HOUSE GUTTED

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 16, 19 October 1943, Page 5

HOUSE GUTTED

SUNDAY'S DESTRUCTIVE FIRE

OUTBREAK IN BOROUGH A fire which all but gutted a wooden house in Commerce Street, Whakatane, last Sunday afternoon was responsible the collection of a large crowd' of Spectators about 5.>30 p.m. The Brigade which was quickly on the job made a splendid save in the face of a fire which had a tremendous grip and was burning through the kauri* partitions like tinder. The luin.se which is owned by Mrs F Woods, of Otakiri, was occupied by Mrs Watarawi and her seven children. At the time of the outbreak -Mrs Watarawi was in the front part of the. house and the children were playing in the back yard in which a rubbish fire was burning. Her first intimation that. anything was amiss was the sight of smoke issuing from the rear part of. the house. Investigating further she made her way to the kitchen and discovered the verandah and part of that room to be on Tire with the Jlames licking upward towards the ceiling. She immediately despatched her 12-year-old son to sound the alarm. When the. brigade arrived the fire Avas issuing from the roof immediately above the kitchen and great clouds of smoke "were billowing skywards. The chances of successful control appeared remote but within ten minutes the flames were confined to the. interior and the brigadesmen were playing two leads of hose through the roof. The fire had been extinguished within the half hour. For its work the brigade, is to bo warmly commended on the promptness of its response and the efficiency of its organisation and team work on the job. The origin of the fire is still' u matter of conjecture but it is: surmised that a spark or a cinder from the rubbish fire in the yard was blown on to a canvas awning stretched across the back verandah and set it alight. Very little furniture, was saved and the rear portion of the house is little more than a shell. The building was insured in the South British Oll'ice for There was no insurance on the furniture.