Fire near Wellington.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 251, 25 September 1883, Page 2

Fire near Wellington.

; A NARROW ESCAPE. ! A SUSPICIOUS OCCURRENCE. ,-, (Wellington Paper.) : A boarding-house at Tawa Flat, on the Porirua-road , the property of Mr F. Greer, and occupied by Mr Edward Mnllens, was barnt to the ground at Tawa Flat, early on Sunday morning, and the inmates fourteen navvies, work;* ing on Mr Danaher's railway contract had barely time to escape, none of their effects being saved. Full particulars are not yet to, hand, but the little that has transpired fends to lead to the conclusion that a most diabolical outrage has been attempted. It appears that one of the navvies was awakened by {lading the wall next to him unpleasantly hot, bit; thinking that there was no cause for danger he did not give an alarm until he found that the heat was increasing rapidly. A few moments sufficed to. arouse bis mates. On making for the doors it . was found that they had one "and all been carefully fastened, and that they could only be opened by violent means. This alternative does not appear to have struck any one of them, for the acoount, given, us, and which appears to be perfectly reliable, states that all of them made their escape by getting up the chimney. The ,cx>k of the establishment was sleeping m a leanto, and he was got out by one of the men bursting* open the door from the outside. The men saved nothing whatever of their clothing and effect/except what they had on, and one pair of trousers. These aame m very handy, as their owner was enabled to proceed to a neighboring store, and procure a supply of clothing for his less fortunate companion!* Nothing definite is known as to the cause of the fire, but the fact that the doors were closed, and that; ordinary means of opening them had been removed, lead to a suspicion that it was the ,work of an incendiary, whose object was' not only to destroy the building, but also to take lives. .Detect tive Chrysfar was despatched to the scene m the afternoon, bat,' though he returned last night, no further, par^ ticulars'ha've been made known. : The occurrence will no doubt be made the subject of a most searching inquiry. !