WOMEN ALARMED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 491, 22 October 1928, Page 1

WOMEN ALARMED

FIRES AT PAPATOETOE THREATS THROUGH POST NIGHT WATCH BEING KEPT In less than three months there have been 11 serious outbreaks of fire in the Papatoetoe town district. It is believed in some quarters that these fires have not all been accidental and incendiarism is suspected. Tlie womenfolk of the district have become alarmed and some of them are afraid to go out at night. The latest sensation is the fact that one resident, owner of a store in Station Road, the main street of Papatoetoe, has received a threatening anonymous letter. One day last week Mrs. A. Bullen, who owns a drapery and fancy goods store in Station Road, received through the post a typewritten unsigned letter telling her to be prepared for a fire as her premises were next on the lijst to go up in flames. The writer of the letter went on to say that Mrs. Bullen’s premises were an eyesore to the business part of the district and that they would be removed by fire. Naturally Mrs. Bullen became alarmed and has been in a terrified state ever since. Her store is of wood and highly inflammable. Other women in the neighbourhood have algo been alarmed. The police have been making inquiries and are keeping a sharp lookout at night. Members of the Papa-* toetoe Fire Brigade have also been on their guard and have been doing extra night duty. .Recently the Papatoetoe Town Board spent over £ 500 on the purchase and equipment of a fire engine. ! This has been in fairly constant use during the last few months. Yesterday afternoon a six-roomed house in the district was destroyed to fire, and this fact has not helped to allay the fears of the women residents.