FIRE IN ESK STREET.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 92, 22 September 1863, Page 3

FIRE IN ESK STREET.

A fire which, had it not been for a southerly wind, might have resulted in a general conflagration, took place on Saturday night in Ksk-street. A cottage, the property of Messrs Clerke Brothers, and occupied by a Mr Storey, was discovered atout eight o'clock in the evening to be in fianes. The alaim was at once given, the inhabitants of tho houses in the vicinity turnjd out, and the police, under Mr Inspector Weldon, were, with some members of the Fire Brigade, speedily on the spot. By half-past 8, tlie whole building was one fiery mass, reflecting a lurid glare upon the faces of the assembled crowds, and lighting up the trees hard-by with, an eerie brilliance. Everybody lent a hand in the work of subjugation, the -wells of the neighborhood were almost pumped dry ; and the very mud in which tlie district abounds was made use of as a fire preventative. There were so many eager and willing to assist, that a good deal of confusion was the result. Furthermore, the presence oS" individuals who had perhaps been, in the course of their lives at a fire before, and who therefore deemed it, in the height of zeal, their duty to ruslv franticly sboutand give loud and conflicting orders, was an encumbrance. The absence too of axes, buckets, ladders, and the ordinary appliances of an effective Fire Brigade, was severely felt. Such, however, of the local Brigade, including the Captain, Mr. Tully, as attended, exerted themselves manfully, and to them, as well as to Mr Eraser, carpenter, Mr. Cooper, of the Aphrasia, who at considerable personal risk remained upon the roof of an adjoining house throughout, endeavouring to prevent the spreading of the flames, and to the police, was due the preservation of the neighborhood. For a long time ineffectual attempts were made to pull down the burning house. Long poles, used battering-ram fashion, were ran against the walls, and a rope encircling the building was subjected to numerous long pulls, strong pulls, and pulls altogether ; but it was not till about an hour and a-half from the first discovery of the fire that the house was levelled. The adjacent cottages were kept saturated with water and unpleasantlysmelling mire ; and the nearest cottage of all was deserted of its occupiers and the furniture, and other contents carried out into the open. One of the owners, Mr J. Clerke, was on the spot during the whole affair, and did good service. A very active assistant was found in the person of a sable African, who threw about basin'sf ul of mud, with an energy worthy of the cause, but not altogether agreeable to those by whom he was surrounded. The fire is supposed to have originated in the upper storey, where a child two years of age had been left alone with a lighted candle. The child, we regret to say, was so severely burned, that in spite of prompt medical attendance, death- ensued. We understand that Mr Cooper, also received some injury. The house is said to have been insured to the extent of iiloO: At half past nine o'clock, nothing remained of it but a small heap of burning rafters, which speedily sputtered quietly om% and the neighborhood resumed its usual q^iiet. Had there been an organised Brigade, there is no doubt that the/ fire -would have been, extinguished in a shorter period.