SUMMARY.

Colonist, Volume XX, Issue 3723, 22 March 1883, Page 1 (Supplement)

SUMMARY.

FIRES IN 'NELSON. ''■'. j A fiee broke out on Feb. 28th, which at \ first promised to prove very serious, as for at time the extensive establishment ,m;Alton | streeti bebuging to Messrs Grffin & : Sons: and used as mill, grain warebousa, biscuit * factory, and bakery, was in much; jeopardy. The lire was first discovered about 5 minutes ■ past 6 o'c ock by some of the employees of! the svm, who reside in the vicinity of the; premises, and then the fire, was breaking; through f-he building at tbe northwest, corner,: the fire being in the room, above the shop, i used as a biscuit packing room. The whole of the people connected with the business had left work, and the last man to leave went through tbe premises to see that all was safe before he locked up at a quarter past five o'clock. In the room where the fire originated there was a quantity of biscuits ready for packing, and a large quantiiy of tins, labels, and so on, and some stores were packed in one corner, but there was nothing to originate (spontaneous combustion, and no lights or matches were allowed there. One boy had been working there till 5 o'clock, and some others had been, working a portion of the day, but neither of them had matches upon him. This portion of the grange of buildings ■was old, and roofed with shingles, but from the position of the fire, and the fact that^t evidently comtnenoed within, it seems certain that the fire could.not have been caused by a spark from the mill chimney, aud the fires for the ovens had been extinguished some hours. It will thus be seen that the origin of the firefcannot be accounted for.' Adjoining the shop, bakehouse, biscuit factory, aud packing room, which were all under the roof of the older building, stands'the five warehouse with three capacious'-flobrs, and the mill, whilst at the rear is situate the stabling Just at.present there happens to be but a comparatively small stock of wheat, flour, bran, barley, oats, and usual mill products, and even the stock of biscuits'was less than usual. The fire only just burnt through the weatherboards of the grain stores, and consequently these were to all interns uninjured, but some of tbe stock has been damaged by water. The Fire Brigade and Salvage Corps, together with the employees of the firm, and a number of others ready to lend a helping hand, were speedily on the spot, and a great many things were got out, including a safe with the books and papers, the biscuit cutters, &c, Tbe Fire Brigade worked -with a will, after they bad once got the appliances to hand and so successful were then* efforts that the fire was confined to the portion of the building in which it originated, but the contents of this upper floor, comprising biscuits!, can- j niters, &c. were destroyed,.and a quantity of flour, sugar, currants, &c, were also damaged by water. The premises were but partially insured, being covered to the extent of £300 in the North British, and for £400 in the Colonial, while the stables were also insured in the Colonial office for £100. The actual damage to the building is thus more than covered, but unfortunately for Messrs Griffin and Sons, their stock was wholly uninsured At present it is • difficult to estimate the loss sustained owiag to damage done to stock, but it'is not likely to prove less than £150. We may state that amongst the biscuits destroyed was a quantity just ready for shipping" away, in execution of an order, and which,were to have teen sent away to-day. , : . „. .; On March 16, shortly after, 8 o'clock, a fire brjfce out in the Temperance Boardinghouae, iituate at the corner of Waimeta and Hardy streets, and ooeupjed by;Mr Gros?. A cry o: fire was followed immediately by the linging: of the bell opposite the Theatre.; but, owing to thft ropes becoming foul, the bell had only been.struck once or. twice when it became impossible, to ring it further. While the alarm w.,3 beiug raised, several people rushed to tbe building to ascertain who might be within and render nil the aid within their power; but by the time thoae who had a hundred yards to run arrived on the scene, it it was impossible, to gain admittance, as the old par' nf the building $»as by i hen a mess of firr, i'ae lean'to arjicent to Mr Bolt.io's Bb'op being tho only part'free-of'fir>, and from this ivMaing of consequence appears to - have been saved, but in the darknees and thick smoke ii was impassible to see anything. Within a very short time the Fire Brigade arrived on the Ecene, and a copious Biipp'y of weter speedily nhecked the; flumes, the adjacent, building, used by Mr Bo.ton as a seed and florist's shop, bei ;g saved wi hout injury. Mi Gross, the bctiupier of the Temperance'1 Boardioghouse; wi'h two of his children, bus bsen away at'Motueka for the past month ; and Mtb Gross, who had her two youngest children with her, was conductin» the busineae. Just now she had but one logger, a lady ; and during the absence of her boarder, who bad gone ' ii chapel, 'M^ Gross determined upon visiting an aequain;ance. She was about to put the'children to bed. before gonsg out and leaving them alone for an hour, but the youngest commencing to cry, ebe took them with her, and 10 the crying of the child is probably due'the fact that the two little ones were not burned to death. When Mrs Gross left the' piace it was perfectly safe to all appearances, but she had not been absent more than about an hour before the plare was ablaze.. She is unable to account for the fire in any way ' unless it originated from tue chimney, aud a:'rutnor^ that a keroiener lamp ' had exploded must be r erroneous, as the gas is laid on to the hou?e. Of tbe contents of the building, virtually nothing was saved; but Mr Gro s bad hie furniture insured for £100 in the Norwich Union office. The building, which was owned by Mr Gorrie, was one of the oldest in.Nielson. Many years ego in stood in Trufa'gar street, and waa the original store of Messrs E. Buxron and Co., but it was moved on wheel* to iB present site to make room for the brick warehouse of that firn-.: The building, nfter beit g. converted ; into a ''dwelling, contained eighv rooms, those upstairs being small, ai d a l»ari-. to between tha older'part and Mr Bblton's ghop, containing two'room-1); wus added nor. Tery long eince. Mr Gorria bad' the house itiiured in tbn .Soutb\.British office-for £150. In Jcioßirig our notice wo n*ust cay \hat the' Fir© Brigade, by the admirable way in which: they liiraed o.ut and cbeckfid tfii. fire, fully proy.d how much they deserve the support of the publio •nd the insurancp uompanie?. , . ' On March. 19th, an inquest was held' at the Commercial Hotel touching, the late fire1 at the Temperance' Bbardinghouse, when, the, inquiry was conducted before' the C6ronor, J Dr Boor, and a" jury.consisting of Messrs J.: Gilbeftsoh tforeman); J.Hounseli, A Oakey, F Main, H. B.udden', S Crossman, .J. Hitching, -Or. Tamely, 8.-, Jl'Gee, T>\ Muncaster- B. Chishblm, J. HeyKoe, and: IDuncan. The evidtnee did not disclose and particulars'of special interests,,the following being'the names of the witnesses:—Mr G. F.'Peirce (Manager, of: thY New Zealand Insurance Company, Auckland), - y7,,,porK. Annie" ; Gioss, Annie Qairns, ; 'and. Henry Newport. The evidence pointed to the fact, that the fire originated in the baca kitchen, and the jury returned .a' verdict to. th^ effect, that the fire was 'accidentally caused, through a fciul chimney." ; . V : ('