FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT PAROA.

Evening Star, Issue 3525, 10 June 1874, Page 3

FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT PAROA.

township of Paroa, at the mouth of the Saltwater Rivet, was almost eatireU destroyed by fire shortly after midnight, on June 2. Six houses were either burne. FHthi°h yed^and u! Hne yoUQ g « irl > named Eji/abeth Houghton, nursemaid to Mr dpiJ? “° r Tvf 6 i he ■ Brid?e Hotel > burnt to . Th® fire appears to have originated m the billiard, room of the Bridge Hotel, which was entirely destroyed, it then spread to the Paroa Road Board Office; a private mwi’ a new bl, ilding, which was intended for an hotel. The presence ot fi-e m the Bridge Hotel was first detected shortly before midnight bv Mr& U Connor, who saw a glare of light on the window in their bedroom looking into the bar. Lhe called her husband, who, on looking into the room where the nurse-girl was sleeping, saw that the whole house was on tire, tie caught up the youngest child and ran into the yard with it, aid in passing through Elizabeth Houghton’s room, caught her by the arm and pulled her out of bed, bn yi 3 ” f ° A l 0W , me .Tiick, or you will be bu ned. Alrer leaving his own child in the yard, he rushed m and found his wife, Miss Leudrick, the nurse girl, and one Mecklar al ogelher in the dinning-room, and rushed tor the other children, telling the grown-up people to follow him or they would all be burned. None of them had anything but their night dresses on except Mackler, who dm not undress going to bed. The heat of the burning buildings was so great that the womens linen and hair caught fire, and the smoke so intense that they could not see one another, but followed O’Connor bv the sound of his voice, and got out of the building, all except the little girl Houghton it was only a few minutes aliogether from the time Mrs O’Connor called her husband until the whole place was in full flame, and the remainder of the inmates had barely time to save their lives. The body of the deceased was found the next morning, all completely consumed by flames. It was lying as if she had rested on the bed when she died. The origin of the fire is not known, bub it seems probable that some sparks from the fireplace in the billiard-room started it, as at least on one former occasion the floor or that room was ignited by that means.