Estimated Loss, £10,' 00,

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 183, 18 December 1886, Page 10

Estimated Loss, £10,' 00,

Aivkj.am), Pecember 13. Shortly after 3 o'clock this morning what pioved to bo a mu't dcrruct.ve firo commenced in that portion of Upper Queendtroot betw oen East ttreot and Now ton Road. The firu begun iii a four-ro mod houee belonging to Mr Samat.l FutlarCon, who is a iabouior. He status that '.\ ith. his wife and family ho re xred \o ro-t ibour 9 o'clock list nigV, alttr caieful'y extinguishing till tiits aua lights At about 3.15, ho was awakened b} tiu .s';jo>nn? of rho children, who «!ept in r l io opposite room. He rushad ou 1 of hen, and found the children'^ loom kill ol *<m ko. He t£ofc the tauniy out, and on opening tho kitchen door he discovered iho t*hed u'ttu In d to the ! bouse to bo on iiie, arid rhe il aned proceeding up tho wall of the nou-e. lie then gave tno alarm to tlu neighbours, and in ule every possible c/l nfc io extinguish the tiro, but without succot-s, us the lire had too gieiit a hold on tho building. The *-h'±d wa.~ uced tor -tori'it. wo >d and coal ; ! ii uteo contained fl ix. The door of the shed was kept closed, but- not locked, '< lie could assign no ouu'-o -i^ to tho origin of thu firo ' The first person to notico the fiie from j tho outside was Mr H. J Baker, who resides directly opposite Fulloiton He states time being awake^od by tho glare ho rufehed across the voud without t>oota or stocking?, and entered Fn Hot ton's house. Inside he met Mr Fullertou, who was bo excited that he rushed against Baker, and knocked him head over heels outline again. Mr Baker subsequently re entered the house and assisted to coiry out some of tho children wrapped in blankets?. When ha tir-jt arrived on the he noticed the fire cieeping up the outf ide o' the house, and he is of opinion that it was 1 hUm-d underneath the weatern corner oi tho hou-e. About a quarter ptsf rhree the bell in zSymonds-etreet rang out tho alaim, which wat almost immediately hv.aici by 'he chief turncock (Mr Carlaw), nho raw the fit e from hi 3 bedroom windovv, \nd tslophoned to the central Fire Bri^ado Station He then ran acrots to tht, Norton Station to give the alarm. Mrmvnno f\ young man named Colgan paw the firo, and he promptly rang the Newton btll. Shortly afterwards Constable f'innorty, who was passing along flob^on -street, saw the firo, and x'ang the bell at the eotnor of Karangahape Road. About twenty ruinutefe afrer the firdt alarm tho Central Brigade ai rived, having been preceded by tho Non'ton and Kyber Pass Branch Brigades, under thoir lespeccive foremen. By this time the fire had destroyed Fullei'too't houpo, atid spread to an empty cottage adjoining, which is owm-d by the St, Benedict's trustee 0 , al?o to the house on the other sido, which was occupied by Mr Thomas Sealoy, watchmaker, Tho Brigade succeeded in checking the spread of th? fire in the direction of the trnpty faou?e, which was only partially dtetroyed. Bealoy'e vesi dence was quickly i educed to anhes, and the fire then seized upon tho next budding. This was a seven-roomed house, occupied by a labourer named Thomas Moyian. Ha quick had beon tho progress of tho liameb that Mr Moyian wan only able to save hii wife and eight children, leaving the greater part of the household efft utd at the mercy of the fire. Th' Fire Brigade worked well here, and succeeded in preventing the fire from reaching the next hou^e, which was occupied by a jaan named James Stewart, But now a new danger aro^e, Owing to the flamos. the strong wind blowing had almost become converted into a gale, and a ma3B of sparks was blown on to St. Benedict's Church. The first to notice tbo danger was Mr Carlaw, who, With commendable promptitude, returned to hie residence, and telephoned to Mr Gibson, the engineer at the waterworks, to got up steam and commence pumping. That was at 4.15. Mr Gibson must have acted with equal despatch, for *he increased pressure of water was observable at a quarter to 5 o'clock, but even then tho supply was too Into to cave the church. It appeals that about a quarter to 4 Eome gentlemen in Gladstone street noticed that a spark had ignited the roof in the valroy between the gableß in the church on the eiclo furthest Irom the fire. Information wan given to the firemen, but unfortunately the magnitude of the danger was not fully comprehended, and their effortd were pfcill directed to checking the spread of the fire in Upper Queen-street amongst the smaller houses. After the fire had got some hold a hoee reel was sent round, and bore another trouble occurred. Owing to the formation works going on in Gladotone Road, the ho°o reel could not got clonf?, atid some valuable time was loer in lifting the machine along, i Thou the firemen £i c covered that the Hook and Ladder Brigade had not arrived and more time was lost in gottio'g planks alongside tho building in order to ascend the unusually pttep roof of the church, All this conduced to give tho firo a firmor hold. At length a fireman reachod the roof, and the hoeo was laid on, when the climax of disappointment was reachod, for the water would not go within twenty feet of the flames. About this time Superintendent Hughes, having got tho firo under in Upper Queen tstreei, came round to ccc how the church was faring. As soon as he caw the hold tho firo had obtained, he despatched men to telephone to the station for all handß to attend without loss of time, and also to bring the Ladder Brigade along. By this time other ladders had been procured, and every effort was made to eavo the church, but without avail, ior it; was soon discovered to be also on tire in the valley on the oppoMite side of tho building. A rush was then

made to save the images and other para phemalia inside the church. If there had been any chance of saving the building, thi« unwise action finished it, tor immediately the large double doors wore opened such a strong draught was created that, in a remarkably short space of time the whole of the roof became one mass of flamo. T ho firo mon carried a, hose in.side tho building, but when tho water whb tinned on" tho strength was only sufficient todolugo them, avid not roach tho coiling whoro tho tiro \va« raging, and the deuso volumes of »moko soon cooipellod evbrybody to beat a rcrual. One of the firat thii>ge> Laved Irem tho church was a largo h'guru ot '.ho Viigin Mary, which was canied out by the bmly Father Weissel OthotM lieu rushed in and carried out a fig ure of Uhrist,haimouiuu>, altar fittings, ami a minibor ot I ho funnti. In an incredibly flhorl &p-ioe of tim-j, i,ho whole building became one i.v^ing nwa o4o 4 flames, and the intetibity of thohoat quickly drove away all peiiona to a safe thr tanco. Steadily tho fire enveloped tho doomed church, and progressed to tho Piesbyteiy and also to tho residence uf Fathor Do.\ ne\ , which adjoins. &8 the flames rueheci u\i the square tower, the yceue was mo. j t offec tive, und would have bean remarkably intoro3tiDg had it not been purebred at so large a coet. The gale canied shuwc.v ot bpaiks across to the couietoiy, arid mor« thuu once the litfclo mortuuty chapjl was firod. As shore was sotno du*tanc< from the church the bybtwiders utiippi'd oil' the burning nhiuglta and succeeded in having the building. Many of the g;a.vo fenced were destroyed by showers of ,-paikt-. which tired tbo gra&s and othor debris. Ail along Symondy-titieot tho uparki were strewn, and they even travelled as far d<i the residence of Mr McCortuick, at tho Cemotery Bndgo, tor tho roof was set, uo firo, and had it not been for a group of athletes who were making for tho Domain iho hou«o might have beun destroyed. Thy >ounij mon, however, nofcicod the fiio, and clirubing upon the roof quickly put an end to all danger. The Athencaum. When the church had become one mas of flame the (ire was quickly blown acr^ub L'io road, and the building known a-. tn.« Athonieum was eoou in thmes. Al°o the cottages adjoining it flouting Gladb'onu «trcet. Tho first was occupied by a Mr« Frost. It was a five roomod housu, .-iiid, like nearly all the others, was tho pi ope ty of the church Next to this was the huu o ot Mr Jameß Dolabery, which also contained five rooms. This was also destroyed, ard at one time it was feared that the convent, !of the Sisters of St Joseph would have fhaiod a similar tate Thi<- i however, spared, as there were many willing hands that looked after the | -afety ot its occupants. The most indefatig- j able of theso was Mr Bo>Un, sen., who carried innumerable buckets ot wattn and threw thorn upon the sidos of the house as long as there wag any danger of tho fiie spreading in that direction. "jVlra Frost vi.d Mr Delabery had ample time to have taved their furniture while the nre was starting in the church, but unfortunately tht-v thought that tho building would be eavod, and therefore lost much valuable time The consequence was f h >,c when it was discovered that the church was doomed the fire spread so rapidly and burned with such intensity that they were able to save but a small portion of their effects. As they were entirely uninsured, tney must Jose very heavily. Tho firemen still fought the flamc-s bravely, but they were heavily handicapped tor the want of wnt»?r. Owing to works in Gladetone-street already alludad to, some of the water mains had been lowered, and a wooden plug inserted in the end of the remaining pipe. DirecLly the extra supply of water arrived this blow out, and as the intense heat precluded the pt ssibility of stopping up the hole, affair* were even worse than before, and remained so until Mr Carlaw returned from tho station, when he at once turned off tho water at the nearest connection. In less time than it takes to write tbo desciiptton the Athenreum was reduc< d to a masrt of ashed, and the flames then took hold of tho 14 roamed two storey dwulMng adjoining, which fronted East-street. Thig w«»s, fortunately, empty. Things now appeared so bad that the Salvage Corp* atsd others commenced removing the goods from the fihops fronting Symonds-street, as it; was then thought that the fire would have the full run of the street. Superintendent Hughes, however, determined to make one last stand, and as there was a six foot pn.«> age between this and the adjoining house, the Brigade, after strenuous efforts, wore enabled to finally master the fire, but not until two of their number were almost crushed by the falling pido of the burninc-: house, which they had been manfully chopping away. As thi3 fell inwards, tho progress of the devouring element wa^ a*" length stayed, and all further danger wao at an end. Two small cottageß below St. Benedict's Church were also eet on fire. One was pu" ut by a couple of bystanders before much damage was done, the other was saved bv the Brigade after the roof had been burned off. Throughout the fire Captain Field and the members of the Salvage Corps worked like Trojans in the interests of their employers, saving whatever it waR possiblo to carry away. As before stated, the groat heat and extended area of the fire made it impossible for them to save even a tithe of the property endangered, and in some . instances articles which bad been removed into the cemetery were pet on fire and destroyed by the showers of burniDg sparks, In the Athemcum, tho re-cently-formed Mararoa Gymnastic Club lost the whole of their apparatus, which was valued at £30, and was totally uninsured. Nearly all the policemen in the city and suburbs were in attendance, and rendeied assistance by keeping b»ick the crowd and looking after the salvage. Father Downeys Statemont. Father Downey, 0.5.8., parish priest of St. Benedict's, waß seen at an early hour this morning by our reporter. He states that he was asleep when the fire broke out at FulLerton'e cottage, but was awakened by one of the lay brotheis. On hearing the alarm ho ran out on tho verandah of tho Presbytery, which adjoins the church, and though the cottage was then fully I ablaze and the wind wns blowing half a gal© from the westward, he did not then apprehend any damage to the church. When Sealey'e house ignited, however, groat flakeß of burning matter woro borne i towards the church by the wind, and in a few minutes the southern gable of the church had ignited, and he also observed flames to break out in other parts of the roof. f When Father Downie realised that the church wan in Hanger be, with Father Weissel, Mr Tom White and sevoral of the lay brothers, rushed into the church and saved four valuable statues which had been specially imported from Munich for the ehu~i-h at a coßt of about £100. They also saved the chalices and other of the sacramental vessels. The beautiful altar, which wai made by Father Luck's own hands., and which was the special pride of the parishioners of St. Benedict's, wa q lost. Ie might have been saved had the danger to tho church been realised earlier Amo 4, aerious loss to the Benedictine brotherhood, and one that cannot be easily replaced, is the destruction of a portion of their

very valuable library of thoological and scientific works. Father Sullivan, I,bo rovorerl superior of the Benedictine O refer, in at present on a visi* to tho Waikaro. Ho was apprised of the d waster by telegraph this morning. Strangely enough, wbon Father Downey came hero first Hiodinger of tho destruction of Sfc Bene dicta by firo occurred to him in view ofc th»> thickly-populated neighborhood iv whu-h it v/iis t-ituafced and the inadequacy of vho water supply, and ho souyhi, to iulerosi r. number of gentlemen in tho city in tlio (JKc-ritioti of < v he provision of an ofToctivo \vat.U' supply for tho high Irsvol. Insurances. Tho inpuranopn upon tho buildings Cinfstroyod aic an follows :— Sfirnuol Fullcrion's four-roomod hi>u«o insutod for -€80 in "^outh Hi'ittf'b, and £00 in Norwich Union ; Th >m t'-i Staley's fivo uiomcd hoiif-o in.suted Jor ,£2; to in tho Union ; p^von-room^d houto. 1 o"Ciipit-d by Thomas Moylnn, V?r>o in tho Impojjft] (owmpH by St. J3onodioi.'s tmu t '"s<). Moylart « f uniSuio was not c >v<»red. Tho riepbytorv, £3rt{) in fn^fiona!; fc'iithor Downa^'s hou-e £20(1 in Impoiia! ; ihti Atho?M'iun, ctf)OO in Impennl ; £l."0 r(>in=>!:ted in the how Zpalaud ; lari^ 1 l'l-rO'>rn < ='-l hou-e fionting; \3-i-t:. CbOO ir iho liMptruii, £250 ie.u.-iiii'oiJ id fhuSourh Critirdi ; J\hs .Kfoai'a result nno, C;!ac(^r,oru - s'tcoJ), €150" in Imperi-il, h»lf roin^mod in Stondard ; Mr .Hir.ep I)i t'«hryV ivfidetK^, C'-JOO in Jiijpatia!, £150 reirisurtd in N'orih British; Sr ISonodiet'rf Chuich, 10,000 m Colonial Inpurancß Company, al=<o roinsuicd. AM the above iniust'P, excepting FullwrtonV anrl S^nloy'", ac <"ho propoifcv of\luiSt. " l e:iodicfc trustees who estimate thtil a loss of ovor i' 4,000 has boon tho romlfc of tho firo. Tlie policy nf tho Colonial Office on St. Benedict's Ohm oh WM roin«urcd as foltuw- :— -Phf.",!^ £500; Norwich Union, CouO : South British, C 50 0; Victoria, JJoOO ; iN.'-t: ml, COOi); Union. £1,000; Sun, 'Jj'O; hew Zo&land, £500; Equitable, x'.'i'i'O Thi-^ loaves Iho not. los^ of tho Cotoi'Ml on this policy £1,000. Tho 0,1 in?-\l also injured Mr "Sealj 's hou^o for Cl.iO