£3000 DAMAGE DONE BY FIRE IN SYDENHAM BOOT STORE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18940, 10 December 1929, Page 9

£3OOO DAMAGE DONE BY FIRE IN SYDENHAM BOOT STORE.

Cricket\Ctub Pavilion Also Suffers in Early Morning Blaze

Damage estimated at between £3OOO and £4OOO was caused by two fires, which broke out in Sydenham shortly after three o’clock this morning. The greatest loss occurred at the boot shop of Messrs C. D. Gough and Son, Ltd., at 384, Colombo Street, where the building was gutted. The other outbreak was in the Sydenham Cricket Club’s pavilion in Sydenham Park.

The fire was first noticed a few minutes after 3 a.m. by a police patrol. He gave the alarm and two engines went out from the central station. When they arrived at the shop the blaze had already a strong hold, and had extended along the roof into all portions of the building. Spectacular Blaze. Flames were leaping high in the air and the fire became so fierce and hot that the people living’ above the shops on either side had to vacate their homes. Gough’s shop was a singlestorey wooden building, but it was bounded on either side by a two-storey brick building. There was some considerable danger to both these buildings, but their brick walls, which this morning showed black and burnt right to their roofs, saved them.

Valuable Machinery Destroyed. The fire had too strong a hold for the brigade to do much, but the firemen fought a strong fight and managed to save a fair amount of the stock in the shop. The back room of the building, which is used as a repair factory, was gutted. In this room, which in addition to large stocks of leather, contained machinery valued at over £IOOO, the most damage was done. Luckily the firm did not have a great deal of repair work in hand at the time, but such as there was, including fifteen pairs of boots from the Presbyterian Home, was destroyed. The firm was carrying a great deal of stock in preparation for the Christmas trade, and this was all more or less damaged. It is not known how the fire originated. The last employee left the shop

at 5.30 p.m. yesterday and everything was then in good order. No fires were used on the premises and all the machinery was driven by electricity. Although the constable who passed the building at 3 a.m. states that everything seemed secure then, it is probable that the fire had been burning for some time before it was noticed. The people next door state that they heard a crackling sound about 11 p.m. and later in the evening, but thought that it came from one of the children’s beds, which had a loose spring. The building is a very old one and a fire would soon get a strong hold. Probably Accidental.

There is nothing to suggest that the fire was not accidental, except the hour at which it broke out. All the windows and doors were secure last evening, and this morning it was found that a sum of £7 left in the shop was intact.

The building was insured for £ISOO, the contents for £SOO and the plant for £SOO in the Northern Assurance Company. Another Outbreak.

While the fire was at its height at Gough and Sons at 3.50 a.m. a further call was received, to the Sydenham Cricket Club’s pavilion, where a fire had broken out in the dressing room upstairs. This fire was quickly brought under control, but a good deal of damage was done to the building, and to cricket gear which was left in it. Here again the time of the outbreak was the only suspicious circumstance. The pavilion was used by players yesterday evening until after eight o’clock and the police believe that a carelessly thrown cigarettes butt caused the fire The building and gear were insured for £250 with the New Zealand office.