaged by water leaking through from above, and though the stock is covered bv insurance, the loss to tba proprietor will not be H'jht. Most of tflfl stock wa« in paper or perishable material, wb>h lost most of its value in the course of the morning). The Maiestic Theatre, apart from the slight damage to the plaster in ihe foWr. escaped completely from the effects of fire, srariVfl and water. The stock and fittings in Mr. Fe'Tuson's shop, which was severely damaged, were covered by a policy in the Yorkshire office for * £im while n flnatinn- policv in the South British Comr>any covered portions of the plant on the 'premises. The damage to H*> rnilrbn? was covered W insimnce with th° Facie Stn»i a*"l T, ''i f, 'sh Dominions e<Ws to a vnhrn of M* 0. F Bic\-fnrd's *-tr>rk vn " ' np of policies totalling £€oo with the State Fire Office.