SANATORIUM FIRE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21243, 14 October 1940, Page 12

SANATORIUM FIRE

NURSES’ HOME SUFFERS ESCAPE WITHOUT BELONGINGS (By Telegraph.—Special to Tlmea) WAIPUKURAU, Sunday Fire destroyed part of the nurses’ home at the Pukeora Sanatorium and did extensive damage to another part of the building. The occupants escaped for the most part only with the cl<V‘ing they wore at the time. All the nurses were in bed when the fire was noticed about 11.25 p.m. on Friday by a member of the staff, Mr P. Jeffs, who was returning home. The alarm was promptly given and a hose was run out in an effort to save the sisters’ cottage. The sanatorium’s own fire brigade had made a good start toward isolating the fire when the Waipukurau brigade arrived. The sisters’ cottage and the domestic part of the building were saved. The matron’s quarters, diningroom block, nurses’ sitting-room and 10 bedrooms were destroyed, while the second wing of the home was much damaged by smoke and water and partly burned. The building was of wood and some years old, so the fire spread rapidly. It was nearly two hours before the brigades had it fully under control.