THE BRAND HOTEL FIRE.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 122, 3 June 1901, Page 2

THE BRAND HOTEL FIRE.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

BETTER FIRE APPLIANCES AND WATER SUPPLY WANTED.

(Special to Times.) Auckland, Saturday. The chief topic of conversation in Auckland yesterday and to : day was the Grand Hotel fire, and widespread sympathy is expressed with Mr and Mrs Johnston and the relatives of those persons who lost their lives. The Auckland Herald, in a leading article dealing with the wretchedly inadequate means possessed in New Zealand cities to cope with fires, states :

“ Surely the appalling calamity which occurred yesterday morning in our midst will result in some effective steps being taken. to obviate such shocking events in the future. The history of Auckland in connection with this subject is simply disgraceful, disgraceful in the first place to those who have been in power , in civic positions, and disgraceful to every citizen who tolerated such criminal neglect of duty. Have our means of extinguishing fires advanced in the same proportion as the city requirements. ? To our shame, it must be said that they have not. - Thoy have actually gone back. It can scarcely be said that Auckland has a fire brigade at all; simply because the firemen are furnished with appliances that would bo inadequate and insignificant for a petty village. Twenty-five years ago, wo had considering our necessities, a fairly adequate supply of water. Of late years, we have not had any supply at all fitted to deal with anything but the pettiest fire. During the dry seasons we have had of late, the water supply has fallen so low that if a fire of any size had broken out we would simply have had to look at it, and let destruction go on unchecked. On such occasions, half the city-might have been destroyed, and we should have had no water to do anything with. What a miserable position for a city like Auckland 1”

THE INMATES OF THE HOUSE. There were 22 persons in the house at the time of the outbreak of the fire. Owing to the time of the year there were very few boarders ; in fact, there were only three, and one of these (Mr Lysnar, of Gisborne), was absent at the St. George’s Rowing Club ball. The following is a list of the persons in the hotel; — Mr and. Mrs Johnston and four children ; Messrs Craven and F. Ayres, boarders ; Misses Boyd, Meyers, and Morse; David Middleton and James Grove, waiters; Jessie Minns, pantrymaid ; Henry Jones, night porter; R. W. Thomas, day, porter; George Sage, billiard marker; George Moore, page boy ; Madame Wauters, chief cook; John Schneider and Camil, assistant cooks; Dora Wallace, housemaid.

THE VICTIMS. The following are the names of those who are known to have lost their lives by the fire: — Leonora Johnston (14) Eva Johnston (13) Nina Johnston (6) Dora Wallace, housemaid Frederick Ayres, bank inspector. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Johnston’s three girls were found yesterday morning by Sergeants Forbes and Hendry, among the debris, in tho basement just below their bedroom, which was on the third floor. It was at first thought that one of the bodies was that of Mr Ayres, but when the city coroner and jury visited tho city morgue, where the bodies had been removed, they had little difficulty in coming to the conclusion that the bodies were those Leonora Johnston, Eva Johnston, and Nina Johnston. Miss Dora Wallace, the housemaid, succumbed to her injuries yesterday at half-past ten a.m. The doctors were of opinion that she must have sustained some internal rupture, but tho exact cause of death was not known. The deceased occupied a bedroom on the top storey, at the rear corner of the main building, and between the window and the pavement where she jumped, there is a drop of somo 30ft. The deceased was a valued servant of the proprietor, and was very popular with the visitors to the house. She recently returned from a trip to the Old Country, where she had been on a visit to her people. Deceased was formerly in the employ of the Hon. George McLean, who telegraphed during the day stating that she was to want for nothing, but before the message arrived she was. beyond earthly aid. Miss Wallace was a' native of Edinburgh, and has a sister living at Dunedin. Mr Frederick Ayres held the post of sub-inspector of tho Bank of Australasia, and was in Auckland making his annual inspection. He had almost completed his duties, and intended returning South on Monday. Deceased was an unmarried man of about 45. His relatives live in

Queensland. Mr Ayres was greatly esteemed by those who knew him for his sterling qualities, and his employers valued him very highly indeed. The body has not been recovered ; in fact, it seems that no organised search has been made either by the police or the fire brigade. Sub-Inspector Mitchell, when seen with regard to the question of a police search for the body, stated that no action had been taken in the matter, owing to the fire not having yet been extinguished, and the debris being so hot as to make it impossible for anyone to interfere with it. He further said that as the fire brigade still remained fn charge of the ruins, it was for them to take the initiative, and not for the police to interfere. CONDITION OF THE INJURED.

Miss Boyd is very badly bruised, is 1 suffering from shock, and it is possible there may be some internal injuries. Miss 1 Morse sustained a fracture of the arm at 1 the elbow, a punctured wound on the knee, and is severely bruised all over. Bliss Meyers is suffering from general bruising, and in this case also there may possibly be some internal injuries. From particulars gathered, it seems that when the ladies awoke to their danger the flames had already penetrated to their bedrooms, situated next to the Masonic Hall, on the top floor, as when they rushed to the door they found escape in this direction cut off. This left them no other means of exit but the window, and Miss Meyers naturally

showed some reluctance to cast herself out of the window, which meant a drop of about 80ft on to the hard asphalt pavement of the.narrovV alley-way running between the hall and the hotel. Miss Boyd, however, came to the rescue of her fellow-worker by insisting upon her taking the leap, and was thus probably the means ' of,depriving the flames of another victim. Miss Morse, as I have already telegraphed, was a Gisborne young lady, and was much esteemed by Auckland friends. She held a responsible position in connection with

the management of the house. In the ordinary course she would probably have - arrived in Gisborne for a holiday by Wednesday's steamer, but had arranged to bring one or perhaps the three girls with her, and waited for the Saturday’s boat. Little did the young lady dream that on that very morning she would have had to jump for her life, that the poor little children would have been but .charred re-

mains, that the agonised parents would have been nearly out of their minds with grief, and that she herself would have leen lying at the hospital in pain of body and anguish of mind; that before the time the steamer was to start with her and her happy charges on a pleasant tour to sunny Gisborne, grave-faced men would have been sitting in solemn conclave to ascertain tho why and wherefore of the fate that was known too well, I called to mako enquiries at the hospital, and was assured by Dr Inglis that Miss Morse was doing fairly well. From what I can leam, her friends have no cause for anxiety. INADEQUATE Flßfi APPLIANCES.

It was fully fifteen minutes from the time the alarm was given until the water was turned on, and the pressure of water was for a long while far too weak to carry with any force, Jt w as noticeable that some of the streams of water could not reach the first storey windows from the ground. The pressure improved afterwards, but meanwhile the mischief was done.

A RAGING FURNACE. The scene when the fire was at its

height was wonderfully impressive. The flames roared through the building from top to bottom, great tongues of yellow fire licked hungrily at the air from every window, and the whole roof was a seethin'* mass of flame. Shower after shower of'bright red sparks' (Rifted away behind the Northern Club, and the whole city was lighted up bv Use glare of the gigantic fi rG .' So fiercely arned the flames that well within anl.mr the big threofstoroy building was gutted from end to ond. The fire practically burned itself out after thero was nothing left to burn. The bare, dismantled walls are all that now remain of one of the finest buildings in the city. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. Tho Grand Hotel, built on one of tho best sites in the city, with a lovely view of tho harbor, was an imposing-looking structure, three storeys high. It was completed by Mr F. Gaudin on April 21, 18S9, to receive the Governor, Lord Onslow, and his wife, who had arrived that day from England. The first two storeys were of brick, but in the third the original plans were departed from somewhat, and a great deal more woodwork was used in its construction than on tho lower part of the building. This would account in part for the rapid spread of the fire in the upper storey. - INCIDENTS.

When the man went to the hotel yesterday to arrange for the now fire escapes, Miss Meyers romarked to him that thero was no need of such things in a brick building, as they could always escape by tho big staircase. She little guessed what a death-trap it was going to prove a few hours later. One gentleman, who was outsido tho hotel when the fire broke out, states that thero was no intimation of the danger until smoke began suddenly to find its way out through several of tho windows. Then, ere ho had hardly realised the significance of tho sight, the whole building seemed to burst suddenly into flames.

The licensoe (Mr Johnston) and his wife are suffering terribly from the shock of their bereavement. They were taken to the Northern Club during the fire. Their griof was so great that they were for a time quite out of their minds, and force, had to bo used to restrain them from rushing back to the burning building in search of their dear ones. It was fortunate that tho fire occurred during tho off season for tourists. Had it taken place dnring the summer months, the hotel would have been crowded, and the loss of life must undoubtedly have been great. The cause of the fire is unknown. Captain Field, of the Salvage Corps, stateß that it must have started in tho kitchon.

The night-porter had considerable difficulty in getting the servants out of their rooms. The cook and pantry-maid had to be dragged out, as the former would persist in stopping to collect all her books dealing with the culinary art. At the commencement of the fire, when the assistance of tho brigade and ladders were required, one might have observed a novel sight, fitting only for a small country village—men doing the work of horses, laboring hard to get thoir appliances up tho rise of Victoria street and

through the park. Mr Hilton Lysnar was tho recipient of many congratulations on his escape. “ There is some good in dancing after all,” remarked a pious citizen when shaking him by the hand. Mr W. A. Bolton, formerly, of the Grand Hotel, Rotorua, has opened temporary premises on the corner of Princes street and Waterloo Quadrant, where ho will carry on business, on Mr Johnston’s account, for somo time. Nearly every branch of the Bank of Australasia throughout the colony has forwarded a wreath to be placed on tho coffin of the late Mr F. Ayres, whose body has not yet been found. MESSAGE OF SYMPATHY FROM THE PREMIER,

His Worship the Mayor (Dr J, Logan Campbell) yesterday received the following telegram from the Premier, from Wellington : —“ Have just arrived from South and' it was with regret I heard of the Grand Hotel being destroyed by fire, and the sad loss of lifo and injury to tho inmates. Kindly convey to bereaved relatives and sufferers my heartfelt sympathy. It is very sad indeed. I feel deeply for the sufferers.”

THE INQUEST,

The inquest on the bodies of Mr and Mrs Johnston’s three daughters, and on the body of Dora Wallace, was opened yesterday afternoon by Mr Gresham, coroner. The following gentlemen were on the jury : —Frederick Downard, house agent, Parnell, foreman ; George Court, draper, Queen-street ; Thomas Bernard, draper, Queen-street; Win. Martin, accountant, Porter and Co.’s ; Francis Alexander Twiname, agent, Dcvonport ; and JohA Boyce, draper, Queen-street. The inquest opened at tho Central Hotel, where the jurymen were sworn in. Tho coroner and jury then drove to the city morgue, where the three bodies found among the debris at the hotel were viewed. 1 They were all frightfully charred and unrecognisable, but all were female bodies, the statement circulated earlier in the day that one was tho body oi Mr Continued on fourth page.