TWO HUGE FIRES

Hokitika Guardian, 28 December 1932, Page 5

TWO HUGE FIRES

MILLION DAMAGES

FIREMEN’S ARDUOUS TASK United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) MADRID, December 25. Two fires of moie than orcliiw.ry iinportc.nce occurred in Spain to-day. “El Siglo,” the largest shop in tiu country, consisting! of seven buildings was burned to the ground at Barcelona while the firemen fought in bitter cowl for five hours against a Looming off-shore gale that whipped tbs llamas to save the business section of tiie city. The total loss is estimated at LI, 109,000.

Seven firemen and a. number of spectators were injured. /‘EI Siglo” contained eight million pesetas worth of Christmas toys, believed to be tiie largest stock in Europe. The blaze is said to have been caused by a short circuit on a toy electric train, although the owners claim that they received Anarchistic threats. The large stocks of toys were clue to the fact that the distribution of Christmas gifts in Spain occurs on the sixth of January, according to custom. A fire caused by an electric short circuit also destroyed a highly valued group of sixteenth century images arranged in the Misericordia Church at Murcia by a Jesuit, Brother Domingo Belran. The group consisted of figures of Saint Stephen, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Sebastian,

SEVEN CHILDREN KILLED

WHEN HOME WAS BURNED DOWN. LONDON, December 24. A fire occurred early this morning in a two-roomed house in a poor district of Birmingham, occupied by Patrick Weir, ia crippled and unemployed ex-serveeman, together with his wife arid eight of a family. They all were caught like rats in a trap. Weir’s seven children, their ages ranging from three to thirteen years, are dead. Weir was found almost naked. He had apparently jumped from a bedroom windown. He was taken to hospital with his wife and seven-months-old baby. Three firemen were injured.

FATALITY IN HOTEL FIRE

DUNEDIN, December 27

The circumstances of a destructive fire in the Waipiata Hotel on Monday night were investigated with tragedy, when the charred remains of a man were found among the ruins. It lias now been established} that & wellknown resident of the district, Mr John Hayes, single, aged 60 years of age, perished in the flames. When the flames were at their height, Hayes was rescued by two men from the building, but' it is surmised that he reentered the building for some unknown ro.,son, and was then trapped by tlia flames..