PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS ABLAZE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 66, 11 December 1907, Page 9

PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS ABLAZE

• At 2.10 o'clock this morning ParIlament Buildings were • discovered to be ablaze. The-outbreak occurred in the.lnterpreted room,- .upstairs on tho. Southorn side of the mahl lobby—nearly midway between tho of the House of Representatives and j the (Legislative Council Chamber, but nearer, the' former. '«■ It is in the old wooden section of the building and the light Northerly wind that is. blowing,' fortunately is driving ;,tlio 'flames, away front the new Library building. ■." • The flames at'express spoed through the. ancient woodwork, and' at tlireo o'clock have .^aten: right ..through to the face of theT building, fronting ,Government House," but"'fortunately they aro not moving so riipidly ' east and 'west, and- have -not iyet crossed the main lobby to the northern-'side. 1 / The . pretty chamber, in which -members of . the House have been -wont to meet seems doomed. - » At 2.50 a;m.',"a "DominionVj reporter stood in themain lobby ,of the buildings," and saw flames crowdjng-.in .ihrough: ihe upper windows, burning fierc'ely. : tho -woodwork": of the doorways downstairs opening ion to .the lobby. • ' .-vs . - The roaring of- the flames was accom- . panicd hy .the crashing of glass as skylight after. skylight succumbed . to the heat. - Firemen ...rußbod ' about through, the-: sparks, and 1 smoke arid here and 1 therei'a civilian nished.. gamj'Jj-,'info;' tho'melep and darted out ..again'.' staggering, under a huge picture. !A young■ fellow-.- tugged' vigonrously at,; an oil Julius Vogel's portrait—in an crideivoui: to wreneb '-it- from- its place oi, the'.walls.'; an! old man —a ( well .known messenger captured n. ; portrait group as it fell. .' At tho far .end. near.' the Legislative' Council entrance of the lobby bung tho large painting 'of tho - late- Queen," wreathed'; in' clouds, of smoke but so % far, unharmed. , Will it be saved ? . It is doubtful. Mo'anwhilp , Superintendent. Hugo- is on tho scone; :. Rushing hero and there, and directing- ■ ail ' extra • lead of -hose to -..one ■ part; hurrying on a junction to another. Firemen are. turning up from all quarters—some, of them ; can be seen in'.tho thick, of the firp-illumined suiolvo drifts. / Meanwhile crowds have gathered outside— Sydney .Street* and . Hill 'Street,' are thronged | with people.' '/ ;. ' : l'assing out into, Sidney Street it' could 1 be ■ seen .that' tho whole of-, that portion of the building "which used to house the library ■ was m-flames, and it seemed hopeless to prevent the-, fire spreading . some further, in -tho direction of Molesworth Street and -also somodistance towards tho tennis' courts;' ; •' •''' , ..-v-.- ...... am' vrtstm Bellamy's and tho library seem safe. -f .k><: LATER NEWS. V'.::-!; a' c'il.i' - -

•; THE CITY- A Y/AKENED. ; The news'of" the: fire; soon • spread-through ther.xity, worc Quickly running in large -numbers com-' pass. to-"tho .scono -of the conflagration.-. The. whole city - was' lighted - up. by_the 'flames, and at tho telephone one could.hear' nothing but the^.cpritin'uanyrr.epeated 1 . . is I tho fire ?!'-; aud.,tho..courtcpus answer of the. man'in charge-;" Parliament; Buildings." All .this -'jtimo':' those' in/charge ofi,the firo brigade,,>vho .realised at. an early ; tho grayiity of :position,where: marshalling. N theif forcesj -and -all. the apnecessary |f or c6pjng with, a big blaze;were .quickly ;on the spot;' ; The police too';.-lent,; every assistance-in- keeping back ; the',crowd,'. and-;iii seoing v that .the, firemon w( r r ? no -way,: hampered; in their work. A . lead' $f hose - was;.rim from,<Molcswort;h ) Street through the main entrance, but the. ! efforts -of tho brigade ■ wero. mainly directed ' from ;. Sydney, Street,, and hero it was; also, 1 that .the great bodyVof spectators gathered. '

: THE BLAZE SPREADS, , llamus had a strong hold before the brigade; .on the scono, and'as the old timbor was thoroughly dry after the recent fipsll of,.fine, hot-weather, the blaze spread at. an alarming rate," great rtongues of, flame leaping'high -above the building, whilo tho ■Buffocating' volume .of smoke" made "things unpleasant both .for. firemen ancl onlookers.' It. .soon; became; evident - that' .the brigade would have great--difficulty, %in saving any portion of the structure, and it looked quite possible that the firo would find its way into that part o; the building which was recently erected in brick, one. wing, of which contains the valuable parliamentary/library: Desperate efforts wore made to avert 6uch a calamity, but for a considerable ti'mo tho groat pressure of water; sepmed to make very littio impression, on .tho flames.: . In fact, they seemed to be increasing rather, than,diminishing in-volume. ■-

.;:; ; SEAT OF THE FIRE ATTACKED. _ Two" leads on from Sydney Street side''ari,d .two--others from, the Hill" Street sidp of the building... Those from Hill Street were carried through the building and across the lobby, and-thus-the seat; of th 6 fire, in thc.imddlo of the'/bid-wooden wing, "was attacked from lipth sides. . -Tho pressure appeared to be • good,■■ and tho'fire was gradu-ally-pushed back j but'it'spread' upwards, Mid at tho siimc time longitudinally along tho wooden; wing; xo.,,taking a course parallel with Sydney "..Street, By this moans both the Chambers of Parliament, at . each ■end of the fiuilding,, became threatened, and it-was apparent that the flames would brfcak through into each of tho Chambers, probably, the upper portion first. . At thp oamo .'time"the defence of 'tho lobby 'remained. sound. .. The fire spread with the wood, but did not jump the lobby , into the brick'building. Shortly before 3 aim. one could pass up and down the lobby, from end to'and,-with little difficulty. As the flames spread.overhead, however,- the falling of glass and plaster made tho' r '-operation' a perilous one ; but by'this time most of the easily'movable articles were shifted.

' THE PICTURES,. A party had removed the large photograph of Queen Alexandra and the Princess of' Wales, but owing -to some oversight they went: .Off ' to something else, hence it was that tho pictures of the late Queen and King .Jfidward . remained to'brave' tho elements—in how much danger one could' not be quite clear. As tho fire was beaten out

FIERCE FIGHT WITH THE FLAMES WOODEN PORTION GUTTED. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE SCEN

ON OF THE SCENE.

from the lower floor besido tho lobby, tho place became darker and the air thicker with smoke, while soot-black water surged over the floor. How strange a Bcene for tho place "where members aro wont, to sit and chat, and whero.political kings aro mado and un-mado. Aji electric bell—.which might have been tho division bell—rang porsistently as if in pain; but members came not. . 7 FLYING SPARKS. Tho light breeze which was blowing when the fire started began to freshen later on,' and Government House, on tho other sido of Sydney Street, was in somo danger owing to flying sparks. This • rendered it necessary, for the. Brigade to. spray upon tho side noarest tho fire. These precautions wore successful, and prevented any damage to His Excellency's residence. Doomed. Shortly aftor 4 o'clock it became quite evident that the whole of the wooden portion of the building was doomed to destruction. Tho most heroic efforts of the firemen were unable to snatch it from tho burning. Onlookers also began to doubt whother the rest of the building could be saved.' The men with the hose, however, worked with des-. perato resolution.' The flames', continued to: spread, and made thoir way both into the Legislative Council Chamber and tho House of Representatives. ■ Nothing could save cither Chamber, and both were soon a mass of flames. : j ~ THE ENGINE ARRIVES. . Three events almost conjoined—a decision that it was best to leave, the volumes of, .the library in their place ;tlie removal of two leads up the front stairway, to fight the fire breaking through into tho Lower Chamber ; and. the snort of the steam engine in-Moles-worth Street, preliminary to sucking up a fresh stream of water to aid the city supply. This was. about 3.25 a.m. These three things wero all held to betoken that tho fire would be confined to the . wooden wing;. and that the, danger of its jumping the lobby,-find attacking the. brick portion was' sufficiently remoto to leave books wliero they were—those thousands of valuable volunjes, many of which oannot be. replaced. With what gratification these anticipations wero to be.attended, remained to be seen. : THE LIBRARY QUIET.

,: At 3.40 a.m. nobody thought that tho Library was threatened. ..When ono passed, out of-the blinding reek and l tho darkness of the qntranco hall; where, great'otlirdbbingsnakes of hose—unseen, but felt by one's feoji—crawled through' splashing water, and when one-passed into the library, it was a plaoo of profound peace. The lights burned quietly, and no smoko tho .stillness. just as it appears on a night during session when members .aro./all in tho Chamborj .Nobody r \vas' thiiiking seriously' of' the' rich treasure ofj books. ' .

... By . this time the flames filled tho -lower chamber, and roared and leaped so high that, looking towards tho gallery from the top' of tho stairs'; there was a solid wall of flame. The .Press Room was a cavern wliproin men wero working in tho heavy smoko that swept in blinding gales through tho doorways, • for one hoard the grinding smash of tho water as it tore into the woodwork with the noise of a circular saw. To be in a , building in which fire blazed on three sides was an.un|.usual experience, and, an unpleasant 0110. The- smoke stung and suffocated. Firemen had their , mouths wrapped in neckerchiefs, .and amateurs Choked, gasped, and' fled back to where the smoke was less thick. PRESSMEN AT WORK. Members; of the Parliamentary Press gallery lihd saved ■; their pictures and most of tho, books. It was impossible to savo anything in either Chamber. Along tho corridor, with; scorching blasts from the fire thati blazed through | tho windows, it'was a frightfur scone in .the Council. One could enter the gallery, but tho Chamber was only a blood-red mist, with yellow firo invading tho galleries. Faint grey wisps, shooting up-wards.-showed, that ; tho firemen wore someA where , bolow, dodging ■ thol' rafters that fell in heavy cannonades; ■ : . : ' .-S

, THE SCENE "BELOW. I Furnaces above, and heat and smothering, smoko; it was liko passing into an ice chamber to descond the stairs, and feel the grateful r swish of waters, through which .police, firemen, and civilians were toiling, salvaging, and working the hose.' THE SALVAGERS.V! Everybody was engaged in tho work of salvage. In nondescript costumes important and obscure people worked together. Tho Speaker's effects were 'all saved; Mr Doririo and a band of assistants managed to clear out the Cabinet room.

:: :The lawn bogan to 'look lilco a fair. All round the railings were crowds of people, and. it was curicus and significant fh'at most of flicm, instead of onjoying tho fire, wero regretful and apprehensive. Chairs, fenders, papers, bureaux, , and thousands of books wero piled up over half the lawn. It was like a gargantuan "moving." The old wing, was "rapidly becoming a shell. A fireman was carried out fainting. As'the rafters and tho roof beams fell, the men below still plying tho useless hoses, dodged many a serious injury. . ' . • THE DAWN. Coming out of the dark vestibule's roaring smoke, one fronted the dawn. The dawn camo fliiickly, and the mountains. across the harbour were clear Prussian blue, with rosepink clouds above them. But nobody had an eye for the sunrise. THE LIBRARY. ' At 4 o'clock a rush of tho crowd up Hill Street showed that tho firo had burned its way through the Legislative Council and was encompassing Bellamy's and the Library. It was feared that the Library would go after all; A. neighbouring house was borrowed, and a swarm of men advanced on tho Library through the Hill Street entranco. In a few minutes there was an endless chain of people bearing armftils of volumes, 'iheso wero from the precious New Zealand cases at tho head of the Library staircase. Everybody was carrying books—they caine out at tho rate of hundreds per minute. Attempts to obtain from Superintendent Hugo an opinion upon 'tho Library's .chances were useless: He could not talk. Inside;

| the smoke began to grow rapidly denser. The [ fire was by | this time fiercer than at any stage sinco it bogiin. Tlio daylight had dimmed the flames, and paled away the redness of the clouds, but the old building, now a mere shell, to all intents and purposes, excepting the Library block, was still blazing. latest; As wo go to press abo a.m. all hope of saving Bellamy's has passed. The flames aro sweeping right through t-ho : building. So far as the Library is. concerncd, all the books have been removed from the lower storey, as a precautionary monsure, but it is still hoped to save the Library block, the upper portion of .which is protected from tho old building-by iron doors and shutters. All the books in the storey still remain there. . A rumour was curront that 110 session would be held next year, except for the passage of Supply. Mr. Carroll on being asked his opinion refused to take the suggestion seriously. ' A SERIOUS MATTER. v . • . .Representatives of "The Dominion," in investigating the building discovered that the fh e-pcrvontion appliances in the. building were - defcctivo. The sump in tho corner near Mr McNab's room had'. attached to it a hose which, from disuse, and from being kept folded, had rotted.into a wide hole two inches from tho cap. A similar defect was observed in a hose off thb main lobby.