FIRES AT MOSGIEL.

Evening Star, Issue 3779, 5 April 1875, Page 3

FIRES AT MOSGIEL.

Two fires occurred at Mosgftl on Saturday—the first at 11 a,m., when a four-stall wooden stable, the property of Mr Robert Dickie, blacksmith, and leased to Mr John Blair, who resides close by, was burned down. A number of men were immediately on the spot, but could not extinguish the fire, owing to the strong wind and want of water. Had the wind been blowing in the direction of the dwelling-house that also must have been destroyed. Mr Blair took his horse out of the stable about an hour before, and there was then no sign of fire. The stable was worth L3O, and forage to the same amount was destroyed. The fire was accidental. The other fire occurred at 2.45 p.m., when the railway station was burned down in threequarters of an hour. It appears that one Henry 1 falliday, a capenter, was sitting on a bench in the station morticing timber, and saw the engine pass several times with ballast trucks. T here was at the time a quantity of s havings in the place. Two minutes after the engine had passed on the last occasion he saw the shavings on fire, and at once endeavored to extinguish the flames, but could not do so owing to a strong wind blowing in the front of the station. Although plenty of hands soon collected, the property could not be saved, owing to the want of water. The station was a third-class passenger one, and had not passed out of the hands of the contractors, Messrs Peter Dey and William Wedderspoon, whoflose about LSOO by the fire, as the building was not insured. A spark from the engine is supposed to have fallen on the shavings and set fire to them. Some dried tussocks some distance from the station were also set fire to the same day by sparks from the engine. In all three fires have occurred in this district during the past ten days, and in each instance the parties were uninsured.