CONFLAGRATION AT INVERCARGILL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 10 June 1924, Page 7

CONFLAGRATION AT INVERCARGILL.

.PETROL STORE CONSUMED i

By Telegraph—Press Association. INVERCARGILL, June 9. Invercargill to-day witnessed an aweinspiring spectacle, when the Britisi Imperial Oil Company’s big oil bond store went up m smoke. Just as the sun set, a huge pall of black smore commenced to stream across the shy, and huge tongues of flame rose hundreds of feet in the air. Like a great black curtain, the huge volume or smoke poured across the sky, with the westerly breeze, and from five o’clock to close on midnight it continued without a break. Only in the late hours of the night was the eruption showing any noticeable tendency to decrease. There were at least 20,000 cases of oil stored in the building, of which 16,500 were unloaded from the Kai warra and stored away to-day. When the last cases were being stored away the fire was discovered in the front part of the building, and it spread with such appalling rapidity that nothing could be clone to save the building.

An employee named Smith discovered the place to be on fire, and plucki'.v tried to put it out, but so rapid was the spread of the flames that he was burnt about the arms and chest, and taken to the hospital for treatment. In addition to the 20,000 cases of oil, 'a quantity of lubricating oil was also stored in the building, but the exact quantity was not known at present. All the’ office papers wero saved, but the store was irretrievably destroyed, only the walls standing, anil at a late hour last night it was still a question of whether tho front wall would hold and prevent the fire from spreading, but it was then considered that things had taken a more hopeful turn.

The greatest danger facing the Fire Brigade was the possibility of fire spreading to two big bond stores aci’oss the road, namely, the Vacuum Oil Company’s, and A. and P. Patterson's. Elaborate precautions wero taken to prevent tins happening. The building and contents wore covered by an open policy of insurance The amount of damage is not yet known.