THE BRIGADE’S BUSY DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1934, Page 9

THE BRIGADE’S BUSY DAY

THREE CALLS RECEIVED. SPARKS WHIPPED INTO FLAME. The carrying of sparks by the southerly gale which raged yesterday on to dry pampas and undergrowth was believed to be responsible for the New Plymouth fire brigade receiving three calls between noon and dusk. No great loss resulted. The first summons was received at 2.40 p.m. when a pampas fire on the railway line between Hobson and Eliot streets was discovered. The fire had a good hold when the brigade arrived and a fowl house and nine fowls, the property of Mr. G. Spence, Buller Street, were destroyed before the flames were extinguished. At the same time a fire started about 50 yards east of Mr. Spence’s property but burned itself out before any damage was done. A passerby on the New Street railway bridge discovered a fire in the Sash and Door Company’s timber yards near the railway line. The company employees were summoned and the fire beaten out.

Shortly after 2.30 p.m. a fire necessitating the presence of the brigade was found on the railway bank adjoining Mr. R. H. Quilliam’s property, Strandon. The flames were beaten out. Sparks from a passing engine were thought to be the cause of the fires, while a spark from the rubbish dump set alight a plantation on its western side and the fire brigade was notified at 5.15 p.m. It was necessary to use water to extinguish the flames.