EARLY MORNING FIRE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4830, 15 May 1925, Page 3

EARLY MORNING FIRE.

STABLE AND CONTENTS LOST, TWO CARS DESTROYED. A fire which caused heavy damage broke out in a stable on Old Te Arolia Road, Paeroa, owned by Messrs Thorp Bros, and occupied by Mr A. W. Curtis during the early" bourse of yesterday morning. Included in the articles destroyed by the fire were a 1917 model 5-seater Chandler car, a 5-seater Chevrolet ear. an Indian motor-cycle, several sets of harness, .a heavy dray, a complete blacksmith’s outfit, and a quantity of chaff, oats, bran, and contracting tools and accessories. The origin of the fire is a mystery. Mr A. W. Curtis, junr., returned from' Paeroa soon after 11 o’clock on "Wednesday' night and.drove the Chandler car under cover of the stable. As the Chevrolet car was housed in the stable there was insufficient room inside for the Chandler; and Mr. Curtis, • as had been his practice, had the Chandler under cover of the building only as far as the wind-screen. When he left the stable everything appeared to be in order, and he had experienced no mechanical defects in the car on the journey home. Shortly after 2 a.m. Mr A. Coxhead, who lives some distance across the paddock,, was aroused by the sound of the fire, and he ran across to Mr Curtis' house and .aroused the inmates. ,On arrival at the scene the stable was found to be burning fiercely, and it was impossible to save anything owing to the smoke and heat. The Chandler- car had the appearance of having been burning fon some time, and probably before tlie building and its contents caught alight, judging by the hold the fire had on the framework. Prom the outset the chance of saving the building and contents was regarded as hopeless, and though rain wap falling heavily at the time a stiff easterly wind was blowing which increased the intensity of the fire. The stable, which was valued at £9O. was insured in the State Fire Office for £3O, and Messrs Thorp Bros, estimate their loss at over £lOO. The Chandler car was insured by the Pacific Motors, Ltd., Auckland, but the amount is not known. The motorcycle was uhinsure'd. Both the Chandler and the motor-cycle- were the property of Mr. Curtis, junr. The plant, horse feed, and Chevrolet car were the property of Mr Curtis, senr., arid the only insurance was a policy for’£lso on the car held by’ the N.Z. Insurance Co., Ltd.