STEAMER ON FIRE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 61, 6 December 1926, Page 11

STEAMER ON FIRE

OUTBREAK AMONG FROZEN MUTTON FIFTEEN MEN OVERCOME BY FUMES BRIGADE FOREMAN’S BRAVE RESCUE WORK (Rec. December 5, 5.5 p.m.) BT Telegraph.. press association Copyright. Melbourne, December 5. The steamer Idomeneus, en route from Sydney to London, caught fire, which was extinguished before she reached Melbourne. While the vessel was being unloaded at Melbourne the fire broke out afresh in refrigerators packed with frozen mutton. Before the fire brigades arrived volunteers attempted to quell the outbreak. Nine stevedores working on the ship and six firemen were overcome by ammonia fumes and taken to hospital. There were pathetic scenes when victims were brought on deck. Thev were seized by convulsions and rolled about in intense agony. Foreman Jorgensen went below three times in stifling fumes, each time bringing np an unconscious man. He returned a fourth time and was seized by convulsions as the result of the fumes, and fell from the ladder into the hold, where he lay for half an hour before he was rescued by firemen in smoke helmets. The ship’s hatches were sealed, and steam turned on from the ship’s boilers, in the hope of quelling the outbreak, the cause of which is unknown. Most of the cargo was removed from the vessel, the waterside workers having agreed to work overtime in order to get the mutton stored in the refrigerating chambers on the wharf.