TERRIBLE FIRE IN AUCKLAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 116, 1 June 1901, Page 2

TERRIBLE FIRE IN AUCKLAND.

DESTRUCTION OF THE GRAND. HOTEL. > FIVE LIVES LOST. •. A. NUMBER OF PERSOSS INJURED. A BANK INSPECTOR PERISHES.. FEB PRESS ASSOCIATION. . , Auoklahd, May 31. The Grand Hotel, of which Mr John-s-en is lwdlord, was destroytd by fire a*; one o'clock this morning. Th* fire had too firm a hold whpn discovered to be suppressed before the ics:de of the b iildiog was burned. Th air was r< nt by ihe s l outs of men and shriek* cf wonwn. The of rousing the inmates was very difficult owing to the sttong hold tho firu had acquired. For some time the BU'pei se was awful. The cri'S of th-si who had friends cr relatives in the hui'dipga were heart-rending. Mr >, the landlord, was in terrible eg my, believing that his chi'drea we r e in t' l e burning building. It wis hoped th«t they had escaped unnoticed, fcut unfortuna'e'y they did not, and three ehildr en -lost t heir live*.

The fireman managed to 001 fine the flames to the bote), but vary little was saved.

Nothing has transpired as to the origin cf the fire.

The I otel was the property of Mr. Moss Davis, aod was vtlued at £BOOO, It was injured in the Imperial ard National offices for between £5500 arid £6OOO. Mr. Jjhnston's stock was else insured.

It is es , iraa , 'pd the damage to hotel and furniture will amount. to £12,000. The roithern wall fell oafc*ard ard did some dtmnge to the Masonic Hall. The barmaids were rescue 1 with dif ficulMis* Meyers, who jumped from a window, is suffering very severely, »nd was taken with o hers to tbe hospital. Pour siivints on the sfond floor had te leap fro-n a window. They were Dora Wallace, housemaid; Mi*s Meyers, of Thamw>, barmaid; Miss Morse, barmaid; and Mi s Boyd, barma'd. They d'opp'd ab)ut 30 feet to th o etocies bebw. All sustained onsVerable iaju'ies and ware badly out. Miss Meyers had her thigh broken. I Lathis.

Mi c s Wal'ae°, a housemaid, has died' as the rwult of ir>juri.'H through a fall while escaping from the Grind ilot>;l. Mr. Johnston's children who were burned ate Ltor.o'e, #g*d 14 ; Ev», 13 ; ai d M'na, aged ti^ou l . 6. There is a strong probability there may te ether fatilities. ,

Mr. Juhof-ton's little son was got out with his pa'en's. When the Fire Brigid'* arrived Mr. Johnston, iri hi* night clothe', Wi>B iij front of the hotel frantically shou ing f>r help *o rescue his children. pointed to the upp r windows.

Tbe whole in e ior, except a portion 1 of the ground floor, wag then a mass of !f] i me. S >me firenun mounted a ladder and endeavoured ta get to the in'erior, hut they were driven back, and it was evident to th« onlookers that thai e was no hope for those inside. The b dies of the children wern recovers i this morning with th ir limbs I burned off.

Insurances : Imperial, L3OOO ; National, L 2000; New Zetland, L 2000; Norwich Union, L 760; South Brit'sh, LSOO.

Wellington, May 31. Mr. Ayres, who lost his lifo in the Gr.icd Ho'el fire, Woi formerly in the bank at Brisb n l , and later on at Sydney. He came to New Zealand pom - four or five yeais »g", and his position, as recognised by the Bank,

was that of Sub-Inspector. He *fsf unmarried, and was 42 years of age, Mr. JjMclntosh, local manager of the Bank of Aiwialas'a, received a wire yesterday informing him that Mr. F Ayr. s>, Tnetjortor ol tho Bank of New Zeal-aid, k>:»t bis life in the fire. A Liter nn« ag<» i-.iys;—A fourth body has been riiseovurad in the debris of tt* Grand Hotel, ar.d has been identified as tbat of Frederick Ayre.", Inspector <'f the Bank of Australasia, The destruction of the Grand Hotel, Auckland, where the 6uit# wero to stay, necessitates other arrangements, and Mr. Donne, head of the Tourist Department, left Wellington yesterday morning to enquire into the position. Nothing had actually been done by way of preparation of the apirtmenta for the Due*] suite.