STEAMER ON FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1912, 21 November 1913, Page 7

STEAMER ON FIRE.

* BLAZING WRECK OFF ISLE OF WIGHT. Ie ' ' s PASSENGERS AND CREW SAFE l P 10 10 By Mecraph—Press Association—Copyrieh . London, November 19. n The steamer Scotsdyko (2622 ton: 'i gross), owned by Boss, Allan, and John >- ston, of Glasgow), bound from Soutli Africa to Sunderland, with a cargo ol o esparto grass, caught fire olf St. G'atli--0 erine's Point, Islo of Wight. A remarki- able spectacle was witnessed from Vente nor. v Several of tho crew wero hemmed in s tho forecastle,- and hail a marvellous s escape. They daslied through the - flumes. Ono was badly burnt. s Captain Grigor remained on the - bridge.-until it burnt under him, and ; the engineers stuck to their posts ifi 1 dense smoke until the vessel was about ) to be abandoned. F The battleship Iron Duke,'in a heavy ! sea, took off all, including the captain's ' wife, twp passengers, and'twenty-four ; of a crew. ..." > The S'cotsdyko is aflame from end to ■ end. A hulk is towing her to the Islo of Wight. ! ON THE BURNING STEAMER BALMES. ! CAPTAIN'S TERRIBLE ORDEAL. • New York, November 19. ' The Cunard liner Pannonia—which • took off tho passengers by tho Spanish ' steamer Halmes (3794 tons gross), when '• the latter,caught fire near Capo Race, 1 and afterwards accompanied her to ' Hamilton, Bermuda, where tho 'flames were extinguished—reports that Cap--1 tain .lluiz spent' live /sleepless nights while the Balmes burned, and he ■ steered his ship to Bermuda. ■ ' ' The . wireless operator, Miohaicala, worked night and day receiving. messages .from : tho Pannonia before succour arrived. No othfer person on hoard understood English. ! : After the crew had become exhausted fighting the flames before tho Pannonia came to the Balmes's aid, a mechanic named Abornies-led somo of the passengers into the blazing hold and fought the fire for an entire day. Close upon the thrilling events-of the Volturno disaster, the cablegrams from overseas have reported/ with alarming frequency, various outbreaks of fire in midocean/ In 1901 Lloyd's appointed a special committee to inquire into the subject of fires at sea, and tho committee had .before it a list of 627 fires, on ships ni\d traft, in .1902 and the first nine months' of 1903,. of which two-thirds occurred in port or on board ships which had arrived in port ori fire—a fire a day during a year and three-quarters. And there U no sufficient Teason to think (writes Mr. DoU-' glas Owen in the London "Daily News") that in the subsequent decade there has been any decline in numbers; more probably, he considers, there has been an increase.' Eor fire at sea is now one of the' greatest "causes of loss to the seatraders, and it is a cause which, till now, it is submitted, no adequate means have been taken to diminish.' The'first of the conclusions arrived at by. Lloyd's special committee was.:—"That the frequent occurrence of fire on hoard ship, .with the., danger to life, and the great destruction of valuable property which attend it, calls for the serious attention of the shipping community." The committee added: "That in view of the fact that scientific appliances are now available for extinguishing fires ; on board ship promptly, effectually,- dnd ordinarily without damage to ship or cargo," the principal -portsshould- ..be equipped for the extinction, of\fires-on ships in (or on arriving in) port.' Over and above the scientific methods for extinguishing fire, .are ingenious and, so far'xps is known, successful " devices' for giving immediate notice ' of its outbreak and' of its exact locality. Against explosions caused not by the heat off. a fire, but by "vice propvo" or the .nature of the .cargo carried, it is, considers Mr. Owen, difficult to suggest a remedy other than the refusal of passenger steamers- to accept cargo in the carriage, of which there is any risk whatever.' . •