FIRE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 920, 19 November 1910, Page 3

FIRE.

PUBLIC HALL TOTALLY DESTROYED. Local residents were aroused from their slumbers at about halfpast twelve on Thursday night by the clanging of the fire bell. The outbreak was In the Public Hall, which was totally destroyed. All Saints’ Bazaar had been brought to a close at about half-past eleven, when the lights were extinguished and the hall locked up by Mr Woods. At that time everything appeared quite safe. Mr Golder, who was among the last to leave the hall, on reaching home remembered he had some letters to post, and it was on returning from the post office that he noticed smoke arising from the back of the hall. He ran down, and finding that the building was on fire, rushed to the fire-bell and rang out the alarm. Mr F. Woods was one of the first to arrive on the scene, and knowing there were some animals in the hall in connection with the bazaar, immediately released them and turned them into the adjoining paddock. By this time a large number of residents had arrived on the spot, but the fire had too big a hold for those present to do anything in the way of extinguishing it or saving any of the goods left over from the bazaar which still remained in the hall. Luckily, it was a still night, otherwise some of the adjacent buildings must also have been destroyed. As it was, the fire at times threatened them, and bands of workers were busily engaged with buckets, etc., to keep them from taking fire. Within a quarter of an hour after the first pealing of the bell practically the whole of the male portion of Foxton’s population, and a good number of ladies, bad arrived on the scene, but all that could, be done by the large concourse present was to stand idly by and watch the devastating flames take absolute control. For a full half hour the firebell continued to clang, and only ceased when the fire had practically demolished the building. In less than an hour after the outbreak all that remained standing of Foxton’s Public Hall was the chimney. The building was insured in the Alliance office for ,£350, but the owner estimates that the amount will not anything like clear his loss over the fire. Some little time ago the building was improved by the addition of a supperroom at the back of the stage at a cost of something like ,£IOO. The stall-holders in connection with the bazaar have all suffered loss through private goods used for exhibition purposes being destroyed. In this connection, some of the ladies lost valuable items of furniture and nicnacs that it will be impossible to replace. All Saints’ Ladies’ Guild estimate their loss of unsold goods at anything between ,£25 and ,£4O. Mr Morley, the caretaker, is also a sufferer, all his tools, etc., having been destroyed. As far as we can ascertain, the fire started in the room containing the copper, which adjoins the supper room at the back of the stage. Mr Woods states that when he arrived on the scene the fire had a big hold in the copperroom, and was just bursting through on to the stage. The hall was owned by Mr C. H. Symons, of Whirokino. By the destruction of the Public Hall, another of Foxton’s old buildings has been destroyed. It was built somewhere about 1877. As far as we can ascertain, the land on which the building is erected was handed over to five trustees by the late Mr A. J. Whyte for the purpose of having a hallerecttd. The trustees were the late Messrs E. S. Thynne, Young, J. W. Liddell, A, J. Whyte and A. Gray. By an arrangement come to with a company formed in Wellington, the hall was erected, but it was not a paying concern, and some little time later the trustees found that it could not be carried on, and it eventually fell into the hands of the late Mr Izard, senr., solicitor, of Wellington. From that time the ball has changed hands on a number of occasions, eventually being bought by Messrs J. N. and C. H. Symons. On Mr J. N. Symons’ removal from the district his share was bought by Mr C. H. Symons, who was the sole owner at the time of the fire.