FIRE IN THE LARGEST LINER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1883, 17 October 1913, Page 11

FIRE IN THE LARGEST LINER

GALLANT OFFICER'S SACRIFICE. The Hamburg-American liner Imperator, the largest steamer afloat, which arrived at Now York on August 27 with 3000 passengers', was the scone early the following morning of a fire which raged for live hours stnd was not extinguished until over two million gallons of water had been poured 1 into her hold and provision compartment. The fire was discovered at 3.30 a.m. in' f t]iß. : Wovision.' obmpatmeht, one deck below the waterline, just beneath the second-class quarters,. Soon the. whole stern half,of .the vessel was filled, with dense volumes of smoko. Squads of sailors, under the command ot SecondOfficor Gobreoht, wearing fire holmeta, were sent below to fight the flames. Forty-five of them were driven back to the deck, where they fell sgnseless. Mr. Gobreelit's air tube connected with his helmot became twisted, andi ho was suffocated.

It was Gobrecht who first discovered the firo. Ho was standing, on tho bridge, when, looking through a glasscovered box, ho saw a little puff of smoke coming from cue of the thirtythree tubes', each of which'is connected with a different part of the ship and acts as a silent firo alarm. Instantly he touched the button closing tho bulkhead, doors adjoining tho compartment indicated; then he touched another button which automatically directed powerful jots of steam into the burning provision rooms. 1500 PASSENGERS LANDED. "While the fire was at its height alarm prevailed among the 1500 steerage passengers; who, soon after ' dawn, were ordered asliore with their belongings. They were massed on deck, while two fireboats, aided by tho fire brigade from Hoboken, flooded flie lower-deck hold. An extraordinai7 sight met tho gaze of suburbanites as they crossed the ferries to New York that morning—the biggest vossel in the world emitting thick clouds ofl smoko from dozens- of portholes. When tho flames were extinguished at nine o'clock the vessel had a list estimated at lodeg.Tho "Daily Mail" correspondent was informed, however, that though there was 35ft. of water in the hold the departure of the vessel for Europe would .in' all probability not be delayed. - Later it was admitted 1 that, owing to the destruction l of most of the provisions, it might not bo possible for her to leave before Sunday._ The walls of the cabins and passagos in tho second-elass and tlie decorations in till© dining-room are blackened. It is _ belioved tho damage to the decorations ftlono ropresents a loss of £10,000. Mr. Gobrecht's body was recovered by members of tho Hoboken Fire Brigade. Two sailors who were at first reported dead wore subsequently found and convcyed to the hospital. Mr. Gobrecht's body was found, according to ono of his fellow-olßcors, wedged in tho. doorway of the provision room which adjoins: coal bunker No. 2. The door had closed from above as Gobrecht was going into tho bunker, and he was pinioned by it and suffocated.