FIRES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 551, 5 July 1909, Page 6

FIRES.

paw : |>;:".'i-'MTAt."OOTBRSiUC AT BLEtIHEIM. |*■ MOTHEB AND TWO CHILDREN HOSE f ( THEIR LIVES. [~■•:■. , 1 (By Tolcgianh.—Press AssoctattonJ : 1 , 4 t Blenheim, July 3. | 'A" fire, attended by fatal results, occurred a few minutes after midnight. The scone j or the outbreak was a fiyo-roomed house in t : - "Whitney Street, owned by Mrs. Joseph Tayi: i: lor, een., and; occupied by Mr. Joseph • Tayi', lor. s • -> A■: servant girl, named!; Berry, first dist ■■ i covered that, the .house was' on fire, boing t: awakened by pictures falling down in ,ber v bedroom, and finding tho bedclothes in t... flamos; .; She got out tho two children who j. wore sleeping with her. and then attompted 1; i , to return "for Mrs. Taylor and tho -other • & wtwo,'.tat' wai; driven back by tho flames. ■fA passer-by rushed in, and: roscued tho : youngest chfld, but it was so badly burnt t tbat.it died.in the hospital this morning, i; Mr. Taylor arrived home to -find tho firo s-'trusting out i everywhere. Ho smashed a ;•' window, and endeavoured to drag his wife l.through,' but her clothing gave way, and ,the ;flames drove'him: back. : • : j:, v.Mrs.■■Taylor's'■body; and that of her son ' 'Joseph, aged about 10, were found in the {. debris afteT tho flamos had subsided. !>:•. The Fire Brigade, were prevented by lack :■■■•'■',.■ >of water from, rendering any assistance. ; • Mr. -Taylor .was badly cut and burned, and j; .is now:in the hospital. It is feared-be may •' ' lose his reason. - ; 'The insurances are not at present obtain- [ able. ■ ' t . , • FARMHOUSE DESTROYED. | 'A WOMAN FEAIIPULLY BURNED. £ TWO GIRLS INJURED. '■ '■ (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Eltham, July 3. ■ '■ ■. A serious burning accident occurred this forenoon-on a. farm' between -Eltham and . Mangatoki. r: \ Some olothes wore drying before a fire ' in a house occupied by a dan-ytarmer, named . Bills, on Mr. .Parker's property, .when; by somo means, Mrs. Bills' clothes caught-fire, • also those of two daughters, aged 4 and 11, - who wont to the mothor's assistance. The ii ' , house also caught, but the children escaped, > • and'tho mother .' was dragged ■■ out by a son p<- who came, on'- the scene, ' followed by the fj ... husband,and.others, who had been some disfc, .- ,tance, away, ■ and did not at ■ first observe the-'fire. V s r:' ■'; f- Tho had tho whole of her clothii:y. ing burned on her body, and is fearfully: in-" | . ■ jured, and the girlß aro also badly burned.- . .Their hair ,was but their injuries' ; are! not so serious as their mother's. They |.i wero brought in to a private hospital in l Elf tham. • i , 1 ' ■ The ;house and 'contents, including some j -.inoney, ..were-rtotally .destroyed.: The family - ,- v v ; Pjly ; possess the clothes they were wearing. • Mrs.Bills has not oven her. clothing left. 1 ( * — 1 5 , FIREB AT WESTPORT. I Telegraph.—Press Aasociition.) P '. Westport, July 4. fv' A fire, which occurred at 2.15 this morning, i '-. . gutted ■>, a tobacconist shop :in Palmerston j Street, occupied by Mr. Watts, and owned f:-, ; by ■ Mr* ■ Munson.... -It also . did: some damage i. to . the:; adjoining , building, ■ owned by -Mr ■ t Munson, and occupied by Miss Adamson, s v : :rfruiterer. i ,: l A;:building on : the other ' side of i,; Mr. Watts's, owned and occupied by Mr. Leaver, saddler, with £200 worth'of new stock, was damaged:, Mr: Munson' was in- - Bured.for £200. on each of his. buildings: Mr. Watts, £300 on. the stock ; Mr: Leaver; £300 on the, building, and £200 on the stock. A firo also broko out in the bedroom' bf : Mr. J. Macnamara's house, at the other , end of the .town, but was extinguished before ■ «•, : : ...much damage was done- Mr/ W--M'Namara, ' '■ / slept. in the -room, was almost suffo- - jr u' byv smoke, when his brother discovered ■ f ' him, and extinguished • the fire t HOUSE BURNED AT AWAPUN!. • • (By Teleeh>ph.—Special Correspondent) i } _ Palmerston North, July 3. . • T-- Shortly .before 4 o'clock on • Friday afterp'i,--: Boon, the commodious fourtoen-roomed resit . donco at Awapuni occupied by Mr. C.-Wood- | ' ley, bnt previously occupied by Mr. S. W. r • Lnxford, was totally . destroyed by firo, toj . together with the bulk .of its contents, also an S adjacent shed- in,.which a qaantity of apples i. - Bnd potatoes woro stored. The firo, which is 0 attributed to a gust. of . flame from tho v chimney .sotting fire to. some clothes which ■' ; . wero being dried in front of the. fircplaco,'' ' . building being a wooden one, it had such a hold whea discovered that: f. was impossiblo to, get.to tho telephone and : hro and a messenger had £ ... to bo, sent to the abbatoirs on Maxwell Line, ' whence y tho brigade waa communicated , tho . spot was beyond tho !•: ; . borongb_bonndary, no time, was lost in hasten- ' ; J? 5 . 10 fi , ro ' but 80 fiercely had it burned ' / that only the ohihineys woro left standing f • • when the ibngade arrived. The firemen' wero 1 . greatly hampered by tho want of water | , supplies having to be drawn in .• btrcbots • -from... the ' stream in '■■ tho f vicinity. However, they were succcssful Mn saving a two-roomed cottage and tho ; S . flames, were, prevented to the j. ■,-.. long ranga-of outbuildings, stables, etc. At g,-. the timo of tho outbreak, Mr./TV T oodley and K ■■■■<■'. -all his employees were engaged in their ordinary duties.on the farrri, sonio chaff-cutting p'V..\. : and others milking. Woodley, it(ap- :: .c"pears, had, gone out to speak to some of tho ?...:■, latter, and when Bho returned she found that p, the firo had started; Sho at onco gave tho t •••/ alarm,' but it .was impossible to .stay tho } flames, . .which , swept, all beforo them.. Included in .tho .loss, are- the- pedigrees'^of f;,,,: the purobrol. Ayrahiro cows upon the. plaoe,' ! some,of which .extended back to tho original : - cattld imported. ■ ; from . tho - Old Country. . Several other valuable records were ako 1 burned. One.of; the employees had..a Ear-.' } , row_;escapo from serious injury, if not loss of.lifo, in an.attompt to save his property. ; When tho alarm was given,- he rushed to :' his room on tho upper floor, but tho smoke ; became thick and heavy so rapidly that he . was unablo to get downstairs, and was s .;■ ... forced, to jump from tho .window. He es- ; capod with a strained knee. Tho-'insur- ■ ances total £8-55. On tho houso there was i ... ....'a risk of £400 in the Commercial Union, and |tho contents were insured: for £350 .ill i :: s the samo office, whilo there was £50 on the small cottage.which was saved, and £55 on r the .out-buildings. . ( ' ■