FIRE!!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 66, 17 June 1942, Page 5

FIRE!!

THE EDGECUMBE BLAZE A TRIBUTE (By Crosby) A scene of desolation, a burnt out shell of what once was a fine building, a building that had provided amusement for residents for miles around, that to-claj r is the "Green Parrot Theatre" at Edgecumbe. The district has suffered an immeasurable loss, a loss shared by the business community and those Avho found relaxation and enjoyment alike. Danger and trouble proved once again, the human spirit and desire to help one's neighbour is not decadent. Within minutes of the alarm willing hands had cleared the shops fronting the theatre of their stocks, tobacco, sweets, refrigerators, furniture and fittings, all to be piled out of reach of the inferno that bv now was raging. The volunteers of the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company "s Fire Brigade were quickly on the scene, hoses were coupled, a whistle blew, a powerful motor pump roared —and so began a bat-> tie with fire that lasted three hours. Without a doubt the Brigade made a brilliant save by confining the flames to the theatre itself, a store on one side suffered heat damage to the extent of blistered paint and a two storied private hotel on the other side a few cracked window panes. But for this, the blaze undoubtedly would have caused many more thousands of pounds worth of damage by sweeping the whole block. A disaster indeed, yet one that has taught Edgeeumbe two lessons nf importance for the future. Adequate water supply is the greatest lesson and it is to be hoped there will be a unified desire for a supply system that will provide water for fire fighting and domestic uses. Lesson two is closer co-operation and interest with the Dairy Factory Firefighters and the provision of suitable access to the inexhaustible and precious river water, in ordei, should the occasion again arise, these public spirited and quick acting men shall, in no way, be impeded. On the ashes of the destroyed theatre will rise a greater, safer structure, a building of beauty and comfort built by the civic spirited people who had the forethought and vision to cater for the needs of a growing township. Yes, Edgeeumbe will go ahead as is its natural right.