Narrow Escape from Fire.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1067, 29 April 1882, Page 2

Narrow Escape from Fire.

A startling alarm of fire rang out at about 1 o’clock on Friday morning. On enquiry we found that the scene of action was the Albion Club Hotel. On arriving there we found a crowd of people already assembled, and the Fire Brigade there with their engine. Luckily their services were not called into requisition. We give the particulars as we received them from Mr S. M. Wilson. A man named King, who is master of the schooner Venus, now lying in the river, was occupying a bed-room at the Hotel, he had gone to bed about twenty minutes, when an old lady named Gillice, who was sleeping in the next, room, heard him making extraordinary noises. She got up, and opening his door, saw the room in flames. She at once gave the alarm, and the fire was extinguished by the exertions of the proprietor and some gentlemen who happened to be on the premises, before it had time to spread further. The man King was arrested and conveyed to the police station. Mr Wilson shewed us the room yesterday morning, and it certainly presented evidence of a very narrow escape for the whole house. The foot of the bedclothes, the toilet cover, and the curtains were burned completely away. The lookingglass frame, chair, table, floor, ceiling, and walls were charred in such a manner as shewed that the devouring element had obtainedagood footing. King is a well known trader here, and it is not probable that any charge of arson will be substantiated, but he certainly deserves to suffer for his carelessness. Mr Wilson estimates the damage done at from £lO to £l5. King was admitted to bail yesterday morning. Sergeant Bullen prosecutes ; Mr Brassey watches the case for Mr 8. M. Wilson ; and Mr Finn undertakes the defence of Mr King. To what extent the fire might have increased had it not been so quickly discovered and extinguished, it is difficult to say. But it is not difficult to say that unless something is speedily done in the way of supplying the town with water a recurrence of the large fire of last February is inevitable. Procrastination and apathy are doing their best to render a matter of certainty that which might and ought to be reduced to a minimum of chance.