FIRE AT ARAPUNI

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 248, 10 January 1928, Page 16

FIRE AT ARAPUNI

PARKED CARS IN DANGER Last Sunday hundreds of motorists made Arapuni their destination. Even as far away as Auckland people journeyed to see the wonderful sight of this huge waterway that is gradually vielding to the demands of man* The road from Te Awamutu Is rough and broken in places, and it takes about an hour of travelling at a comfortable speed. A great many cars passed over this road on Sunday, the petrol tax earned that day should be sufficient to make big improvements on what is now a decided tourist route. Owing to the large number of cars at Arapuni parking was a difficult problem, and at times the road was completely blocked. What might have easily ended in a most disastrous tiro occurred near the ransformer station in a shed housing ransformer gear. Suddently this >urst into flames, which in a few minutes were leaping 20ft in the air. ■‘Fortunately there was no wind, othervise the results would have been more serious, as close by stood barrels of transformer oil. In close proximity, too, stood about 100 motor-cars, packed together, with their drivers scattered about sightseeing. It was fortunate indeed that the efforts of the staff succeeded in quelling the outbreak in the nick of time. It is stated that a lighted match thgqjyn down carelessly was the cause the outbreak