Three Fires Startle Parliamentarians

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 216, 1 December 1927, Page 1

Three Fires Startle Parliamentarians

MODERN GUY FAWKES? RUMOURS OF INCENDIARISM (THE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, To-day. There were wild rumours of incendiarism going the rounds of Parliament buildings last evening after the third fire within two days had been discovered and extinguished, and it was whispered that a sort of Guy Fawkes must be prowling about. But whiie suspicious circumstances certainly attached to the third fire the other two must be dismissed as pure accident. On Tuesday a cigarette, carelessly dropped, caused the burning of some papers in Mr. W. D. Lysnar’s room, and yesterday morning a fire was discovered among some papers in the pigeon-holes in a room occupied by Mr. J. Linklater in a tower in the old wing of the building. It is thought that this also was caused by a cigarette stub on a shelf. It was easily beaten out. A fire discovered in a wood shed in the old wing about 10 o clock last evening was more serious A messenger noticed smoke issuing from the shed and on entering found a pile of wood blazing so merrily that a hose was needed to put it out It was then found that the wood had been piled up on the top of some paper and it is thought that there was a deliberate attempt at incendiarism Had the fire not been quickly discovered there would have ben serious danger to the old wing in which several Ministerial offices are situated. Detectives are making investigations.