EXTENSIVE CONFLAGRATION. SEVEN SHOPS IN VICTORIA-STREET DESTROYED OR DAMAGED. NARROW ESCAPE OF THE INMATES. LOSS EXCEEDS £5,000.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 48, 3 May 1884, Page 6

EXTENSIVE CONFLAGRATION. SEVEN SHOPS IN VICTORIA-STREET DESTROYED OR DAMAGED. NARROW ESCAPE OF THE INMATES. LOSS EXCEEDS £5,000.

(Froni the " Auckland Star," April 28.) The peaceful slumbers of the residents in the city and its immediate vicinity were again rudely disturbed at a very early hour this morning by the ominous peals of the various fire alarms. That the outbreak was one of a more serious character than usual was indicated by the brilliant glare which lighted up the heavens and enabled people living so far away even as Ponsonby to dispense for the time with such means of illumination as candles and gas. Dense volumes of smoke ascended above the sheets of flame, and the appearance of the conflagration as viewed from a distance was grand in the extreme. The time was comparatively early— scarcely an hour after midnight— and crowds of people who had been aroused from their slumbers by the clanging of the bells hurried in the j direction of the fire. The scene of the outbreak was feund to be a large block of comparatively new two-story shops in Victoria-street West, immediately below its junction with Nelson-street. So closely are they situated to each other that they might almost be called attached. The seat of the fire was a fruiterer's shop in the centre of the block, occupied by Mr Gadd.

Operations of the Brigade. When the Fire Brigade reached the scene of operations this place was completely in the possession of the flames, which had extended to the premises on either side. There wa3 no chance of saving Gadd's, and but little hope of preventing the further spread of the devouring element. But the Brigade went to work with a will. Several leads of hose wore connected at various points, and a copious supply of water was immediately available. One jet was played upon the centre of the fire, while the others were utilised for the prevention of its spread. The direction of the wind was from the north-eastward, so that the liability of the premises on the western side to be destroyed I was greater than that of those above Gadd's. On the western side were the shops of Mr Carr (boot and shoemaker), Mrs Kirkman (milliner), Messrs Richardson Brothers, (bicycle machinists), and Mr Johnston (ironmonger ; while on the eastern side Mr Slaney (jeweller) and Mr Summers (tobacconist) carried on business. Slaney's and Carrs shops had taken fire before the Brigade arrived, and thence the flames extended to Mrs Kirkman's, and eventually to Richardson's and Johnston's. As we have already said, the supply of water was good, and the effect of the steady stream directed upon the burning buildings was soon apparent. Yard by yard the ground was contested, further progress of the fire was prevented, and after an arduous struggle the Brigade had the gratification of extinguishing the last expiring embers within almost the same limits as were occupied by their natural enemy when they appeared on the scene. During the progress of the fire the Salvage Corps, Naval Artillery, and spectators, amongst whom was His Worship the Mayor, worked zealously in the removal of goods from the buildings in course of destruction and in danger.

Discovery of the Fire. The fire was discovered at 12.40 a.m. by Mr Gadd, who was asleep at that time. • His wife was attending to the baby, and he was awakened by her movements. Hearing a crackling noise, he proceeded downstairs, and found the dining-room and kitchen full of smoke. There was a clothespress on one side of the fireplace, and flames were issuing from it. He immediately retraced his steps upstairs, and aroused the family and several lodgers, who all succeeded in making their escape, but without saving anything. One of the boarders had a novel experience. Satisfied with the comforting warmth afforded by his bed, he affected to disbelieve the alarm, and delayed so long that when he was at last convinced that the place was on fire, it was too late to escape by the natural means of exit. He, however, succeeded in getting outjon to the verandah, and reached terra jirma in eafety with the assistance ot the verandah post. Mr Gadd lustily called out *' Fire?" and a boy named Ellis Robinson, living several doors further down the street, hearing the alarm, ran down to the Freeman's Bay fire-bell and gave the signal to the central station.