The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1877.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 75, 6 April 1877, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1877.

Last Saturday night, that most terrible of all alarms, the alarm of fire, was heard in Christchurch. The hour was not late, it was only ten o'clock : the streets were full oi people, and the locality of the fire was but a short distance from the Brigade Stations. The fire brigade, with the steam fire engines, hose and ladder apparatus, and various appliances for the extinguishment of fires were on the spot soon after the alarm was given, and, as soon as they could get to work they worked with a will, and as only trained and courageous men can and do work, and, yefc, within twenty minutes from the first strokes of the fire bells, two large houses were hurned to the ground, a third was much injured, and it was only through the exertions of the brigade that the fire was prevented from destroying a whole terrace of newlybuilt dwellings. The rapid progress of the fire 'was doubtless owing to a high wind blowing at the time, and to the difficulty at first of obtaining an adequate supply of water. This latter was, however, soon removed, and the steam fire engines were amply supplied. If, however, the fire-fiend could, in so short a time, make such havoc in " the City of Waters," well furnished as it is with the latest and most powerful appliances for putting out fires, and boasting of a most efficient fire brigade, composed of men who act up to their motto, " Ready, always Ready !" what we ask would be the result should a similar visit be paid to Akaroa? Suppose, for instance, in stormy weather a fire was to break out in the dead of night in the store of Messrs Wood Brothers, or in the hotel adjoining, what would bejthe consequence ? With no engine, witli not a single appliance to check the progress of the flames, with no fire brigade properly drilled and officered, the fire fiend would riot at will, and the whole block of buildings would be bound to go. Nor, in all probability would this be all. Flakes of fire carried a distance by the wind might alight on distant dwellings, and a series of minor conflagrations would be seen like satellites encircling the larger fire. Ere morning dawned many families would be houseless, and much distress, as a natural consequence, would ensue.

Some time since we called attention to this matter. Once more we raise the •warning voice. It will be too late to " lock the stable door after the. steed is " stolen." It is the duty of the members of the Borough Council to look after these matters ; the very law under which they are constituted throws that duty upon them. There can be no excuse for further neglect, and we are sure that not a single burgess of Akaroa will object to the expenditure necessary for providing fire engines and the other apparatus for the use. of the brigade, for which, we believe, there will be found plenty of willing hands and stout hearts ready to volunteer their services whenever called on so to do. We believe, too, that the various Insurance Companies would be found—as they do in Christchurch, Lyttelton, and Kaiapoi—subscribing liberally towards -establishing an efficient fire brigade. Let there then be no longer delay ; let the Council at once take action in the matter, and the result will be the formation of a body of men ever ready to risk life and limb for the sake of humanity, and whose motto will be—" Ready, always ready,"