FIRE IN OHURA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8, 8 September 1915, Page 7

FIRE IN OHURA.

bridge house hotel totally DESTROYED.

The Oh lira Advocate reports that on . Saturday, August 28, those sleeping i in the. Bridge House Hotel were j awakened from their slumber by the j most thrilling cry of “Fire!” The | building— the largest in the town j contained 3‘l rooms, and within an j hour the whole structure was totally | demolished. The lire apparently broke out in the front portion of the house, in the commercial room, near the ceiling directly above the fire-place, and was most probably, the result of a defective chimney. Mr Koigard and family occupied the rooms opposite to where the fire oiiginated, and he states that he was awakened from his sleep by a crash of something falling on the floor. Jumping quickly out of bed to ascertain the cause, ho found to his dismay that the house was on fire. It appears that the flames on breaking through i the lining of the room had .severed the cord of a picture above the mantelpiece, which, in its descent, knocked a clock down, thus giving timely warning of the mishap. . . » . | All staying in the house were accounted for i Seeing there was no chance of savI ing the building, attention was directjed to getting out the contents. In ( ’this respect Air Koigard was most un- , fortunate, as after getting the piano to a place of safety, the front portion was one mass of flames, the smoke and heat being more than human flesh . could stand. Luckily it was a calm night, other--1 wise a different tale might have had to be told. The post office (on the opposite side of the road) most likely . would have shared the same fate, j As showing how quickly and quietly i* the affair passed over, not a single 1 resident, other than the boarders, ari rived there until too late to render • any assistance. .' Some of the boarders were heavy s losers. Among those who suffered ■ most was Mr A. H. Gray, who esti- ; mates his loss at £SO, besides many 1 years’ collection of articles that it i would be difficult to put a cash value ■ on. Mrs Clair-Williams was the > greatest sufferer of the lady boarders, ’ having had all her wedding presents, - paintings, sewing machine, and artic- ' les of wearing apparel stored in the i room right above the seat of the fire. : Mr and Mrs Dense also fared badly, ’ being minus of two watches, some • jewellery, and a gun which cost £l2. Air Syd. Salter, who busied himself in ’ helping others, was a fairly heavy loser by the transaction. Several other hoarders wore in a similar nosi--1 tion, only in a lesser degree. The 1 loss to some of the Imshmen who used ■’ to make it their home when in the township and leave their “Sunday-go-t to-meeting” clothes there, will he pretty considerable. The room in which these were stored was locked, s and although an attempt was made e to break the door, the advancing j flames soon rendered it abortive, and reluctantly they had to he left to their fate. |i There were thirty-two persons 1,1 s ' the house on the night of the fire.

The insurance on building and furniture amounted to £1750—£1250 in the South British and £SOO in the Victoria. Over and above this Mr Bob gard estimates his loss at about £I2OO. On behalf of those who were made homeless by the lire, adds the Advocate we (being one of the unfortunates) desire to tender our sincerest thanks to Mr and Mrs Williams, of tlie Post Office; Mr and Mrs W. K. Williams, Mr and Mrs Hutton, Mr and Mrs Sluels, Mr Walter, and others, for their kindness in providing shelter and refreshments on the occasion. Mr Walters deserve a special word of thanks, as, although ho was well patronised by at least fourteen of the male boarders, the “profits” were of a visionary nature. It is Mr Boigard’s intention to rebuild as soon as arrangements can be made, and a larger and more commodious building will take the place of the one destroyed.