YESTERDAY'S BLAZE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 9, 11 September 1945, Page 5

YESTERDAY'S BLAZE

BRIGADE'S GOOD SAVE •commercial hotel sample ROOMS The wail of the fire siren at ; 3.3© p.m. yesterday drew hundreds from the business section '■ of the town to the rear of the Commercial Hotel where in : spectacular fashion thg old sample rooms an eyesore for many years, was seen to be well in the grip of a growing conflagration. 'Commencing at tire eastern end x>f the building the flames had eaten their way the entire length of tlie iron roof before they were first noticed by the licensee, Mr N. Bremner who immediately gave the alarm. Promptly on the scene, the brigade ran out two lengths of hose from the ping in Toroa Street, and within a matter of minutes had both jets playing on the seat of the fire and. controlling the greater part of the flames which had licked their ■way through to the open ventilator facing Wairere Street. The remarkable manner in which the flames i were suppressed was a tribute in •itself to the efficiency and teamwork •of the Brigade. Within ten minutes the rear of the. building was redue•ed to a blackened frame and firemen concentrated their efforts along the ceilings and sarking where the flames still persisted in isolated patches. Special effort had to be ;made to extinguish- a new fire which burst out in the ridging facing the road. The contents of the building comprised a large number of bales of newsprint the property of the BEACON Printing and Publishing •Company, valued at approximately ■■£300 a quantity of second hand, furniture and a piano, the property of Mr W. Woolhouse. As far as can be gathered, all these articles had been placed in the building for storage purposes. It is understood all were insured.

The sample rooms have been the cause of considerable controversy in the past. Condemned by successive health they have remained more or less though in a serious state of repair. Built approxi* roately 60 years ago they were designed to be part of the establishment of the original hotel buildings. In the earlier days, of the town ( the structure was a popular rendezvous, and was used extensively as a concert and dance hall. The old staging still persisted and it was possible to trace, the wings and the dressing rooms. It was matchlined throughout and when in good condition must have presented a cosy interior to the happy crowds which assem-> bled there in the days gone by. With: the construction of new and better the old hall was overlooked an'd neglected though in prewar years it served iss purpose as a sample room for travellers through the Bay of Plenty.

the lire will have served at least one good purpose in hastening the demolition ol' the old building and making way for a more ;inotlem and eommodious structure.