A HUGE BLAZE

Hokitika Guardian, 17 December 1932, Page 5

A HUGE BLAZE

AT AUCKLAND DAIRY COMPANY DESTROYED. (Per Press Association — Copyright.) .AUCKLAND, December 16. An outbreak of fire totally destroyed the bulking station of 1 the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Coy., Ltd., at Cfevedon this afternoon. The building which was over 50 years old', was formerly used as a butter factory by the company, and was one of the landmarks of the district. The s'tore, a single-storeyed building of corrugated iron, was reduced to a heap of ruins while the hulk of the contents were also lost. Included in the property destroyed were 50 cream cans, each of 50 gallons Capacity and a small quantity of butter in boxes intended for the use of suppliers, and stored in the building for convenience. Personal property of the manager, Mr T. L. Ourrie, including a bicycle, clothing and money was also destroyed in the fire. The oubreak was first noticed by a number of haymakers. .Mr Currie, who had left the store only a few minutes before, was called from his house and immediately secured the hooks from ithe office, which was not yet alight. With the assistance of a number of other men, he-was successful in removing nearly 100 cream cans belonging to the suppliers. No water was available to extinguish the fire, which spread with great speed. Within five fninutes' of the first alarm, the. whole building was ablaze, the flames being fed by ten tons of coal which were in the store. Intense heat cauised the whole building to collapse, an iron chimney alone being left standing. BIG OUTBREAK IN JAPAN. . MANY CASUALTIES' RESULT. TOKYO, December 16. An enormous eight-storeyed' department store in. Shirokiya, Tokyo, was gutted.by a fire,' which begain on the third floor at nine in the morning, and spread upwards' rapidly. Celluloid' Christmas decorations helped the flames. v ., , Five hundred customers, mostly women, and children and thirteen hundred employees,, were entrapped. Many of those’entrapped, jumped to death. One hundred arid- ten were taken to the hospital, seven, of these dying. It is feared that the death roll will he very heavy. A police report states,. thirteen are at present knowtt to. be : ; killed, and twenty-eight injured including customers audl employees. 5,000,000 YEN LOSS. (Received this day at 10.15 a.m.) TOKIO, December 16. Fourtceen are dead and ninety-three iseriously injured in the' Skirokiya fire. The loss is estimated to exceed five million yen.