A BIG BLAZE.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 February 1916, Page 4

A BIG BLAZE.

THE MOTUROA HOTEL DESTROYED. ALL THE OCCUPANTS AWAY. LITTLE PROPERTY SAVED. The Breakwater Hotel was completely destroyed by tire last night. The Are broke out shortly before nine o'clock, and when the brigade arrived the building was enveloped in flaiues, which had spread throughout the hotel with gre»t rapidity. Se complete was the hold which the flames had on 'he building that the initial attack by the firemen made little iinpressian, and one part of the structure —a one-storey addition—' was beyon4 saving; but a strong pressure of water was centred on tl>o m»iu building, and within half an hour the fire was well under control. By this time the one-storeyed building had collapsed, and was simply represented by. heaps of burning debris, but by ten o'clock the rest of the fire was extinguished, and <v charred shell only stood amongst the wreckage of the fire. The hotel, which was a rather old building, was owned by Mr. Thomas Knowles, and the licensee was Mf. C. A. Sansom. The main building comprised nineteen rooms, including bedrooms living rooms, and the bar, while the onestoreyed addition consisted of a billiardroom, a store-room, a sitting-room, aqd the porter's room.

A BRILLIANT SIGHT It was nine o'clpck when the alani of fire was sounded from the central station, and the brigade, under Superintendent F. C. J. Bellringer, in the motor engine and motor care, proceeded quickl ( v to the scene. A brilliant reflection lit up the western sky, and when the brigade arrived the fire presented a magnificent spectacle, the neighborhood being vividly lit up by the blase. The whole building was completely wrapped in flames, which burst through the roof and sent out showers of sparks, and leapt out at every window and extended right across the roadway, while clouds of dense smoke curled away from the flames. In one of the front rooms on the ground floor the fire burned with marked fierceness, indicating that here was the origin of the outbreak, while the onestoreyed building which joined this room blazed freely. The first jets 6f water brought into play were directed on this portion of the structure, but the flqpes were defiant, and in a the roof collapsed with a terrific crash. This released the fire to renewed destruction, and the walls were quickly burnt through, so that it was not long before they crumbled up and were mixed with the roof in the blazing debris. It wa» clear there was nothing to be saved here, building and contents being; totally consumed.

In the meantime the majority of the firemen had directed their attention to the main building. The front door was forced open, only to show the staircase to be an avenue of flames, which had swept into all, the ground floor rooms. Upstairs the fire had a strong hold, and tongues of flame shot through the roof and windows. From several points the fire was attacked and ladders wtte run up to the windows. Gradually the firemen obtained the upper-hand, but the interior of the building and its content* were completely gutted, and when the fire was out only the four charred wall* remained as a shell of the original structure. The water pressure throughout was good. , ORIGIN OF THE FIRE

The origin of the fire is not known. Shortly before 8 o'clock one of the campers on the beach went to the hotel for the purpose of using the telephone, bnt found no one at home. A light Was burning over the front door, but there were no other lights in the building, and there were no signs of fire. There were a, large number of people on the beach and several appear to have seen the fire at the same time, and they stated that the outbreak appeared with startling suddenness. One man stated that the building seemed to burst out on fire at one moment, for without any warning the darkness of the night was suddenly broken a few minutes before 9 o'clock by a cluster of flames shooting up into the sky, and those that were first to arrive on the scene and give the alarm state that the fire then had a good hold. The flames had complete possession of the one-storeyed lean-to and the greater part of the main building, and barred the way to several men who attempted to enter the building. The door from the street leading to the bar was, however, burst open, and a small portion of the stock was carried out before thg fire obtained full possesion ol the bar and made it impossible to pave anything more.

LICENSEE AT THE THEATRh No sign appeared to indicate that there was anyone in the burning building, but anxiety on this point was dispelled by the arrival of Mr. Sansom, the licensee. Mr. Sansom told a News reporter that be was at the Theatre Royal when he was informed of the fire, and in no way could he account for its origin. There were no boarders in the hotel, tlip only persons living nn the premises being Mr. and Mrs. Sansom and the porter. They were at home all day, and a fire was lit in the kitchen to cook the meals, but as far as Mr. Sansom knew this had died out during the afternoon. After tea all three prepared to go into town, and they left the lulel about 0.30 p.m. Mr. Sansom had a look over the building before leaving, and everything was then safe, the onlv light being that over the main door. No one would have had occasion to enter the hotel during their absence. THE INSURANCES The building was insured in the South British office for £4OO, and the furniture and stock were covered by a policy for a similar amount (the name of the office was not available last night). The building is completely destroyed, and Mr Sansom estimated that the stock sav«4 is u"* rjrth more than £2O. *