ANOTHER BIG FIRE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 39, 9 November 1917, Page 6

ANOTHER BIG FIRE

HARDWARE ESTABLISHMENT IN DUNEDIN DESTROYED

LOSSES NEARLY £60,000

By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, November 8. A disastrous fire occurred at John Esmond's hardware shop and warehouse in Princes Street this morning. The cause of the outbreak is unknown. The fire originated apparently about the centre of the building shortly after 2 a.m., and the roof fell in about 3 o'clock. All the firemen iu the district were engaged. The trouble was so far-in hand by 4 o'clock as to allow auxiliaries to be dismissed. Two firemen, Goldsmith and Adarason, were thrown from ft ladder and injured. They were removed to the hospital, bub their injuries are believed not to be serious. Nothing was left of Edmond's building but the outer walls. A rough estimate of the damage is .£50,000 to the stock, and .£7OOO to the building. The Grand Picture Theatre, next door, had its interior soaked, and the damage is estimated to be nearly £1000. The Public Trust Building, next door, to the south, escaped with .£SO damage. Steele's Clothing Factory, above Moritzson's, had the floor badly damaged and the contents soaked and water-stained. The insurance on Edmond's property totals i:30,00D. Of this .£25,000 is on the stock and .£SOOO on the building. The risks are distributed fairly evenly over twenty offices operating in Dunedin. The insurances on the Grand' Picture Theatre were .£4500.

TRAINED FIREMEN TAKEN FOR WAR

WARNING OF BRIGADE SUPERINTENDENT. Dunedin, November 8. ■Referring to the fire at Edmond's this morning, Superintendent Napier, of tho City Fire Brigade, said the community had received a severe lfsson. The firemen did excellent work, but -were mostly new hands without the training to cope with a fire of such dimensions. The military had taken from the brigade a number of experienced men 'whoso loss was very much felt. The superintendent said he warned the Military .Service Board at the time that it was making a mistake in Taking the trained men, and now the warning had been verified.