GREAT FIRE IN DEE STREET.

Southland Times, Issue 2091, 24 March 1875, Page 2

GREAT FIRE IN DEE STREET.

Yesterday Invefcargill was the scene t of a terrible calamity. At?, a quarter to 4 / in the morning, Constable May, while on duty in- Esk street, bad his attention excited by a strong smell of burning, coming from the direction of Dee street. On proceeding to that quarter he savr the reflection of fire on fche Government buildings, aud instantly conjectured that the source of the flames lay in Mr Mayo's Albion Hotel. A glance at the building confirmed this view, and hurrying forward, he observed through the window of the private parlor next the National Bank; that flames were raging within. At this moment the occupants were one and all asleep, and the only individual cognizant of the state of matters was the Constable named. He immediately proceeded to arouse the inmates by vigorous kicking at the door. After succeeding in bia object, he made for the police office, and informed the officer in charge of what was transpiring. His next movemflnb was towards the Fire-tower, where he* commenced an onergetic ringing of the • bell. In response to this alarm, the inhabitants of the town— men, women, and children— turned out in hundreds, and Dee street became the scene of extraordinary bustle and excitement. The morning was cold and tempestuous, the wind blowing from the direction of south-west. Inspector Fox, Sergeant Purdue, and their men were at once on the spot, and scarcely 15 minutes elapsed before the members of the fire brigade, with their apparatus, were ready for work. But by this time, although the occupants of the hotel had not effected their escape, the flames were seen springing from the roof of the building. When it became anderstood that the upper portion of the tenement contained the sleeping apartments, and that the fate of many human beings hung in the balance, the scene became one of most intense and painful anxiety. The exertions of the police and others were directed to awaken many within the house who were still sleeping, unconscious of their danger, and many of these, both male and female, had but time to escape in sleeping attire. One man was forced to jump out of a back window a distance of 15 or 18 feet. Another, into whose sleeping apartment the flames had actually penetrated, was rescued, almost against his will, by the exertions of Inspector Fox. It is satis, factory to state that no life was lost, and, considering the extent and intricacy of the building, this providential result gives occasion for grateful acknowledgment. The building consisting entirely of wood, no effort of the fire brigade could avail to save it, and the work of destruction was complete in less than threequarters of an hour. The flames from the hotel were first carried in the direction of Mr Eose's brick building and the offices of Messrs Macrorie and Cuthbertson. The | attention of the brigade was concentrated on the saving of the former, while several of the spectators busied themselves in removing the books and other articles of value from the latter. The flames, with a partly swirling movement, took the direction of the stables attached to the hotel. The horses had been previously let loose and driven out upon Tay street. While the fire was progressing towards the stables, willing bands were engaged removing barrels of liquor from the cellar, and articles of furniture from the side-rooms, the flames playing overhead the while. The stable did not long resist the onset of the flames, and, like the hotel, became an utter ruin. While the bystanders, under the direction of Messrs Fox and Purdue, (who themselves worked with extraordinary vigor) were employed with axes and other instruments in knocking down and removing the fences and outhouses standing between the stables and the Bank of New Zealand, with a view to rescue that building, the main body of the fire diverged towards the large brick building occupied by the National Bank and Messrs Lewis and Reed, drapers. The small wooden shops tenanted by Mr Wittwer, tobacconist, and Mr Aldridge, tailor, and standing on Dee street, beween the hotel and the brick building just mentioned, having become ignited, communicated the flames to Mr Hatch's and Mr Dean's premises in Esk street, aud to outhouses and other wooden erections at tbe rear. As a matter of course, the exposed woodwork of Mr Smith's fine building, which, as we have said, constituted the promises of the National Bank and Messrs Lewis, Reed, and Co., was in time caught by the flames. The rapid progress of the fire precluding any hopes of saving the structure, a portion of the fire brigade directed its efforts to the preservation of tho warehouse of Messrs Ekenstaen and Hall ; but such was the violence of the conflagration that it was for some time matter of doubt whether these would be successful. Fortunately at this juncture the wind moderated, and the persistent exertions of the fire brigade, and those assisting it, at length prevailed. The office of Mr Macdouald, solicitor, standing as it did close to the blazing tenements, had a narrow escape. Mr Hatch's store, between the Bank and Mr Deau's shop, of course could not escape total destruction. Unhappily it contained a large quantity of valuable goods which were totally uninsured. The residents in Esk-street were, not without reason, in dread of the fire reaching their dwellings, and many of them removed their effects to places of greater safety. Large balls of flame :' were actually carried over by the wind jto this street, and dropped hero and | there amongst tho houses. Tbe yard* ! and roofs, however, being damp, pro- ' vented the imminent mischief. i The following is a list of the buildings i destroyed:— Mi' Mayo's Aloion Hotel, ' perhaps the largest house of its kind in '. >ew Zealaud; the Albion Htables ; the I small cigar divan of Mr Wittwer, au<i I tailor's shop of Mr ildridge; Mr J. H

"SmitlTs "fine brick premises, occupied by the National Bank, and by Messrs Lewis, Seed, and Co., drapers ; the storehouse of Mr Joseph Hatch, and the shop of Mr Dean. Some cottages near Mr Dean's Bhop, the office of Messrs Macrorie and Cuthbertson, and the brick shop and house of Mr Kenneth Eose, sustained some damage, but not of a very serious nature. The value of the property destroyed must amount to nearly £30,000. After a careful enquiry we have ascertained that the following are the losses of the different insurance offices: — Albion Hotel— Victoria, £1000; National,£7so ; Norwich Union, £600; New Zealand, £600 ; South British. £500 ; Scottish. Commercial, £500; Liverpool and London, £500; Australian Alliance, '£450; Standard, £250-total, £5150. Smith's buildings— Eoyal, £1000 ; Liverpool and London, £1000. Messrs Lewis & Eeed's stock, Transatlantic, £2000 ; furniture of the National Bank, Liverpool and London, £800 ; Mr Hatch's store, New Zealand, £100; Mr Dean's shop, New Zealand, £100. Mr Rose's premises, which were slightly scorched, are insured in the Norwich Union for £600, and in the South British for £200. Some later information collected by us remains to be placed in the possession of our readers. We learn that Messrs Lewis, Beed, & Co. 'a premises contained goods valued at about £15,000, and articles equal perhaps to a fifth of that value have been saved. Nearly everything within the walls of the hotel has been destroyed, that is few movables have been saved, and Mr Mayo's family, his servants, and the boarders have lost nearly everything in the shape of clothing and other personal property. All who were in the hotel have been heavy losers, and one boarder has, we believe, suffered to the extent of about £70. The books and money in the National Bank have been recovered in perfect safety, having been secured in a fire proof safe, which however might have yielded to the encroachments of the flames had it not been for the judicious measures taken by the manager, Mr E. F. Gilles, who caused a continuous jet of water to be kept playing through one of the windows, upon its door. In conclusion we have to refer in terms of well deserved praise to the meritorious services of the police, the Fire Brigade, and many of the citizens, notably Messrs J. Kingsland, Alex. Smith, R. W. Aitkn, the brothers M'Kobie, W. Daniel, C. Rout, L. Dekan, J. T. Martin, and others whose names we cannot call to mind.