THE SERVICE TEMPORARILY DISLOCATED.
[From Our Correspondent.] TIMARU, July 22.
When Postal Officer Greene was going to early morning duty at six o'clock, he saw a light in the clock-tower room, used as a retiring room by the telephone people. On investigating he found the ceiling ablaze, and rang the . fire-bell, and the brigade attending promptly to the call, the lire was soon out. Not much damage was done, the most serious being the disinsulation of all the southern telegraph and telephone cables, which will take some time to restore. Temporary wires restored the telegraph service in an hour or two. The fire evidently originated from a gas kettleheater in some way igniting the woodwork of the doorway beside which it had been left. Tha melting of the gas-pipe then carried the fire along the meltingpipe into the next room, where the ceiling was burnt through, and damage was done to the cables.' Precisely how the heater caused the fire is a puzzle, though the gas tap was found to be not quite turned off. The heater was not used after eleven o'clock, and there was no sign of fire when the late operator left at 1.30 a.m.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19050722.2.83
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 8375, 22 July 1905, Page 5
Word Count
198THE SERVICE TEMPORARILY DISLOCATED. Star (Christchurch), Issue 8375, 22 July 1905, Page 5
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