A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 461, 1 May 1912, Page 5

A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

WILSON'S LIME WORKS. On Saturday night last .'it 10 p.m. the residents of Te Kuiti were apprised of the outbreak' of fire by Ihe ringing of the fire bell in the town and a strong glare to the north-west betokened the locality of the outbreak. A number of town residents proceeded down the railway line and upon arriving in sight of the lime and metal works it was seen that the large building was in flames. Little could be done in the way of fighting the fire, but the manager (Mr J. F. Walsh) and staff, assisted by a number of local residents, prominent among whom was the Rev. A. Armstrong, did what was possible and succeeded in preventing the fire spreading to the northern end of the building, where a large quantity of coal and coke was stored. When the flames had subsided it was seen that the premises were practically destroyed. An inspection of the place the following day revealed that the whole valuable machinery which was housed in the building had been badly damaged. The planS consisted of two separate suction gas plants, one being 100 horsepower, and the other 50 horsepower; two rotary crushers: a rolling plant for crushing crude limestone; a disintegrator; a mill ftr crushing burnt lime; screens of vjarious sizes and many other facilities for the working of the extensive business. The origin of the fire is uncertain 8a the work for the day ceased at 1 p.m., and the fire was not discovered until 10 p.m. Mr J. F. Walsh, the manager, who resides close to the works, was awakened by the roar of the flames and tha fire had then a good hold on the building. It is probable that the first person to notice the outbreak was Mr H. Boscawen, manager of the dairy factory, who resides on the opposite side of the river to the lime works. On seeing flames bursting through the builidng ha rushed to the town and gave the alarm by ringing the firebell. The premises end machinery were insured in the New ! Zealand Office for £2955, but the loss will be heavy, as in addition to the plant there was a large quantity of material on hand, including about 80 tons of ground limestone.