SENSATIONAL FIRE IN MEL BOURNE.

Shannon News, 11 December 1925, Page 2

SENSATIONAL FIRE IN MEL BOURNE.

DESTRUCTION OF BATHS. FLAMES SPRKAD RAPIDLY. OCTBKEAK, JN~ MELBOURNE. One of tho most spectacular fires seen in Melbourne in recent years was that which destroyed the New y Kiltla men's baths last week. ■Th- alarm was given to the fire brigade shortly before 9 o'clock at -iicht and .withm an hour only a few. -vers of burning' timber remained ••landing. So vapid was the destruction that ; it avhs practically impossible ',:. find where the lire originated. :.Miiv j-ursouß assert that an explosion ! receded the actual outbreak, but m the absence of definite authority it. v.j.'j impossible to state -what was the cause of the fire. 3t is stated by Mr. T. Politis, con-. f. ctioner. who conducts a business on Lower Esplanade .that at about I.a(> minutes past nine o'clock he saw flames issuing from windows on the lift side of the main entrance to the baths. He telephoned to the'fire brigade. Within a few minutes of its first being seen the fire, had spread with amazing rapidity, due, it is believed, to the dryness of the timber of which Ihe building was constructed, and by Ihe time the fire brigade arrived praciitMlly the whole building was a mass o' flame. i lie fire presented a picturesque rp"clacle as the leaping flames were dearly reflected in the water on i-itlipr side.'of tho building. Showers of oparks were blown by the southeasterly wind for some distance ovei tj.<> foreshore, creating n distinct element of danger among .the spectators who thronged the beach reserves and the upper and lower esplanades. ' Collayw °t the Hoof. Owing to the "fierceness with vli'ch the fire burned, the timber sup- j porting the walls and roof of the , buddings was rapidly destroyed. With a terrific crash part of the roof col ~' lansed shortly before a quarter to ten o'clock. 'The greater portion or tire burning wood fell into the bathing u.closn're, »nd the night of large burning fiercely on the watct piiMuled an extraordinary spectacle'. Uiadually other portions of the main I building collapsed. Huge sections of the weatherboard facing of the structure broke away ,and as they fell, •itriking the piles upon which tho cute- portion of the- baths is built, fi-cv were shattered into dozens of small pieces, which remained alight in the water for some time. Engine "Bogged" in Sand. In si a endeavour to quell the flames -and prevent them from reaching the Voo.len Platform leading to the baths 'at the southern end/of which the bicvl"'"stables"' arc situated, firemen \vero detailed to take a pumping en...,ne -, ii l( .. beach on the right side oi the she'd. Unfortunately the engine: tecame "bogged" in the soft saufl

and it was only with the greatest difficulty that if: was extricated. Unhampered by tho tide, which was at ebb, firemen were able to enter the sea and prevent the burning spars from igniting the piles supporting the approach to the bath::. The sight of firemen wading waist-deep in the sea caused much comm-nt among the spectators some of whom drew the inference from the actions of the firemen that an effort was- being made to rescue !-ome person who had been trapped in the building, but such was not the ease. Man Fails Off Pier. For some distance around l'lobson's Bay the fire .eouUl be seen distinctly, and the flames were reflected in the low-hanging'clouds, making the outbreak clearly visible from praencally all parts of the city and southern suburbs. Gradually the fire "burned itself out," and at 11 o'clock only a mas s of charred timber remained hanging to the piles, which had not been affected by the fire. , When the crowds watching the fire tit the St. K'lda baths were standing On St. Kilda Pier, shortly after 10 o'clock .persons near the refreshment rooms saw a. man, whose name is believed to be Adolph Gonard. fall over the edge of the pier. Another man dived into the water and rescued him. j Go~riard was taken by civil ambulance. f to the Alfred Hospital and admitted j -suffering from the effects of immersion.- . ■■■■■■■:<