Jumping from the Windows. The Bedclothes Used for Escape. A Fearful Scene of Excitement. Melbourne, Apill 8. A COFFEE PALACE BURNT. Over Fifty People in Danger.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 257, 21 April 1888, Page 3

Jumping from the Windows. The Bedclothes Used for Escape. A Fearful Scene of Excitement. Me lbourn e , Apill 8.

A COFFEE PALACE BURNT. Over Fifty People in Danger.

lleid'- large collie palace, I>> < (iai d-st rect , 11.i11.u it, w i- ile.-tio\ed b\ hie \e->teula\ nioinin'j When the hie bioke out 50 or bO pei-oris weie a-leep in bed. Owing (o an unexpected influx ot vhi'oi 1 - a nunibei of boaidei^ weie, thiough lack ol aeeotnmodation, -luuibciing on couches in pmate apaitments. \\ lun the lodgei- in the upper stoieys weie alaimed, the building was -uiapped in ilame>, and then only means oi e\H. was by a single •-i. in cite loading into Lxdiardsfieet, but thi- was on lire and onl\ two or tlneo poi -oils weie bnr\e enouuh tou-cil in teaching thegiound. Theothei inmate", who weie, of eouisc, in a hisjh slut* ot ftlaini, inched to the windows at the rear ot the premises and cried tor help. Among t lie boat deis wa 4 - Thos. Ailkm, manner Oi \\ dhamsUnwi, who, with lcmaikable picseuec or mind, called on hi- followlodgei s to keep quiet and all would bo nuhi. lit then, sailor-like, made ropes wilh the blankets and sheeting oi the beds in se\oi.il loom-, and by tins means a nunilx r of per-oiib weie loweied to the ground. 'I he n\>l to de^eend \\eie tA\o women and a little <j,irl named Lumsdeu, whose ))iuents reside m South Melbourne. In the (oniusion, all could not reach tho Hionnd b\ means of the liastily - foimed lopes, ;ind a- the j-moko antl llaincn bioko into the looms ot the upper .stoiey, tho -ecne was inde-ciibable. .Stneial jounj; ladies cued out. that. 1 hoy would not an ail theii tiun foi t lie )opes, and tlnee of tho ti antic one- jumped horn tho -windows, which weio 7C licet, from the siotind. One oi the number, Miss Lawn, a**cd 22 ycais, dau^htej of the secieLaiy to the Miners' Association, bioke her aim by the fall and -\\as picked up m-cnsible. Se\oial otliei inmates, unable lo get thiou^h the back windows owin^ to tho : eni-hjound muans of e^iess tlnou<;h the hant, window. s on to the \eiaudah, fiom which they jumped on to the load, suMainin^; contusions to their bodies. A son ot tho propiictor, Mr Ueid, a boy ot about 10 >ears, threw himsclt trom a I window in the buininfr building, about 40 I tcefc from the ground, and ho was caught in a niattres- held for him. Tho occupiers ot the looms on the r>iomi<l llnor e-e.'iped without injury, but. they, like some on the up])ei lloor, had no time to sa\e then piopeity, and, indeed, in the majoiity of instances the lod&cis were forced I o leave the palace in a half nude state. In the street the boarders and othors who had to lice from the burning building- <j wete .standing about wrapped in blankets oi rugs. The sci cams of the females were hoard ending, and gi eat dilliculty wascxpeiionced in saving them. When the iiromen weie at work in tho building, and when they thought that all the occupants had made their escape, a, little child in his nightdress was observed toddling through tho sinokc in one of tho passages, and ho was promptly secured and taken to a j)lacc oi safety. All the .sufferers by the conflagration were kindly lcccivctl and accommodated at the lJiovincial Hotel. Mr Reid estimates his loss at between i' 6,000 and £7,000, buthc is only covered by policies for £3,000— one for C 1,500 in the Colonial Company of New Zealand, and the other for a similar amount in n, Victorian company. The valuable furniture and appliances in the place were not insured. During tho conflagration two ot tho brick walls fell, the livst one tumbling into Lydiard-strcet, covering the footpaths and roadway with dabri/t. Had the iiremen been working under the front wall when it came down with a eiash, there would have boon serious loss of life. All tho lire brigades woikcd well, and rendered every assistance in rescuing the lodgers from tho burning building. The conflagration was witnessed by a largo concourse of people.

,/Ucorge, dear, don'li yon think it is rather oxbravaijant of you to cat button with that delicious jam?" "No, lovo— economical ! Same piece of bread docs for both !"