BIG FIRE IN AUCKLAND

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1711, 31 March 1913, Page 6

BIG FIRE IN AUCKLAND

ESTIMATED DAMAGE: £<15,000. (By Telegraph.—'Press Association.) Hastings, March 30. A fire about t o'clock yesterday morning gutted a largo I'our-slork'd block of brirk buildings known as Kndean's, in Lower tv'ueen Street, overlooking the harbour. The origin was apparently in the vicinity ol' th« grill-room of Hie Haihour View Restaurant, on the second lloor. Tho 'dames spread with amazing rapidity, and when tlie brigade arrived, two minutes after the alarm, every Hour was ablaze. The whole f«f I tie structure was gutted by lire, with the exception of the ground lloor, where the damage is considerable owing to the deluge of water and debris from the upper floors. The building was occupied by about twenty-five tenants, tho principal being the Pacific (Jlub. Tho caretaker and firemen had rough work, and several sustained injuries, mostly of a minor character, except Fireman. Bristol), who was rather badly hurt by the fall of the lift. .

Origin a Mystery. The cause of the outbreak .is a mystery. A constable saw smoke pouring from the windows at the back of the block on tho town side. A closer inspection revealed that the flames liiul a good hold on tho first floor. Almost simultaneously the caretaker was awakened by the. crackLing, and gave the alarm. In this brief interval the flames, byway of the lift well, raged through the whole building to the roof, through which they burst, illuminating the country for miles. Mr. Simpson, . steward of the -I'ac.ifio Club, who sleeps on the top flat, had some luck in getting out by the fire escape. When the brigade arrived tho building was blazing from end to end. They got to work with the Dennis.pttnip, which threw 75,000 gallons of salt water from the sea front to the top story, but the only hope was to prevent the fire from spreading. At the end of an hour and a half the brigade had the fire under control. The walls stood well, but they will have to be pulled down and rebuilt. _ A stairway fell, while Deputy Wilson and Firemen Scott, Briscoe, and Elmsley were operating over ' the banister on the first floor, and let thein all through on to file landing below. No one was seriously hurt. ■ ' ' The Businesses Affected. The damage done is now estimated at about .£45,000, the total insurances, being somowhere in the vicinity of ,£30,000. ' In Eudban's'buildings iherc were many tenants.: Tho ground floor was taken up by shops as follow: —Fronting Queen Street: Hellaby and Co. (retail branch butcher's shop); Oceanic Fish Company s shop; Stono and Co. (bookshop); C. "Wilson (fruiterer and confectioner); corner shop, the Clobbery. (clothing store); AY. S. Meldrum (tailor);. M'Nainara (hairdresser and tobacconist). . . The first floor where the caretaker s quarters were also'situated, was occupied by the surgeries of thn,london Dental Company and by Fountain's luncheon rooms and restaurant. The second and third floors were divided up into offices, these oil the former.' being occupied by Mr. Lockie,' the Gannon Ford Shipping Company, Mr. E. Ford, A. O. Clark, Ltd., Mr. 11. Clark, the Power Boat Association, and the Christian Science Association, and the latter by Messrs. Goldsborough and M'C'onnell, Cteorgo Eraser and Son, Mr. Fisher, Mr. "W. .T. Bellingtam (music teacher), the Coastal Masters' Association, Messrs. Sutcliffe and Mounce, National Dairy Association, Mr. Barry Coney, Mr. J. E. Pipe, and the Community Distributing Company.' The top floor was devoted wholly to the requirements of the Pacific Club.

. I ■ The Insurances. , The insurances-ars-divided as follow:— Alliance office, ; National, £2000; Phoenix, JS1700; Standard, X 2000; Royal, -£2300; Liverpool, London, mid Globe, .£3OOO. ' The tenants and their, insurances are: HnllaLy and Co., butcher's, Norwich office,' i 6300; Stone and Co., shoe store, Standard, ,£750, South British ~£150; Turner and Co., clothiers, South British, ,£2000; M'Namara, tobacconist. '. Phoenix, J;2ooj fountain, restaurant, Phoenix, -£200. London Dental (Co., Phoenix, .£800; J\. O. Clark, agent. United, 4:200; Pacific Club, North British ..£BOO, State offico J2XSO.. The Secretary of-the Post Office lias received a telegram from Auckland giving somo details of the fire which occurerd in a. building adjoining the. new Post Office in Queen Street. There were a number of windows facing the burning building broken at the Post Office, and cinders plentifully bssprin/kled the roof, but no- other -damage was dono to the offico itself. OUTBREAK AT MASTERTON. ' CORDIAL FACTORY DESTROYED. . (By Telegraph.—Special Com-uponaeut.) ■ . Mastorton, March 30. A firo occurred hero y at an early hour on Saturday morning by which a cordial factory, owned by Air. C. W. Brodie, and occupied by Mr. A. Gunn, was completely destroyed. . The origin of the fire is a mystery. A heavy gale . was blowing at the time, aud the names spread to Mr. Watson's grain store, but-the fire brigade succeeded in getting the outbreak under, control. Mr. Brodie's building is said to have been insured for .£2OO, and the contents for .£3OO. .

OUTBREAK IN THE CITY. The Central Fire Brigade were called to quell'an outbreak of fire all !)0 Britomart Street at 10.20 p.m. on Saturday. It was in-a. five-roomed dwelling, occupied, by ■ Mr.'W. J. Chalfield, and owned by Mr. T. Bird, of Mir'amar. The fire had originated in a back bedroom, and it did not spread beyond this room. Tho occupants of the house went' o/it, at .7.30 p 111., and when they returned they found tho fire smouldering. Apparently it had been caused bj; an unextinguished match being thrown into a linen basket. The contents of the basket wero destroyed, and the wall paper was scorched. l'ho damage was therefore inconsiderable.