THE ILFORD FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1963, 21 January 1914, Page 9

THE ILFORD FIRE.

j FIGHTING THE FLAMES AT SEA. (By Telegraph—Special Correspondent.) ; ' ' ' Auckland, January 20. After a somewhat sensational and protracted voyage, tho cargo steamer Iltord arrived at 'Auckland 1 early this morning from Bunbury, via .Melbourne and Newcastle, bringing : a full cargo of liard- , wood for Auckland and Wellington. The ! vessel left the West Australian port aoout the middle of December, but owing to a fire breaking out in her bunkers was compelled to put into Melbourne, where, after a most strenuous time in lighting the fire, tho outbreak was subdued on the following day. The Ilford is a vessel of 4266 tons, and belongs to the Watts, Watts Line. On her arrival ,at Melbourne on December 28 tho officers reported that for over two {lays a fire had been burning among the coal in. her forward bunker; and, despite tho efforts of her crew to extinguish it, the outbreak had not been subdued when the vessel reached Melbourne. Although the fire had never assumed sueli a serious aspect as to indicate that the .vessel was in imminent danger of destruction, the stubborn resistance which it made .to the columns of water poured ■ upon it suggested to Captain Nicollc the advisability of putting into Hobson's Bay, instead of taking risks by continuing his voyage to Auckland. Moreover,, lie and,his crew were suffering froitt'welt 5 f>rdlongcd.and strenuou'sTigtitTwitlrthe outbreak. Tlie lire was discovered at 1 o'clock on""Wednesday afternoon, • December 24., Smoke was seen issuing fronr the forward bunker, and this indicated the locality of tho outbreak. An examination disclosed that the coal (of which _about' 600 tons was stored in this compartment) was smouldcrinfi, though not in flames, having apparently ignited through- spontaneous combustion. Measures were immediately taken to grapple with the fire by the use of hoses, which poured a : steady stream of water on the burning mass. Tho thick volumes of smoke and steam bursting up in the ■faces of those engaged in attempting to,subdue the fire rendered the situation almost unbearable, but, nothing daunted, the men. continued their task, .whilst tho vessel steamed ahead at normal speed. The absence of flames among tho burning coal was to some extent reassuring, and as tho.fire fighters found that they were more than holding their own. in tho struggle, they were inspired to greater efforts. Eventually the outlook had so improved that Captain Nicolle, accompanied by some of tho crew, ventured into the burning bunker,, and began raking tho coal over, hoping in this way to facilitate the extinction of the fire. In following this course, Captain Nicolle and his co-workers.were almost overcome by tho suffocating smoke. Ultimately this work was abandoned, though tho hoses continued to pour streams of water upon the coal. Bv the time that the vessel arrived at Port Phillip an immense quantity of water, and the extra weight thus given to tho vessel, increased her draught until sho appeared to bo loaded wcill down to her Plimsoll mark.