A BIG BLAZE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 452, 10 March 1909, Page 7

A BIG BLAZE.

EXCITEMENT ON THE WATER FRONT. HARBOUR BOARD SHED DESTROYED. SHIPPING IN DANCER. HEAVY LOSS OF HEMP AND TOW. At t«n minutes to twelve last night, a fire broke out in the Harbour Board's big J shod, at the corner of Waterloo Quay anc the Railway Wliarf. The shed was.au ok structure, of galvanised iron and wood, am the flames burst through tho roof witl startling suddenness, and had Eeized tho civ tire building in a fierce, remorseless grip at most before the alarm was sounded. The bri gado was quickly on' the spot, attacking tin flames from all sides, but the streams whicl poured from half-a-dozen hoses were a, help less trickle against the consuming mass o: dairies, and from the first there was n< chance of saving any portion of tho building Tho contents, a valuable stock of hemp an< tow, were also destroyed without tho pos sibility of salvage. Tho fire spread to thi rigging of tho barquo Hippolas, lying at tin Railway Wharf, and also caught the liar hour tugs Moturoa and Riwaka, but n< serious damage was done to any of those ves scls. HOW THE FIRE BROKE OUT. Constable Havelock was among tho firs to noto tho outbreak. Ho was near tlv Railway Offices, parading his beat, wliei he saw the flair"3 through tho window o tho shed at tho northern end. The; had apparently broken out at the back of th building. It was about a quarter to twelve the constablo states, when lie first saw th flames. A young man named Arthur Cart? was passing, and saw tho firo at tho sani moment. The constable told him to hurr; olf and break tho firo alarm. "Where's th nearest alarm?" asked Mr. Carter, and th constablo replied, ."On Lambton Quay." Mi Carter than ran at top speed to the alarm box by tho Hotel Cecil, which, in his eager ness, ho broko open with considerabl damage to his knuckles. STARTLING QUICKNESS OF FLAMES. The firo made good its hold on tho an cicnt building with almost incredible swift nes3. Five minutes had barely elapsed froi the moment when Constabo Havelock sa\ tho outbreak till tho flames woro throug tho roof. .Messrs. A. Butler and P. W Suckling, who saw tho start of the firo fror a spot by tho Meat Export Company's freez ing works, describo tho early progress of th flames as quite astonishing. At quarter to twelve, Mr. Sueklin, stated to a Dominion representative ho passed tho shed with Mr. Butler an somo other companions just as tho tow: clock was- chiming, and there was then n sign of any fire. Passing tho Meat Expor Company's premises five minutes later, h happened to look round, and saw the ver beginning of tho outbreak. The indicatio of a firo was then so small that lie though it was only an engine shunting oil th wharf. When ho told his companions tha there was a fire they laughed, and did no trouble to look round. Ho . repeated hi statement, and when they turned to 100 tlicro was 110 mistaking tho outbreak. I another minute the flames had broke through the roof. They ran at once to th shed, and when they arrived they foun tho brigade already drawing up before th fire, showing that little time had been los in giving or responding to ,tho alarm. Th city motor engine was first at the fire, wit] tho horse engines close behind. In a shor time the city and South Wellington moto engines, the two horse cars from the city and tho Harbour Board's steam engine wcr all busily engaged upon the fast-increasin; flames. ' A MAGNIFICENT SCENE. Fifteen minutes after tho fire broke out i magnificent scene was presented. The flame had spread with relentless sweep aloni the whole front of the building, and tlv interior afforded 110 obstaclo to their pro gress. On the far side of Waterloo Qua; tho heat was so intense that one could onl; pass at a run. At tho wharf end,, th fiamos seized on to the watch-tower, sur mounted by the time-ball, and containinj tho tank used in conncction ivith tin hydraulic machinery on the wharf. The; reached up, tho sides of this structure flaunting fiery arms, and the tower hadsooi tho appearance of some" lingo pyrotechnic I framework. As tho heat increased withii tho wool shed, great sheets of galvanise! iron fell crashing to tho ground, and withii could be seen tho blackencd balos of flax aiii wool, stacked, in the middle of tho shed, a. high as to tho ceiling. 111 these the firi smouldered with a slower progress while it leaped and played uj the supports and rafters all around A few minutes after it broko out the fin produced a glare whcli could be seen fron any suburb of tho city, and near tho spot the hour was made as bright as day. A crowc of several hundred people, in various stage; of undress, quickly gathered, and watched tin progress of tho flames from Waterloo Quay tho end of Bunny Street, and tho wharf A detachment of police were soon upon tin scene, and they woro busily employed ii: keeping back tho crowd so as to give the brigade ample room, and in warning mort adventurous souls against tho dangers ol falling wires. A good doal of picturesque uess was added to tho seeno when tho rigging of tho barquo Hippolas took fire, and tho reflection of tho flames against'tho dull waters of tho harbour mado a bright effect, Somo trucks upon tho wharf were kept constantly dronclied with water to prevent their taking fire. THE BRICADE'S EFFORTS. Tho brigado wcro at a disadvantage in attacking tho flames, not only from tho fact that they obtained a hold too soon, but also becauso tho Kronen could only approach tho outbreak From two sides. Several linos of hoso were lirectod 011 the building from the Quay, nnd three more were laid across tho wharf, but the east side of the building, facing the ivator-front, and tho south end, backing 011 1 brick shed of tho Harbour Board, were jeyond reach of tho brigade's work 011 ac:oimt of their position. A lino of hoso was .aken across tho corner of the wharf, closo to ,hc tower, and turned 011 tho extreme end >f tho eastern wall, but it had not sufficient 'ttiigo to do much good. RANCE OF THE FIRE. Tho Ij Shed 011 the Glasgow Wliarf was in laager on several occasions, and had to be losctl constantly to prevent it catching fire. Juite early in tho progress of tho blase tho

end of the U Slied, which is the one-storied brick shed southward, of the fire, ivns somewhat affected, and had to receive the constant attention of a section of tlio Fire Brigade. Tho big wooden sliduig doors were charred all over, all tho glass fell out of tlio windows, and tlio woodwork of tho verandah caught fire moro than once. A lead of hoso was taken into tho building, and it was also played upon constantly from without. It is belioved that Bomq damago was dono to tho contents at that end of tho TJ Shed, but it is due to tho efforts of tho brigade that tho flames did not spread further, in lliat direction. The' Custom Houso stands next to the southward of tho U Shed. THE FINAL SCENE. By a quarter past ono tho sheds had com-* pletely collapsed, and two or three firemen wcro able to climb upon tho heaps of smouldering flax bales and general wrocltage, and direct their hoses from those still very dan-gerous-looking vantage points. It was evident that tho brigado would havo no difficulty in preventing tho spread of tho flames, and the crowd; realising that .tho host of it, from tho moro sightseer's standpoint, was over, gradually broko up and drifted in all directions towards, homo and bed. At 1.30 ,a.m. sparks were still flying, and the smoke was very dense, but tho firo was practically out a quarter of an hour later, TOWED OUT OF ACTION, Thoro was not a great deal of shipping about tho centro of tho fire area, but what thoro was had an extremely exciting time. Tlio barque Hippolas, which had arrived from Clarence River with hardwood on Sunday, was moored at tho Railway Wharf, close up to tlio breastwork. Tho stream of sparks and flying flamo mado hasto to attack this vessel, and firo appeared simultaneously :n her shrouds nnd along her bowsprit. Tho furled sails, dry and very inflammable, blazed and sparkled info a very pretty illumination for the spectators, but into n serious fire for tho people connected with tho vessel. A couple of hawsers wore made fast to bow and stern, and thirty or forty shouting and perspiring men hauled furiously; but tho barque had her own way of moving and moved very slowly. It was a curious marine equivalent of moving tho piano, and the spectators watched the novel spectacle with much interest. It is not every day that a ship is dragged, as it were, from tlio burning kiilding. An attempt to stop the way of tho barque when what seemed a safe distance had been covered failed. Tho bow-ropo got away from its crew, and tho bow swung outwards. The fires upon it threatened to make further trouble with a luilk moored a't tho next wharf, for tho sacks and water applied by tho crew did not havo much effect. The hulk received a liberal drenching with sparks from tho blazing bow, but she refused to join in tho conflagration. 'flic sacks and water at last subdued tho blaze in tho sails sufficiently to prevent the shrouds and masts from becoming alight, and tho littlo fires gradually sparkled themselves away, leaving no greater damage behind than a busy time for tho saihnakcr. Tho Moturoa and R.iwaka wero moored at tho breastwork, exactly at tho point where the flames in tho shed were fiercest. Owing to their small' size, most of tho firo and sparks swept over their heads, and tho firo brigade sought to make their safety doubly safo by playing upon them pretty steadily. In tho meantime tho breastwork had'eaught fire, and strange spiral flames whirled up through smoke. "THERE'S A MAN UNDERNEATH." "Whilst half-a-dozen firemen were engaged in directing tho hose from tho breastwork against the front of tho building, a portion of tho wall fell and the men jumped back, just in time to cscapc the falling brands. A cry went up from the crowd that watched: "There's a man undorncath," and the desperate energy with which tho firemen worked with the hose and struggled to shift tho burning mass of debris lent colour to the rumour. A minute later, however, it was made , known that all tho damage done was to 0110 of tho leads of hose—serious enough, but not so bad as what was at first reported. AN EXCITING INCIDENT. The efforts of three men in a whaleboat to rescue tho launches Riwaka arid Moturoa provided ono of the most exciting incidents at the water-front. The quay decking was already 011 firo, and the red-hot tottering galvanised iron wall of tlio doomed shed threatened to fall outward at any moment, carrying the flame-zone to within igniting dist/mcca of the littlo packets. Showers of sparks already, fell on tho men and 011 the launches, things aboard begau to smoulder, and onlookers expected to see tlio rescuers driven back. Nevertheless, they cast off tho moorings, and, with the aid of some men on the wharf, first the lliwiika and then tho Moturoa wcro pulled and pushed away from tho. quay side. At this stage, however, a diversion was effected ashore in the shapo of tho advent of .1 huge jet of water from tho steam fire engine, which reinforced (atabout O.HO a.m.) tlio small jets from the ordinary leads, and it bcoame apparent .that tlio firo could advance no farther towards the berths which the launches had jnut vacated. 15ut the men on them had worked well and phickily, and deserved tlio praise which was passed 011 them. The big steam-engine jet was the conflagration's coup do grace. THE 3'JIi.DINC. The buildings which have been destroyed comprise mainly the J shed, which was. of galvanised - iron, and the tower, which was of wood. The shed was really three old structures placed together. Tlio main part, standing to tho southward, was of two stories, and tlio smaller portions were only one story in height. The shod was insured in the Standard oliiee, tho amount not being availablo this luoriiiug. Tho contents would be insured by tho owners. THE CONTENTS. The secretary of the-Harbour Board, Mr. G. H. Nicholls, informed a Dominion reporter that tho contents of tho shed consisted of about 1-500 bales of ilax and TOO hales of tow. These figures 1 were only approximate—he could not make an exact statement until he had an opportunity of referring to the records. .The tow was mostly stored in the south end of the shed, all tho flax being in tho northern portion. There was 110 wool at all j 110110 had been stored in that shed since tho ercctioii of U shed. Tho building was 27 years old. In addition to tho flax and tow, which arc stored at the risk of .owners, the building contained some machinery. There were two hydraulic presses for ."dumping" the bales, and also u small hand press for repacking flax after grading. It, was expected that the presses would ho saved, though greatly damaged, unless tho heat was intonso enough to inelt the metal. No records of any value were kept in tho building. It was not certain whether somo books had been removed last evening, but, oven if they had not \ been and wero burnt, tho loss would bo one of little consequence, since tho records contained in tho books would bo easily replaced. ' WORK OF THE FIRE BRIGADE. Superintendent O'Brien stated to & Dominion reporter that tho call to the Central Fire Station was received by telephone, and no time was lost, in turning out, but as soon as tho brigade got outside the door tho whole sky was soon to bo lit up, and when tho sito of tho firo was reached, it was quite clear that tho only thing to bo dono was to try to savo tlio surrounding premises. Ono steam firo onginc, two motors, and two horso hose- reels wore employed. Nineteen men turned cut from tho Central Station..

and others came in from tho suburbs as Quickly as'possible. : There wore soon about eight from. Tlio'riidon, soven from Nowtown. and ton from Brooklyn ,onj tho scone,, .and later on tho Superintendent'had as many, as 60 under his command. Tho steam firo cnfino of tho Harbour Board was placed on tho rcastwork in front of tho U sned, and did good work pumping water from the. harbour and throwing it,on ;to the ,firo and adjacent buildings. Other hoses wore connected to tho mains on Waterloo Quay and evory effort was made to hem in the firo from 'all sides. THE POLICE. A largo body.. of polico' under Inspector Ellison attended tho fire and kept the-ven-turesome ones among the crowd sterhly' in' check. Tho Inspector, speaking "to'a reporter at 1.30 a.m., said that so- far tho crowd, which had then begun to disperse, had apparently behaved in a perfectly orderly manner, and no cases of misconduct had been reported to him. There Was also a body of firo police in attendance under Captain Wright, with Lieuta. Biggs and Doyle. ■V UNFORTUNATE OVERSIGHT.'; ' It appears that tho, alarm might have been given still moro quieljly to tho lire brigade if a wharf lumper, who • was among the first observers of tho outbreak, had been able to find an alarm-box on the wharf. This man shouted himsolf hoarse in attempts to mako tho outbreak,known, and ran about the wharf in a vain endeavour to .find an alarmbox. Thero is an alarm-box on tho wharf, but it is not easily seen, and tho searcher did not find it. The alarm was given from tho box at the Hotel Cecil corner, ■ which is somo distance' from tho tiro.; r*

NOTABLE PREVIOUS WHARF FIRES. The following arc among the most notable cases of fires on <wbarves and in docks; ■ Tooley Street fire, London, Juno '22, 1861. Cotton's wharf and depot arid other wharves,, containing oil and otiibr combnstiblo ..substances, arid -burned for'a\ monthTho' Thames. ,Vvas' on firo with'; floating "tallow. Several persons. were killed, .including' Superintendent Braidwood,. of the- London Firo Brigade., Loss,: £2,000,000. Britain's greatest.wharf firo'. • Hoboken- Wharf Shears fire, New York, June 30, 1900, three North German' Lloyds steamers burned.- - Sydney, 1890, Union Steam Ship' Company and others, loss £30,000.. 7 Portland, Oregon, 1904. Dock and grain warehouse, loss £75,000. .- / Jersey 'City, New York,. 1903. Railway pier,and contents, loss £60,000. Troy, Nov/ York, Steamboat, 1903. ; Pier and stores, :loss £200,000. . / Miller's Point, Sydney, 1890.' Gibb's, Bright and Company,, loss £25,000. , Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1891. Ten wharves burned. . , Queen Street Wharf, Auckland, 1897. Harbour Board shed, damage £30,000., Marseilles, February 28, 1908. No. 7 shed at extension of dock, building 800 feet long burned out, copra: alone, being valued at £70,000.. New ■ Orleans, February 26, 1905.' Stuyyesant docks, loss five million dollars. Boston, February 21, 1905. Hoosac tunnel docks, loss one million dollars. Bremen, 1905. Nordsee S.S. Company's wharves destroyed. ' FROCKS AT THE FIRE. -> (By-Dominica!) n . ■. From a woman's point of : view the firo at the J Shed last night was not to be :comiuended; it was too .untidy, too much like a higglody-pigglsdy conglomeration of burning biscuit tins and tin fences, with .here and thero some fine upstanding piece of scaffolding that blazed away, with all tho effect of a temporary erection for somo illumination. The time-ball tower, which clutched-its precious ball till the very last upright fell, had ant especially decorative appearance, and seen against a grey mftss of smoke, with little flickering flames running across and up the slender, beams, it was like the outline of a fairy tower set up for this ono night's beauty.

The attendance of women was very fino, ever so many more "having turned out than wero awake- to watch the burning of -Parliamentary Buildings, and most of them were disappointingly well dressed. Those who arrived at the fire at tho beginning say that the first 1 women in tho crowd were hastily and interestingly attired. j Things snatched up in a moment.and put on anyhow were all tho fashion, arid long coats, that looked liko directoiro, so straight they fell from tho shoulders, were finished with thin little slippers and enveloping veils : that showed little of the style of head-dress. But as the night and the firo' woro on, and late-comers arrived, the women came pranked out'in their ordinary street costumes, and it was evident ,that many of them wero wearing thoir, best 'hats. _ "Trimmed with roses" would be the description of many a hat seen at 1 the fire, motor caps and veils were more popular. A few years ago and half that crowd »of women .'would have had their heads tied 'up—one. was inclined to think that-curlers •had gone out of fashion, that their day had ugone when the pompadour camo. : i ■ ' ; One of the most effective' novoltics was a wincey dressing jacket, much tucked,'which, .' combined very effectively with:an: accordeonpleated purplo tweed in the new "conflagra- ' tion de minnit" shade and a ■'hat smothered in-red poppies. • The" wearer 'of this costume struck a new and original note with white canvas shoes, size 9. Tho hair was au nature!.

An - imposing spectaclo was presonted' by a gentleman not unknown at . tho Magistrate's Court. Ho woro a sombre black suit over a pyjama coat, and his extremities were adorned- respectively by a, pair of carpet slippers and a top hat. . 'li "'is; amusing to see bow smafi'.th'o laggard ladies looked as after much time spent at the toilet they arrived on -the scene.' The. young girl who had stopped' to finish her dainty costume with' a gold locket and chain was sufficiently disconcerting, but' thero were those who surpassed her. "I'm going home now," said an old fire-worshipper, with a glance of dismay at'a lady who arrived as'tho fire went out. t "Midnight fashions are not what they were in my young days. I can stand ■ any. amount of finery at a'firo bo long as there is something incongruous or incomplote, but this is no placo for inc.-"' Tho lady in question was smartly attired in a tailor-made costume, which wad excusable since they are handy things toi put on, but she .also woro neat chocs and gloves, a very trim hat, and a complete suit of handsome sables, muff and all. Tho men were really muclr more interesting and, incomplete, 'and they had a conspicuously nervous way of clutching at their collars with one hand every now and then,, with an air of hoping that no one was noticing their feet. A man really never looks well .unless..dressed - with exceeding care, and these casual glances are of the greatest value to the .student of human nature Who wishes to form'a truo esti-' mate of character..