THE FIRE IN PRINCES STREET, DUNEDIN

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1895, 2 September 1874, Page 2

THE FIRE IN PRINCES STREET, DUNEDIN

I j „.::. . ;■-;- : ; ■ «■■•-- - • r.:-.- ':' .!1 r ? ?j" 1 j [GUARDIAN, AUGUST 24;] : ; • On Saturday, hundreds visited the scene of jthe fire on .the premises of - Messrs i 'i (xujthrie and Larnach. Hundred too, ;who,/r having been present when it raged fiercest, could hardly have failed to contrast with the) calm of day the hurry, the confusion, -;: and the din of early morning. Scorched and blackened masses showed how mercilessly the 'fire had done its work"; smbul-'3 dering and hissing tiriibers indicated an ■•!.' extreme unwillingness to relinquish its ■ prey ; long lines of serpentine-like hose' * : lay j here and there, suggestive'of the'-peril.;-that had 'passed ;^ '" w , n '? iß the fatigued 'and. ~J_ almost exhausted appearance, of Captain . ''' Waiii, and his hard- working; and gallant ; . , barid, together with the armost'untouched " " -a'prjearance of adjoining buildings, presented additional evidence of their great value as a fire brigade. The fire' was first discovered by Alfred Hamilton, the nightwatchman at Messrs Guthria and .Lar-."~yr j nach's, after going the ' round of the ■.:■■- premises between a quarter arid : half-past' " : 3 o'clock. "He first saw flames, abpiit '^f t / ; high, issuing from the vinity of .the.b'oilet^ ;.a- --; siluated at the north-side' of the^ building.; The' exact spot where the fire, was snp- "~ ■'"' posed to have originated was carefully examined by hiiri about half-an-hour before it was .discovered. On observing the .first ~ indication he v ran up the yard/, opened % thef front gate, aud gave the alarm.' x afterwards turned ori r the water) and.Wv..., deavored 1 to extinguish theifireby playitig 1 ; oh ; it with the firm's' hoselV' His efforts,. iii; however, as : theresult proved, were futile.! .'.. Near the.: spot-Where' the fire broke l .put^^J ..were shavings and light timber." The J flames quickly Bpread-from one piece of timber to another, "leaping higher, higher, . higher," until the scared. watch-.. — man, with his face badly, scorched, was .compelled to retire."' Soon a great 'deal of the ! closely-packed inflammable material " r was. all' aglow, and soon tcib the appear- ' > [I ances were most, alarming. . , A short jtime ° afterwards one portion of thelarge'chimney was ! absolutely .-red-hot, and .itj.will^be.necessary, it is. said, to take ii d0wn..,.,;.. Fanned into -greater fierceness' J by^ Q 6 " "Or"l r " pursuing w ind, the - fire soon approached X$ f •-' the Spanish Restaurant, belongingtOi WLc, - n; r, Guardiolo, a building pf three storeys, in „^ which there were 'that night* sleeping's4' ' .. persons. ; Arid now a 'scene of great 'con- :n;? fusion was witnessed. The boarders^"" 1 "' all the property of some of whom, it "" ~ a said, pecuniary and otherwise, was §,f in their bedrooms — endeavored, to "t--remove what i they t ' could before - l the flames . rushed in '■ to i;.; prevent them. , But with nothing to facilitate their progress beyond. a staircase only. about. jtft wide, they almbit of necessity: inet^ith many hindrari'ces"' while gpiug in and out of fthe building... jSome had even to get;. .-;

down from the upper storeys by means of ropes. Meanwhile the fire continued to spread with alarming rapidity. It ultimately communicated with the restaurant, and soon that, with the adjoining building, in the occupation of Mr T. W. Haworth, was enveloped in flames. The Brigade were promptly on the spot, but many complaints were made that there was a great deal too much delay in the ringing of the fire-bell. No time was lust bjr the Brigade ia endeavoring to beat back tha advancing enemy. And what a ] hissing, crackling, and spluttering was then heard ! Shortly after the last of the inmates left the restaurant, the buildings and timber ignited were one vast sheet of flame. Then, indeed, the Brigede had great difficulties to cope with, amongst them heat almost unbearable, .and smoke almost stifling. Continuous streams of water, were poured into the burning mass. The main jet was pointed the Prince of Wales Hotel, on the opposite side of the street, which building is surrounded by wooden houses. The close proximity of the hotel to the property destroyed, and the fact that it escaped almost unscorched — although protected perhaps somewhat by a timely change of wind, and the brick portion of the premises first attacked — bears testimony to the oiten admitted efficiency of the Brigade. As on all previous occasions, their efforts to prevent the spread of the fire were arduous and continuous. At last, the roof and side walls of the restaurant gave way, and then flew up from the bnrning mass an immense body of sparks that heightened in no small degree the terrible grandeur of the scene. The immigrants located at the old barracks, aided by many willing persons, succeeded in getting their clothing out of the depot ; but this building was fortunately not damaged, the fire being confined entirely to Messrs Guthrie and Larnach's, Haworth's, and the Spanish Restaurant. A number of women, half-dressed, were seen rushing about the street with children in their arms, excited and naturally much frightened. The only explanation that can be given regarding the origin of the fire is, that a spark from the engine must have fallen amongst f the timber. One of the most painful a Jesuits of the conflagration is the fact that 1: VBO men have been thrown out of employ- r ment. a While the fire was raging the Brigade had v between 12,000 ft and 13,000 ft of hose in \ use, and as many as nine streams of water s were fighting for victory with the flames b that made many people think when they a left their beds that a very great portion c of Dunedin, and not merely a part of a o block waa on fire. Fortunately, Dunedin v has an efficient Brigade, who, onSatur- v day morning, were backed up by a good v supply of water. As showing the inten- o sity of the heat, it may be mentioned ii that several of the helmets of the firemen are reported to be lit erally shrivelled I up. The following were the insurances on buildings destroyed : — n Messrs Guthrie and Larnach — Victoria & Company, L 200 0; South British, L 175 0; A Australian Alliance, L 100 0; Standard, tl L 150 0; Norwich Union, L 200 0; National, C L 2500; New Zealand, L 3000; grand a < total, L 13,750. n Messrs R. and T. Haworth — Royal p Insurance Company, L 100 0; New Zea- w land, LSOO. n

Spanish Restaurant — New Zealand Insurance Company, L 609.