MILFORD HOSTEL FIRE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 105, 16 February 1950, Page 4

MILFORD HOSTEL FIRE

TOURISTS INJURED ONE WING DESTROYED (P.A.) INVERCARGILL, Feb. 15. An, onrush of fire which, within' five minutes, became uncontrollable destroyed the east wing of the Government hostel at the head of Milford Sound and gutted the combined post office and wireless station at 2.45 this morning. A woman who happened to be awake heard the crackle of flames and gave the alarm. Everybody got out, but three persons were injured. Mr and Mrs L, A. Maag, two elderly American tourists, were fairly seriously burned about cue face and bead. Mr Maag lost all bis hair. David Kerr, aged 40, a bus driver, of'Dunedin, was burned on the shoulder and gashed a leg as he dived through a window. His condition is not serious. All three are now in the Invercargill Hospital.

Many of the occupants of the wing escaped only by diving head first through the mosquito netting that covered. the windows of their rooms, and had no time to save any personal belongings. Some of the tourists, including visitors from Australia and America, will have to outfit themselves completely. Only the sleeplessness of a woman visitor in the eastern or Bowen Falls wing kept the casualty rate down to three. About 2.40 a.m., this woman was walking along a corridor when she heard.the crackle of flames. She looked for the source of the noise and saw smoke billow'ing from the door of the boiler room.

She immediately gave the alarm. It was none too soon, for on opening their doors others were met by tongues of flame and had to mgke escape through the windows. Mr Kerr was severely burned on the shoulder before he reached the window'. Mr and Mrs Maag were caught by the flames. Within five minutes the wing was ablaze from end to end. To try to' save it or the adjacent post office and wireless station was obviously hopeless. The fire was fanned by the draught in the long corridors and, had there been any wind, little could have been done to save the other hostel buildings. Fight for Two Hours

The fight against the fire continued for two hours before the flames were brought under control. When it became obvious that the post office could not be saved the postmaster dashed into the already blazing building and took out a transmitter. Signals for help were immediately sent but it was not until between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. that contact was finally established with an amateur operator at Christchurch. This amateur called the Awarua wireless station and relief arrangements were made.

While the fire was being fought the injured were tended by two trained nurses who were staying at the hostel. The patients were then put to bed in an undamaged wing and made as comfortable as possible until this after* noon, when they were taken by bus through the Homer Tunnel and transferred to an ambulance that had arrived from Invercargill. It was fortunate that it was possible to drive through the tunnel. The hostel had accommodation for 46, of which 26 could be accommodated in the east wing.

HOSTEL MANAGER REPORTS MAIN BUILDING WAS ON FIRE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 15. “It was fortunate there were no deaths in the fire,” said the manager of the Milford Sound hostel (Mr N. Berndtson) in a message to Wellington this afternoon. “The staff and guests were splendid. “The main building was on fire and we had to pull away the veranda connecting it with the wing. This was done with a wire rope and a Railway Road Services bus.” The general manager (Mr L. J. Schmitt) has sent a telegram expressing his own regret at the mishap and the sympathy of the Minister (Mr F. W. Doidge) and department for the guests who had suffered loss. Mr Schmitt has arranged for the resident Ministry of Works engineer at Invercargill (Mr H. W. Smith) to go to the hostel to give all possible help and report on replacement needs. The Tourist Department’s chief inspector (Mr W. Stevens) went from Wellington by air this afternoon and was expected to make the road journey through the Homer Tunnel at dawn to-morrow. He will >:tay to assist Mr Berndtson but the manager of the Te Anau Hotel (Mr T. Tiller), who is to go in with him, will return to Te Anau to-morrow and telephone a more detailed report to the department.