SPECTACULAR FIRE

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1935, Page 5

SPECTACULAR FIRE

HUGE BLAZE AT DUNEDIN

CRASH OF BURNING WALLS

ARSON CHARGE FOLLOWS

CURIOUS “RUNNING AMOK”

By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, Last Night.

A curious form of “running amok was exhibited by a man who has since been arrested. When allegedly in a vengeful 1 mood he is stated to have thrown three ; bricks through the plate-glass windows i of the furniture warehouse of A. and j J. Watt in Princes Street, and then dash- , ed across the street into Manor Place . and set fire to the firm’s factory a stone s throw away. . . . Shortly after the brick-throwing incident fire was seen to break out simultaneously in half a dozen places in the factory, which was surrounded by stacks of seasoned timber and well stocked with completed and half-made furnishings. With such fuel in such quantities the fire soon had a strong hold, and when the brigade arrived the whole building was a roaring inferno of flame, although from the outsid. it- had merely the appearance of a giant-mouthed chimney stack belching dens 3 volumes of dark smoke. But neither corrugated iron roof nor brick walls eould for long withstand the irresistible fury of the flames, and within a short space of time they burst their way through and leapt high into the air. Four loads of hose failed to make any immediate impression on the blaze, which moved steadily backwards through the factory. The brigadesmen were seriously hampered in their operations by the lay-out of the factory and the position of the machinery and plant, as the result of which the most spectacular period, of the fire came when to the crowd outside the blaze seemed to be well under control. _ SOLID WAUL OF FLAME. The whole of the back part of the building was blaming inside when the rafters collapsed, giving egress to a solid wall of flame 30 feet, high and nearly twice as wide, which enveloped everything and successfully withstood the onslaughts of four hoses for several thrilling minutes. Thanks to the excellent water pressure the fire was under control. in a comparatively short space of time, and a great deal of seasoned timber stacked around the factory was saved. The fire brigade found on arrival that the fire had such a strong hold in the interior of the building that it was impossible to determine the origin of the outbreak, but there was no mystery con- ’ cerning the affair, as before the firemen had finished their task an arrest had been made and a man was taken into custody by Detective Marsh on charges of mischief with, respect of £6O worth of dam- ' age to plate-glass windows, and arson with regard to the burning of the factory and its contents, the damage to which is not exactly known, though it is expected to run into thousands of pounds. The building was insured for £l5OO in the Yorkshire State and in another office not ascertainable to-night. The contents of the building and the insurances on machinery were not available, nor is the damage to plant possible to estimate tonight. The alarm was received from a street box and a telephone a few minutes after 8 p.m., when Princes Street was crowded with thousands of Friday night shoppers, ’ and even before the brigade arrived a ’ large gallery was present. The fire fight- ‘ ers were fortunate in he situation of I the factory, which was well back from II the street, making it an easy task for the I police to keep the crowd at a distance, ! so that it was no hindrance to the fire- ' men.