NEW FIRE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 46, 22 February 1946, Page 5

NEW FIRE

WAIMANA UREVVERA imßßßgm THREATEIVnHBH| Arising from a adjoining farm the which borders the UreAA^HHHBHB| serve took lire last WeaHHHHHH ate deeply into the bush before it was finally ed. The outbreak occurred the Raroa Road at Waimana, aSi was Jtirst noticed by district settlers wiib notified the authorities. Under Mr Ken Francis District Ranger 9 9 a lire lighting unit’ comprising men from the Lands Department County Council employees and settlers was quickly on the scene, and carried the. light throughout yesterday, when the flames were suppressed, but not before a large tongue of. bush approximately a mile in depth' and comprising over 100 acres of heavy timber had been destroyed.

OUTBREAKS IN BOROUGH THREE CALLS ATTENDED During Wednesday and Thursday, the Whakatane Volunteer Fire Brigade received three calls to attend grass fires which bfroke out within the Borough. All were quickly and easily suppressed, but had it not been for the prompt attention on the part of the Fire Service, all of. them might have developed serious proportions. The first outbreak occurred in Victoria Avenue yesterday morning, ■when grass and a hedge, fronting Mr J. McCormick’s residence was noticed ablaze. The cause of ithe fire is not known. Shortly after 7 p.m. on Wedges,day, a second call was received/ by the’Brigade, this time to atten'd a fire which had broken out at the side of the Borough Council buildings and which had originated from sparks from a nearby incinerator. This latter although, unattended, was standing upon a. concrete slab. It is presumed that the wind must have drawn sparks and carried them to the dry grass, only a ’small patch of which Avas burned before it received attention. The siren which Avent for some considerable time, dreAV a large number of spectators. The third fire occurred in Victoria Avenue again yesterday morning, Avhcn the grass on the side of the road outside Mr S. K. Schofield’s residence Avas noticed to be ablaze. The llames quickly spread and climbed up a bank, and had not the Brigade arrived and dealt with it smartly might have threatened the house. Tavo leads of liose were required to deal Avith it. A ’telegraph pole, which Avas in the line of the fire Avas charred.

This latter outbreak can be traced back to an empty bottle which was found at the spot Avhere the fire occurred reflecting and concentrating the rays of the sun. The extreme dryness of the ground at present constitutes an actual menace and residents are once agan warned’ to he. particularly careful with regard to anything at all which migh lead to / a Hare up.

BLAZE AT PAPER MILLS

CHURCH’S NARROW ESCAPE

An outbreak of lire occurred in the scrub in the vicinity of the Paper Mills shortly before mid-day last Sunday. The blaze started on the boundary between the Mill and the Maori Church which stands nearby, and fanned by a strong wind, quickly swept in the direction of the latter. The alarm was given by a passer-by who noticed the smoke and llames from the road, and as the Church was -ndangered, it was decided to enlist the aid of the Mill Brigade. When the men arrived, the fire was travelling in the direction of the mill reservoir. Before it reached there, however, it became concentrated in a small patch of. grass and trees and was extinguished without difficulty. The Church itself sustained no damage.