FIRE AT ORARI.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1551, 10 February 1887, Page 3

FIRE AT ORARI.

A disastrous fire took place last Tuesday evening, which resulted io Mr Breadley’s Orari Hote being completely destroyed. The fire originated in the bursting of a kerosene lamp, which was suspended from the ceiling of the passage, and which overhung the principal staircase leading to the second fl-ior. The accident was not noticed until the staircase was in flames, and thus communication with the upper storey was interrupted. The fire spread with extraordinary rapidity, and in ten minutes the whole of the upper storey was in flames. Fortunately no one was upstairs, at the time. One of the children who usually slept upstairs was ill that day, and had been put to bed downstairs, and only for this it is doubtful whether his life could have been saved. It became immediately apparent that it would be fruitless to attempt saving anything upstairs, and attention was directed to remove as much as possible of the downstairs furniture and effects. There was in the hotel at the time only Mr Gamble, Mr Miller, a book agent, Mr Mason, Mr Mackay, and Mr Breadley, and these proceeded at once to do all they could. Great credit is due to Mr Gamble for the coolness and promptitude with which he acted in saving many valuable things. Shortly afterwards a great many neigh bors collected, and it being found useless to try and save any part of the hotel, all efforts were directed towards saving u wooden building at the back, which stood partly ad joining the destroyed premises. In this they were successful, as also they were in preventing the fire spreading to a gorse fence which would have conveyed it to the Assembly Rooms. The hotel was built of brick, and when everything was burned within, and the bricks began to cool, the walls came down with a tremendous crash, and nothing was loft standing but the two chimneys and portions of the side walls. A good deal of the downstairs furniture, including the other valuable articles were saved, it is supposed to the value of about £IOO. We have not ascertained the amount of the insurance, but so far as we could gather It does not come near to the value of the property destroyed, and therefore Mr Breadley is a very heavy loser.