FIRE AT AUCKLAND.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1194, 16 January 1885, Page 3

FIRE AT AUCKLAND.

A fire broke out at 10 o’clock on the night of January 11 in the sash factory of the New Zealand Timber Company, Custom house street, Auckland. Before it was suppres-ed the establishment was destroyed, with 1,000,000 ft of timber in the yard, the insurance on which was L3OOO in the Norwich Union, largely reinsured. The Auckland Timber Company’s mill was save I through a change in the wind, but L3OOO worth of timber in the yard was destroyed. The insurance on the factory is L 7,009 iu the South British, partly reinsured. The timber was uninsured. The Auckland Gasworks.across tho street, were in danger for some time. The Auckland Fire Brigade wprked splendidly, ‘aided by men from the Iroquis, who assisted to save the barquentine Frank Guy,of Napier, which was lying at the timber-wharf.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS. The origin of the fire is unknown. The workmen knocked off work at five o’clock on Saturday. The watchman states that it began in the top storey of the sash factory, and- ran through the building before he could get on the hose. The Fire Brigade bad eight heads of hose and a splendid water supply. Captain Sterling, of the American warship Iroquois, sent Ensign Gilmore in the captain’s gig to tender Superintendent Hughes the services of the ships fire Brigade, which were gladly accepted. The Ensign threw up a rocket, and at the signal the Irnquis cutter came ashore with Lieutenant Halsey and 25 men ane apparatus. The liberty men on shore also assisted in getting out warps on the brigantine Frank Guy, which was aground -at the timber wharf, to save her. Her sails were unbent and her rigging, topsails, and deck plied with water. A large quantity of timber and shingles i.r her vicinity were thrown into the harbour, hue it was fea ed that the wharf might catch fire and falling into the sea set fire to tho floating mass. The vessel was however saved.

It was past midnight before the crisis of the fire was over. A long and desperate struggle enauad-on the' Western side of the ; block to save the Auckland Timber Company’s factory, on the eastern side to prevent the extension of the fire eastward, which proved successful on the eastern side. When the Auckland Fire Brigade men were exhausted the Iroquis men relieved them at the hose, defending that point till 3 o’clock this morning, when the fire was well under control. They left for the ship amid the cheers of the populace. But for the splendid water supply the whole of tho timber industries on the_ reclamation would probably have been wiped out. At the outbreak of the fire, when the Auckland Gasworks were in dangar, the crowd kept, away, apprehensive, ofthe mill’s boiler bursting and aa explosion at the gasometer. A number q{. people in' town under an a terd apprtistodem, pvt oil tboir gag

fearing a gas explosion. When the million feet of timber was blazing in the New Zealand Timber Company's yard the whole country was illuminated, the steamer Clans* man, off Point Rodney, 40 miles distant, seeing the fire.

All day the Fire Brigade have still been employed playing on the immense moss of smouldering debris, extending over an acre. The _ Auckland Timber Company lose L3OOO in timber destroyed which was uninsured. The New Zealand Timber Company had only L3OOO on mill plant and stock, and thier net loss is L7OHO. Proposals for an additional L3OOO were forwarded to Sydneyjfor submission to and acceptance by the Sydney officeis, per Ringarooma, which sailed for Sydney on Thursday last. Ot course these are now of no effect. Most of the offices here had lines of reinsurances of the Norwich Union and South British risks, but the offices being closed to day, the amounts are hot known. The total damage, including the wharf partly burned, and injures to the adjacent properties, is from 1.14,000 to L 15.000.