A SERIOUS FIRE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9024, 11 December 1907, Page 2

A SERIOUS FIRE.

PARLIAMENTARY BUILDINGS BURNT; A Clean Sweep. Library Alone Saved.

Extraordinary Press Association. Welliugtou, December 11. Parliament buildings wore burned at i a.m. The Library section and contents wore saved intact, but tho rest of the buildings were gutted or completely destroyed. Thero is littlo salvage. Amos Wilby, night-watchman in the buildiugs.'statcd that lie wont round tho offico about two o'clock. He passed tho office of tho native interpreters' upstairs near the corner of the Legislative Council and all was well. About ten minutes past two again lie went past and there was no sign of Arc. Ho finished his round and wont to boil a cup of coffee, then ho went to the door again and heard a' noise like a shower of rain or water falling somewhoro. fie ran up the steps and found flames in tho interpreters' room. , , Ho immediately gave tho alarm. This room is in the old portion formerly ufccfl us a library which was shortly to be pulled down. It facea Sydney street. On that sido on tho south and part of tho north front was all of wood, the rest' being ot brick.'

A light breeze was blowing from I the nor'-west, away from tho front of the building and towards the j Legislative Council section. Tlio tiro- brigade get four leads at once upon'tho burning rooms, but despite the fact that all wore plastered and that this kept back tho progress of tin* flames they could make littlo impression. THE FIRE SPREADS. Tho llro mounted upwards and -i.;„«, T ibvoueh the ceilings and roofs'"spread "to the Lower House Chamber, which became a huge furnace. '' 'As soon its that' happened there was little chanco of saving the wooden portion, the volume of flame being too great In the centre of the pile is a lobby 100 feet long with brick walls and timber roof and for a long timo the firomen maintained a stand in it hoping to force the fire back from the brick sections. TII9 smoke and heat wore most exhausting, but they stuck to it manfully even whon the roof caught and bogau to foil in bit by bit. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER TAKES EIRE.

Before 4 o'clock the fire had worked south and seized the roof of the Legislative Coune.l buildings, aud then began to devastate the res t which also became hopelessly involved, despite volumes of water poured on. Besides hydrants the Are steamer was also usou, .' Eor a long time- the brigade succeeded iu cutting off the fire from Bellamy's buildings where the division bell insisted on ringing the whole timo, but it was evident that the brick sections of the edifice whioh wove believed to he lire proof wero •■ )t securely isolated from the ■-'. '._/ structures. THE FRONTAGE FALLS. After levelling both "chambers the fire raged through 1 the handsome wooden frontage on Molesworth street, where the Speaker has his quarters, so long a conspicuous object in the city. This is all throe-storey erection, dominating the centre of the brick portion erected a few years ago in which is the main entrance, staircase and Cabinet rooms. SAVING THE LIBRARY. Into the roof tho fire crept iiii.l genuine alarm was felt for the library: This ■■building is Letter cut off than the'other brick portions and has an iron'door, but there was danger thai tho roof would catch fire and break" through' some windows on one side which projected a little. Men were sent up on the roof aud after an hour's hard work made it safe from that side. At ftrst nothing was done to remove books, but when it looked unsafe gangs of men were turned on and large quantities brought out, but they were stopped when half-way through. By five o'clock all the wooden portiou was levelled to the ground and firemen had been driven from the lobby, which was gutted. Smoke tliGn began-tb prour from the roof of Bellamy's, a three-storey brick building at tho rear of the library and it was evident hero the fiie had insinuated itself under the roof. Gradually it spread while a gang of men under Inspector Ellison emptied tho interior. But the roof fell in and the building was swamped by flames whioh raged through it for half an hour though hoses we're playing on it all round. By six o'clock every tiling was practically destroyed or gutted, except the'library, a few rooms only in some of the brick sections escaping, partly damaged.

THE LIBRARY IN DANGER, MR McNAB A HE Ayr LOSER. Had It not been for the strenuous work of the brigade the valuable Assembly library would have certainly been destroyod. About 3. SO there appeared to be no danger of the place catching fi.ro, but the flames spread through the old wooden structure cu the south towards the brick' portion'' of the building with extraordinary rapidity. When it was discovered that the roof of the library was in danger of catching fire the chief librarian do, cided to take no risks and at once gave orders to have the most valuable books in the collection removed from the building. Willing workors immediately commenced to transfer the books i.o a place of safety, but the library eventually escaped with out damage. ■■•■■-. The Premier ai:d three Ministers, Messrs Millar, McNab and Fowlds, are away from Wellington, Dr. Findlay," the Native Miuister and Mr McNab' lost many papers and do'cumonts. Mr McNab is a particularly heavy loser. He possessed a very completo library of Parliamentary papers and as he had tie? cidedjto make Parliament buildings his headquarters, his staff only yesterday completed the transfor oi! his departmental property to his offico on the second floor which lias been completely destroyed. It is also feared that, a largo unmber of historical records nave been destroyed. I

Superintendent Hugo's Story. WOODEN BUILDINGS DOOMED. Mr Hugo, superintendent of the fire brigade, in an interview stated I that wlieu lie got on tho scene ho realised that tho wooden portion of tho buildings must go. Tho brigade tried to save tho Legislative Council Chamber, but tho task was insurmountable: Tho superintendent then directed his efforts towards saving tho library ami othor portions of the main building. This was accomplished without causing much damage by water. Viewed from tho standpoint that Bellamy's is practically dismantled during the recess, the total destruction of that portion of the. building, so far as the loss of furniture and other things is concerned, docs not- mean serious financial loss. At first it was thought the brigade would bo successful in keeping tho fjro out of Bellamy's, but tho mimes leaped with'Such''fury and intensity out of the Legislative Council Ohiunbor adjoining, that human effort was powerless to stem the onslaught. A quantity of linen and utensils wero saved, but a largo portion of tho stores perished. The fire gradually burned itself out and finally nothing but tho bare brick walls of Bollainy's were left standing.

Another Account. LITTLE SALVAGE DONE. MUCH MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAVED. Constable Hodgson, on duty in Sydnoy strept, noticed tho flames in the building shortly of tor' 3 ' a. m. and wont in. Svilby %vas thou getting out tho hoso, but tho flames spread so fiorcoly that boforo ho could tnru tho wator bu ho says tho hoso was bnruotl through. Thstfi is no firoplaco iu tho room and it is not known whether anyone had, boen in j tho room during tho clay, so that tho origin of tho fire cannot bo accounted'

for. The only tiling definite is that the flames must have jumped at onco into full possession, for only a few minutes before' there was no srgu of fire. The most, unfortunate part, of nil is that in a littlo time this portion would have boon pulled [down and tho fire woud not have occurred. The building was very old and dry aud flue fodder for flames, except that it was plastered.

The outbreak was "also observed on the Oriental Bay side of tho harbor. As tho practice here is only to give a ring or two of tho bells, comparatively few people knew anything about the" firo aud the attendance was not very large. Tho possible consequence of this is that out of tho many thousands of pounds worth of furniture aud fittings very little was saved. There was ample time to take it out but there was no one to do it. Tho contents of tho Cabinet rooms were mostly secured and some of Bellamy's stuff and a few odds and ends, but that was all. Messrs McGowau, Millar, and Carroll are all burned out and Mr McNab's room was damaged. Nothing at all was taken out of either chamber aud very little from tho lobby, which was hung with groups of past Parilautents aud pictures. Tho iiro did not roach tho Upper House quarters for a considerable time and they could have- boon I emptied with ease,but there appeared I to be no one in authority to take tho work in hand. Mr Train, the contractor for tlio additions just decided on, had begun work-on tho Sydney street frontage at the bottom of the bank on which the main bnidling. stauds aud the burning timbers crashed down and set fire, to portions, burning up a quantity oi< timber, "scaffolding and tools. He is insured for £IOOO only. The insurance on tho buildingkuowu at present is £-1000 ou th<S Library and books. A Cabinet mooting is to be held at 10.30. As' Government does not follow the practice of insuring its buildings against five the loss to tlio colony is a heavy pu<i. It is possible euvious complicu; tions may arise but of tlio fire. Since' the matriculation, and junior scholarship 'examinations have been held in tho Legislative Council Chambers aud as far as can ho ascortainod [many of tho papers are among tho ruins, but it is unknown AvW-her they aro damaged or; I aOl, ...„„..,!■... I—..■■■-■'