FIRE ON A STEAMER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 66, 11 December 1907, Page 8

FIRE ON A STEAMER.

OUTBREAK. PROMPTLY'EXTINGUISHEDi • '•- • v Early yesterday morning a"fire! broke but. on the/cargo steamer Ijord- Stanley, from New York'., The vessel ;.is berthed' at, tho 'i'aranaki ; Street Wharf, arid'is'engaged in discharging American' cargo'. About' 4 a.m., Captain Cunningham,' master of tho vessel, , was informed of the outbreak,' and was quickly on the scene". Dense columns of smoko, arising from No. 1 hold, showed that the fire had got-a good start. It boing impossible to descend into the. hold, the ordor, was passed to ; fasten down ,the hatches, close tho ventilators andlinject steam; These orders wero promptly carried out. 'After a long 'and tedious wait, lasting ten and a half hours, the hatches of "No. 1 hold . were raised, tho "fire quickly located, and extinguished with , a small quantity of "winter. The total damage, estimated to Bo undor £100, includes the destruction' of" about tweiity cases of kerosene' and a few coils of' galvanised wire. Some cases containing agri T : cultural implements wbre externally dam-' ■aged, but'it is"hot acsertained how the.consents fared; Considering the inflammable (nature of soine of the cargo in Nq. 1 hold, ftit is, well that Captain' Cunningham acted farith -such promptitude, for, examination jehowed that in many instances the intense iheai had melted the solder of the tins of Jkeros'ene, and the contents were exposed, jtoe injection of the steam, together with Hhe smoke, prevented' the' kerosene,' from, [igniting, and: thus prevented , Yvhat woujd' ' otherwise have been a disastrous fire., ;; t Superintendent Hugoj of the City Fire •Brigade, stood by'all day} watching th'e 'vcs-. »Tel in tKe intorest'of tho Wellington HarSbour Board, and was also ready to "lend as-ysigtarice-should the'services of tho ' brigade] '■have been required!', ; ; i" The Lord Stanley was originally ' named Jthe Piiiewood, and afterwards tho Mariposa..' fend'as such she cai^ht : fire and was'beached' ton the South African coast. ; She returned frto the* shipbuilders and was made practically W new ship. Another fire occurred after she" thad been named tho Lord , Stanley. " This was during the Boer war. She is a steamer ■•of 4700,t0n5, and was,built in.900. , | 'It is' expected sho will resume her vbyage. :',to on /Thursday; After being, Jwocked there, and having discharged Lyttel{•ton: cirgo, she proceeds to Port Chalmers,, itheiico "to Newcastle, under charter to the SAndrow. Weir Line. , ' ' "•]; j ' The local agentj-for the Lord Stanley ad-' '"vise that it has been decided, in consequence .'of the'-fire.in No. l hold, to get consignees. sign a provisional average bond.