A Scene of Horror. BRAVE REPORTS TO RESCUE

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 189, 29 January 1887, Page 8

A Scene of Horror. BRAVE REPORTS TO RESCUE

Shortly after 3 o'clock the fall of the upper iijcr.^ ct tha iionmungery dBj,artar.j/it and their ponderous contents cau?ed Fad loss of life. The baeetneut of this department was used as a store, and it could be ontored horn the basement of the furniture department adjoining, by a low arched opening, some eight feet in width. A number of people entered this way, aad made their way upstairs, passing out articles within reach. Esquilaut and Wallace were aincfeg theao volunteers, and bo was Miller. The party also included Mr Pearson, of the Railway Fire Brigade, several members of the 3Tir*» Brigade Salvage Corps, and Mr Donaldson, of the JJJaval Brigade. Mr McKenzio, seeing the unsafe state of matters in the hardware department, called on £he workers to desiet, and mesfc did. One 'joy two of tha hindermoet delayed to pass out a rack of shovels which .stood inside the archway between the hardware and furniture department. At that moment the first catastrophe o< cm red. The Btrain to which the floors above were Hubjected was treaaendouß. The topn^ost floor with the contents had fallefi ujpon the one beneath, that upon the next one, and so on till at this juncture the whole fell with one great crash to the basement. Those on the right s'uslo of the archway, on the basement of tUe furniture department, escaped but fell back horror-stricken and qnvelopei in smoke and fragments of debris. They tiad bareiy time to recover themselves when a cry for help informed them that one or more men lay buried beneath the burning mass, and returning to the spot, the body of the sailor Wallace w&s

seen half exposed, the lower limbs only to the waist being covered, He was conscious and implored them to release him. He lay just inside the archway, to the right-hand side, jammed against the wall in a peculiar attitude, aud evidently in great piin. Disregarding the imminent danger, tir only a portion of the upper floors had as yet fallen, aevoral menset fearlessly aboi' « tho task of rescue. Mesera Pearson, DonaUL-oa, aud one or two firemnn directed a hose at the burning heap, and saved the man from instant death by fire, while a fow oth^ia m IJO attempts to extricate him. Constable ChHpu'in had hold of him by the amir-, ami .Miller and others wero trying to pri.iQ the weight off the prostrate man with a crowbar and a piece ot Umber which they | uatd loverwiae, when a second and more fatal fall occurred, burying several of the | leseuing party. Immediately the smoke and confusion allowed of it a number of i people returned to tho scene, and found the dieadful condition of affairs inten?ified Wallace's body was still half exposed, and a little distance away to tho left hand of the archway, part of the head and oue of the shoulders ot iCsquilant wero to be seen. He, like Wallace, was conscious, and appeared to s ufter eveu more terribly. Of Millar, the other whose body was atterwards uncovered, ncthiug hud been feeen. None of the debris fell outside of the archway, and whan the second crash came Bridgor and Wallace sprang from the woodware into the furni turo waiehouso, but a piece of tho material thit fell struck Mr Bridget" on tho ankle. The manager, Mr Henderson, cannot conceive any way in which the tiro could have origuated accidentally. Every thing, was safe when tho premises were lett on Saturday at noon. The watchman id not on duty on Sunday, but he w*mt down at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, and found I everything right then. Ho was on his way j to pay another visit of inspection when the I fireball rang. One of the clerks walked I down from church at 12 30, and ctillod at tha factoiy to get a book, and there was no sign of tire. The tiro muat have oiiginated in the back pirfc n*juBond street. The boiler and engine house ware separated fiooi tlo factory by a .atrom brick wall, and there was nothing oi an intiammatory nature in these rooms, all tho waste of oil t>eing locked up in a saio. One result of the destruction of the property will be that about 130 hands, the best" workmen the Company bad, will be thrown out of work. Andrew Miller, who lost hh hie, was an old and respected servant ot" the Company, and had for years been the head carter. He loaves a wile and eight children.

Narratives of Rescuers, Mr Donaldson, of the Naval Brigade, reLithi^ his experience, say 3: There weie ten or twelve people, including two cou atabUs, iv the basement of the hardware store when wo heard the flooring above giving way, and called out to them to run. iSlosi oi them ran out in time, but on turning round we heard SVailuee cry out for help. We went back to him and helped a fireman and others to play a hose on the spot. Others got hold ot a bit of wood, and wore using it as a levtr. 1 heard Millar sing out " For God's dake give us a hand," and we could see a man half out oi tho ruins. At tins moment, a second tail occurred, buiyins the rescuers, and going back I aleo ,?aw EsquiUnt's head. He spoka, and wub asking lor water from ti-ne to time. Constable Chisholur frays :— I had hold of Wallace after the first tall, and was trying to drag him out. He was sensible, and said there was something gripping his feet and i lepjs. I was bonding down over him, when 1 heard a ciy, aud someone dragged me backwards by the clothes just in time. The second fall came just in front of me, and iragmenta struck me on the head and shoulders. It was a narrow escape. In a very tew minutes willing hands were upon the spot and some eight or ten men to their shirts and trousers and bogan the vroikoi digging out. The first man, carried out upon a stretcher was a member of the Sal\ ago Corps named Galiow ay, who bad recei\ed nasty contusions and injuries about thvj he »d. He was piesently able to regain his teet and walk aw ay unassisted. The situation of Esquillant aud Wallace during these weary hours was inexpressibly shocking. Wallace bpoke from 'time to time, and bore up very pluckily, but was evidently suileiing intensely. Esquillant v.a- in even ureatar pain, and murmured an entreaty to those around to put him out of hie misery, He also begged for chloroform, and this Dr. Brown sent for and administered a quantity to him, but still he was conscious tor the greater part. His father and brother were amongst the onlookers. Ai proving the danger that attended the wou: of rescue, scarcely they driven from the <*pot when the Jail of part or the Bond-street wall enveloped the basement iv smoke and dust. A little after G o'clock Wallace « as treed, his condition being terrible. Half of the ledcuers wero now engaged in digging for tho bodies, On the right hand aiae oi too archway, eight or nire feet ff 1 0111 where JSsquilaut lay, as they worked, the bant knee of a man was unecveied, and immediately beneath this lay the head of another dcai man, crushed, face downwards. Hah an hour's moie v. oik and other* were dug out, and proved to bo the bouie-j oi Miller and a man, name unknown. Tho bodies were umuK oiackeneda'addierigurod. At halfpast 7 the work of freeing Esquilant was accomplished, He :iad been jammed btttwtsn an upright support, of the Blairca^s and about a dozen ur m>)tb grates falling u t jon him. The lower portion of hia buoy v. ad practically lueioed when he was exiiiCMted. Eiquilant wu? employed at Coulh und Culhng'd establishment;.

I 1-ajured. Men at tlu Hospital. The faret man received into the Hospital \va* eu tiring from rather d bid cafe ou the v/rj^t, out aftev the w ouud was drer&ed ho l^tt thy institution for h?ii home, This \»aa in the eaily IMxb ot tho afternoon. Soon alterwards a man namid McFarlano was admitted with a fractuie of his leg and fcevere bruises about tho ankle. Tne iracturo was reduced by Dr. Mauusell, who was in attendance, /it half -past six the ambulanco again rotnrned with a man very badly burned about the body and legs, it was bornatime betore hia name was ascertained, but he turned out to be Wallace, a seaman, 30 yearrf of asje. Dr. Maunsell attended, and there seotned at thac time gome eliprbt chance ot his recovery. The anibulauco, about an houraf forwards, returned, bringing Esquiiant. On being removed to the ward it was ceen that, his chance ot recovery was extremely slight, and on examination of his injuries the case seemed hopeless. Nearly every etitch of clothing was burned off, and hia boots and portions of his shirt that remained had to be cut off with scissors. Hia face and body were fearfully burned, and presented a ghaatly sight. He appeared to be conscious, and evidently suffered no pain in the extremities, which were quite dead. At half-past ten Wallace breatned his last, and Esquiiant died a few minutes later. Great precautions had been taken in case ef a possible outbreak of fire. The walla were built as closely as poasible,,and where openings were required iron doors had been made. Perforated iron pipes were fixed to a room in each department, a«d through those water pr steam could bo applied, »o as to luva the tohoJeplaceifopded. Wight and

day watchmen were formerly employed, but recently, owing to a retrenchment } >licy the services of the day watchman were u^porsed with. It is generally understood that the building was insured for half its value, the Insurance Corps not caVing to take heavy risks on such a building 1 . The total of insurances is stated at about £75,000, and the value of the property destroyed is estimated as between' £150,000, and £200,000, The only definite information obtainable is that the South Briti*-h Compat-y's loss amounts to £2,000, the Rntioiml £i; 000, the United £1,700, and the New_ Zealand £1,500.