THE FIRE AT THE SANDRIDGE SUGAR WORKS.

Evening Star, Issue 3842, 17 June 1875, Page 2

THE FIRE AT THE SANDRIDGE SUGAR WORKS.

A destructive fire broke out early on the morning of the Bth inst. at the works of the Victoria Sugar Company at Sandridge. They are situated on the Esplanade, facing the Bay having Dow street on the south-east and a right-of-way running between them and Motley’s store on the north-west. Near to the Esplanade frontage is the filtering house, tho most striking of all the buildings within the enclosed area. The walls, of massive bluestone, extend to the height of 70ft. from the ground, and comprised nine floors, while all over was a mansard roof of timber, which contained two storeys, and was surmounted by a tank of water. In close proximity to this building is tho chimney shaft, 100 ft. in height. Alongside the filtering house, and extending along Dow street, was another buildiug also very substantially built of bluestone, having three floors, and also a floor above in the roof. This building was the refining house, and in tho lower floors it contained a large quantity of valuable machinery and apparatus for sugar refining, inclusive of four vacuum pans, which cost in England L 750 each. The top floor in tho roof was known as the loaf room, in which tho manufacture of loaf sugar was completed, the room being kept at a high temperature for that purpose. This floor was closed and locked up at half-past 5 p.m. on Monday, when the day emphyis quitted work, and nothing wrong was observable than or for some houis afterwards. Owing to tha demands made for the company’s production night shifts have been worked for some time past, and about twenty-five men were so employed in the refining-nouse at about hall past 1 a,m. on Tuesday, when smoke was observed coming through the floor of the loaf-rdom. The alarm was at once raised, but unfortunately, although the main service pipe into the works is four inches in diameter, the pressure of the Yan Yean was so slight that the water could not be thrown in sufficient quantity to the necessary height to be of any service. Melbourne could not be telegraphed to; to increase the pressure, as communication had been out off, and thus much valuable lime was lost before steps could be taken to obtain a more copious supply. The pressure was only 201b at first, and when three hoses had been attached a short time it fell to 101b. In a very short time it was apparent that the refining house, with all its valuable contents, was doomed, and the intensity of the fire was greatly increased by the burning of 220 tons of sugar, which, ir. one stage or other of manufacture, was on the various floor?. The scene soon became brilliantly lighted up, as the flames rose above the chimney shaft, and the whole of Sandridge and the surrounding districts to a considerable distance was illuminated. Very' soon the flames seized upon the roof of the high filtering house, and the floors- therein were burned. ■ A casualty, the only one known to v have happened, occurred to one of tho Hotbam 1 fire brigade in connection with the filtering house. He was directing a stream of water on the burning moss, when the beams supporting , the tank at the top of the lofty buildmg gave : way* and the contents, hot water, were pmpretT’;

out. Some of it fell down the back of the fireman alluded to, and scalded him very seriously. The fire was not got under until Tuesday night. In addition to the contents of the refining-house already alluded to, there were about 170 tons of sugar in a state of syiup in the filtering-house, all of which is destroyed. The steam-engines and boilers escaped with little, if any damage, as although the former were in one end of the refining-house, they were divided from the interior by a thick wall the height of the exterior walls, and had only the roof floor above them, an i thus there was only the debris of the roof, with some bolts of Hessian for bag-making, fell upon them. The engine-house machinery is comparatively unharmed, so much so that it'WaS' believed that it could have been put in motion if desirable. The direct loss to the company will probably not be much, as the insurances on the buildings, machinery, and stock amount to about L 29,500, distributed as follows Imperial, L 3.500; Royal, 1/2,500; Derwent, L 3,000 ; Liverpool, London, and Globe, L 2,000; Transatlantic, L 2,000 ; Australian Alliance, L 2,000 ; New Zealand, L 1,500 : South British, Ll,500; Victoria, L 2,000 ; Cornwall, LI,500; National, LI,000; Scottish, Ll,ooo ; Tasmanian, L 2.000; National New Zealand, LI,000; London and Lancashire, L 2,000; Standard, LI,OOO. Still, there is the loss of interest on capital and the profits that might be made during the time the works are stopped, which may be for a considerable period, should the directors resolve to provide themselves with the latest sugar-making machinery from England, If they decide merely *2 re |- ore wor^B 3,8 they were previous to the disaster, there may be a resumption of work in six weeks or two months; but even then the 200 men and boys employed by the company will have hai too long a period of enforced idleness.