HEAVY DAMAGE BY FIRE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1933, Page 9

HEAVY DAMAGE BY FIRE

AUCKLAND TINWARE SHOP LOSS ESTIMATED OVER £25,000. VALUABLE MACHINES DESTROYED. TOP FLOORS COMPLETELY GUTTED By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Aug. 31. Damage estimated to exceed £25.000 was done by a fire early this morning to a portion of the tinware factory of Alex Harvey and Sons Ltd. in Albert Street. The two top floors were completely gutted and on the ground floor only the office and the section at the rear escaped the flames, and these were damaged by water. The alarm was received at 2.45 o’clock, by which time the upper part of the building was enveloped in flames and the machinery falling to the ground floor made fire-fighting dangerous. About three dozen valuable machines were destroyed or seriously damaged. The amount of stock lost cannot be determined until the remnants have been dried. About 100 employees are affected but they will be transferred to the firm’s other factory. The firm’s books were saved, as were several new machines also on the ground floor. The. insurances on the building, stock and plant are about £35,0. A cellar used by another firm nearby was flooded and about 500 windows in an adjoining office building will require replacement. MOST SERIOUS FOR YEARS. UNINSURED PART ESCAPES. Auckland, Last Night. The fire, in Harvey and Sons’ premises was one of the worst experienced in the city area for several years, the damage probably exceeding £30,000.' It was stated subsequently that the net loss was expected to be considerably more than £20,000. The insurances were stated to be approximately £lO,OOO on the building, £20,000 on the plant and £lO,OOO on the stock. A building at the back of the main premises, where new plant valued at £5OOO was situated and which was not covered by insurance, escaped damage.