SAWMILL ON FIRE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 79, 27 December 1937, Page 8

SAWMILL ON FIRE

Afternoon Blaze in Heart of Hastings BRIGADE'S HARD TASK Buildings, machinery and motor lorries and a quantity of sound timber were burned when fire broke out at the sawmill of Gordon W at;^, Ltd., in Nelson street, Hastings, at 2.15 o'eloek this afternoon The fire comnienced with startling suddenness and had gained such a hold when the brigade arrived on the scene that it was impossible to do anything else, other than to prevent its spread to neighbouring buildings, and other timber stacked in the yard. A taxi-driver, Mr W. G. Love, first sawthe blaze; He stated that he had been. to pick up a "fare from a nearby house and when he first arrived there was no sign of a fire. Within a few minutes, however, flames had broken out in the centre of the saw-miU and the fire spread quiekly. The alarm was given by telephone from a house opposite. Before the arrival of the brigade a large crowd had collected at the scene and this grew in numbers as time.progressed, until there must have b'een 200 watchers. The blaze was fanned by a fresh breeze from the east aiid dense clouds of smoke rollcd far across the western portion of the town. The brigade did good work in checking the spread of the flames, but the two leads of hose employed were not sufficient to extinguish the flames in the building. There was no one working at the mill when the fire commeneed.