SPECTACULAR BLAZE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 117, 15 February 1928, Page 12

SPECTACULAR BLAZE

OTAHUHU JOINERY DEMOLISHED Dominion Special Service. Auckland, February T 4. A spectacular fire which raged for an hour last night totally destroyed the joinery factory of Thomas Clements in Great. South Road, Otahuhu. The damage is estimated at £7OOO to £BOOO, and a number of employees in what is known as an old-established and extensive business' will be. thrown out of work. . When noticed by a small boy about 6.40 o’clock,-, the fire, which originated in the engine room on the ground floor of .thi . large two-story wood and iron building, already had a strong hold, flames were coming through the roof when the Otahuhu brigade commenced work under the handicap of an indifferent water pressure, and for a while the flames, fanned by a light northerly .wind, gravely menaced adjacent buildings. In a few minutes.' the joinery factory, containing extensive stocks of valuable timber, a fibrous plaster installation, paints, builder’s sundries, and, on the first floor, a valuable quantity of machinery, much of it new, was a holocaust of flame. ' Dense volumes of black smoke drifted away, overhead, attracting a huge crowd ■■ of people. The heat and—smoke —were..such...that. several of the fire-fighters lost consciousness and were Tendered first aid. One end of -a line of stables extending back to the joinery was ablaze, but the demolition of a shed had created an effective .file break in this direction. The ' wind veered to the west, and at once the situation was in hand. The. spectacle was heightened when great pieces of machinery crashed through the fire-rotted first floor- to the ground, and, even in its dying stages, a little after 7.30, the scene of the conflagration presented the arresting sight of something like half an acre of flames still eating up the debris. The joinery structure was completely destroyed, ’ but the portion of the stables burned was of little value, being in a condition of decay. Only to-day plumbers were engaged in the installation of an automatic firesprinkling device which was not completed when the fire swept the building. Mr. Clements employs about. 130 hands, of whom 18 or 20 worked in the factory. While the majority of the employees engaged on “outside”-jobs vill probably be retained in work, it is patent that a few will be thrown out of employment. OWNER ’A' HEAVY. LOSER. BT TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION. Auckland, February 14. The insurances on the joinery factory were £5OOO in the Alliance insurance Company on the timber and workshops and £7OO on the other buildings. Mr. Clements will be a heavy loser, as he estimates his total loss at £BOOO. CHURCH BURNT DOWN. Telegraph —Press association. Greymouth, February-14. -A'-fire destroyed the Totara Flat Presbyterian Church yesterday afternoon. The origin :.of the outbreak is a mystery. •It was'an old building, but well preserved. - The insurances are unknown. A fire early this morning . wrecked the fruit shop of S. Mclvor in Tainui Street. The damage to stock and the fittings is estimated at £3OO, and the damage to the building at £2OO. The building is.owned by Mrs. Lynch. The insurances are not available. The need for protection against fire loss is obvious. Consult the Mercantile and General Insurance Company Ltd., Panama Street, Wellington.— 'Advt. ' / 2 '