TRAPPED BY BLAZING OIL

Chronicle (Levin), 9 December 1947, Page 5

TRAPPED BY BLAZING OIL

AITKI.AXi). S. Trapped beneath a wharf by blazing oil on tlie surtace of the harbour, a sliip !s watchman and seowmaster, Mr i'eter Baron, aged 72, was serioush burned at Freemans Bay today wlnli nillowing flames rose to a heiglit of 40f, \\ it Ii 1 n 50 yards of 'the Atlantie Fnion Oil Compauy's bulk storage tanks. A fellow workman waded tlirough the firc and clragged Baron to safety. Two othei .nen worxing on boats alongside the wharf, leapt into the water and swaiu or scrambled out of range of the lieri-c gust of tlame that burst from below tio quay. Within secoiuls it spread ovei a large expanse of water engulfmg tluAorval, a 7()ft jiower barge owned by the Auckland Tiniber Company, and a harbour defenee launch being retitteu as a private launcli by the Rev. Jaspei •• ht'lder, former city mlssioner. B01 n vessels were extensively eharred but rliev did not sull'er serious structura. lamage. A vivid flash and iiereelv expandiug shoots of flante were the only warning for a party 'oi men working on the wharf to secure the mounting of a light vrane. AI z-. Baron was 011 the scaffold- • ■ng beneath the quay with the objecl of pushing through, a heavy bolt soon as a liole had been enlarged sufficiently by an acetylene torch operated aliove. Mr. Baron was 011 tlie scaffolding beneath the quay with the object oi pushing through a heavy bolt as soou as a hole had been enlarged sufHcienth by au acetylene torch operated above. "I was standing on the wharf when flames suddenly appeared," said M r •John .Mullaney. "1 rau along tluquay to get away from the vvorst oi the blaze and scrambled down the .piies between the bow of the Norval and stern of the dredge Hazel Repton which .was also secured alongside. The water was up to my chest and by keeping well into it I got through the tire without getting burned at all. "Mr. Baron was still sitting on the--:eafl'oldiiig where he had been at work. 1 1 0 was done. He was powerless to lielp himself. His elothes were btirning and even his hair was on lire. L (lid not like doing it but 1 dragged hirn into the water and then hauled him 011 lo some rocks under the quay about 20 yards away." Leaving Air. Baron in comparative safety, AI r. Mullaney secured a dinghvi Govennnent made' grants on a subsidy and as soon as the ti ro was subdued it was used to bring the injured muri alongside the dredge. Here an aiubulance party strapped him into a stretcher and Tie was hoisted 011 to the quay and transferred to a waiting amlnilance. A carpenter employed on the refitting of the X"orval, Air. Artliur Crisp, was installing a new wheelhouse door wlien he heard a splash and saw a man from the nearby harbour defenee launch. in the water. "I thought ne had fallen overboard and was in diffi - culties," Air. Crisp said. "Then as he passed me he called out: 'Go for your life.' I saw flames, dropped iny tools and went over the side, too.." Tlie 40ft flames rose from the burning water over an area of about 50 vards

loug and 30ft wide. The piles and stringers of the wharf, hull, mast and su|)erstructure of the Norval and stern and quarter of the harbour defenee launch, caught. lire. A string of barges owned by the I'ublic Works Department and the dredge were also threatened. Three niachines f ro 111 tlie Centrtl Fire Station with one froiu Parnell and oue from Western Districts, wero dispatehed to the lire and in view of the possibllitv of a more serious •outbreak ileveloping in the dangerous ar-ea, three ambulances were sent. liowever, after r.wo leads of hose were eonceutrated on the flames the maia outbreak was suppressed within about live minutes of the brigade's arrival. SeveraJ men suffered personal loss. While rescuing Mr. Baron Mr. Alullaimy lost his «val let with its contents of about £(>, in the harbour and wlien Air. Crisp returned to the Norval to recover liis hastily abandoned tools, he found many of them burned beyond repair. Air. Baron was admitted to the Auckland Ilospital where his condition is verv serious. He was employed by McCallum Bros., Ltd., as watchman on board the Hazel Repton.