Fires in Wellington.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 170, 7 February 1888, Page 2

Fires in Wellington.

Three fires broke out in Wellington on Friday Highland Saturday morning, all within an hour of each other. Tho first outbreak was in Oil Custom-house-street, a few minutes before midnight, when a block <>f one-store d buildings, oceopi si by Messrs Duvetsoil (turner and joiner), F. Wills (accountant), Wallis icbairmaker , Staples (boot factory), and Geary (blacksmith), were discovered to he on fire. The flames spread rapidly, and soon had a firm hold of the buildings. About half-past 1 another tire broke out in the shop of Mr Leppcr, boot and shoo maker, Willis street. The flames were extinguished without tDo assistance of the brigade. At 2 o'clock the firebells again rang out an nlarui. the outbreak this time being m Mr John Beck's timber-yard, Dixmi-stn ■< l. The flames rapidly spread through tlm whole mill, completely devastating the premises, and two small one-storied cottages and some out-buildings in Taranaki place. A house in Leedsstreet was gutted. The buildings in Old Custom-house-street were not insured. Tho i’lurmx once had a risk on the premises, but it expired in June last. Messrs Davidson’s property was insured in tho Colonial for £IOO. His loss amounts to about £OO.

The following are the insurances on the buildings destroyed through Beck's timber-yard catching fire ;—Mr Douglas's house, £l5O, South British; Mr Butler's house, occupied by Mr Steen, £OO ; Mr Schultz s thlve bon es, 1100 each in the Liverpool Dmdon and Globe; Mr Crabtree's foundry, £230 in the South British ; Mr Jordon’s house, Eva-street (scorched), £l5O in the South British ; Mr Thompson's furniture, £75 in the New Zealand ; total £985. All the fires broke out under suspicious circumstances, and on Saturday evening Detective Clirystal arrested two men named John Collins and Reuben Hind on the charge of having fired some of the premises. Collins is a young man, but Hind is an old offender, and lias just been discharged from gaol, where be has been serving a sentence for larceny.