FIRE AT THE EXCHANGE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1952, 8 January 1914, Page 5

FIRE AT THE EXCHANGE.

WIRES SE.COM,E PUBLIC INCONVENIENCED. : Some inconvenicuco to.. telephone users in 'the city was occasioned yesterr day through a tire, occurring at tho Telephone- Exchange at about 7.30 in the morning. Tho outbreak was caused through a bunch of telephone, wires outsido the exchange falling on to a hightension tramway cable. TJie telephone wires at once became charged with tho high current of the. cable, and were soon red hot. Tho heat set fire to the paraffin and other substances en tho distributing framo inside, which are used for insulating purposes, and smoke and flame quickly spread to the ceiling, l'reviously, outbreaks have been checked by the stteudants, until the wire carrying the high current could bo found and the connection broken. Yesterday the echome did not work, and tho fire brigade hurried to tho scene. They found some of the telephone staff had extinguished tho fire with water.

Considerable trouble was caused by the water amongst insulating material, for it is essential to efficient working that tlio distributing frnnio should he kept dry. Tho.ftrmics did little- damage, but the task of ridding tho placo of water was considerable. All • available, men wero engaged to set things, right, and these undertook the work armed with heating apparatus, hot-air pipes, and calcium. The men worked on the job nil day and up till 9.30 last night, hut even then the task was not completed. Good progress was made, and it is expected that everything will bo in order before noon to-day. , Quite a number of wires were disconnected yesterday, but as the day progressed the inconvenience to the public lessened. The elfent was general—not confined to a'nv particular portion of the city. To". , guard against accidents of this kind a new distributing frame would hi> necessary. The present distributing frame was-'imported'somo fifteen years ago before it Was necessary to guard against contact with high-tension tramway cables. Had that necessity existed at the. outset the frame and wires would have been provided with fuses, in tli3 form of short lengths of wire, which -would fuse and break the circuit if a higher current'than was safp came along by any accident. Tin's would haw nrorpnt""! anv wires from becoming'red hot and setting fire to the frame. Onco the frame and all its wires wore installed, however, theso fuses —there Tvmid havs to !>e 10.000 of them for 5000 vires—could not hp put in because of space limitations and other reasons.