SERIOUS CONFLAGRATION AT SYDNEY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 143, 11 July 1901, Page 3

SERIOUS CONFLAGRATION AT SYDNEY.

ANTHONY HORDERN'o BURNED OUT. | PEB Pltl-'SS ASSOCIATION. Sydney. Ju') 10. ' [ A fi>e is rigir.g in Anthos y H<rden's immense emporium in Georgfstreet, and it has a gcod hold on the building. A stiff wind is blowing, r.nd the fire thuatf-ns- to swtep the whol.i b'otk through to Pitt strept. The tram.traffic is stopped!

Later. The whole fire forces o c the ci'y ate engaged at work, which is dangerous owing to the toweriog walls threatening to iollapse, and are slowly beating back ihe fite from the Gorge-street fioritage. The occupies, of shops s'-retcbing from tha doomed building to Hay-street are getting out their goods in few of the fir.) sp'o;dmg fiom tin rear. Excepting the ironmongery department, a detached building, the whole premi-os are guttej, only .the walls standing. The damage is estimated at £IOO,OOO. The bu'nitg de v ris was rar.ied a great distatei and fi ed a house, but this fire was BubJued.

An employee named Ch'gg ws>s killed through j imping fr. m the roaf.

AN APPALLING SPEOTAOLE. THE FIRE BRIGADES' BIG FIGHT. AWHJLi LEAP TO DEATH. Received 10, 4.10 p.m. Sydnet, Ju'y 10, About 3.20 a.m., as the rmployees wore beginning to arrive 1o commence their daily duties; a fire discovered in the basement of the central bu ldingfi of a huge block c >verirg several acres. The employes who discovered (he £• e found't in the picture frame division of the toy depot, and made an effort to extinguish it with buckets of water kept for fire purposes; but the gimcrack ra'ure of the toy department fed tbe flames with avidity, and they quickly ascended to the ground fl r or which, is devoted to drapery. The whole of the central buil iirgq were of a mr st inflammable r a* ure, and in a few mom°n's a pile of seething flame' roared thrugh windows like a blast furnace. Th»y ciep 1 ; across Parkerstre*t, a distance of about 80 feet, and ent»red tbe see nd storey of a gigantic furniture warehouse a hundred feet high, and facing the g'someters. From floor to flon- they rushed with incredible fury, breaking through the windows of each floor ard admitting a strong southerly wind to has'en tha work <f destruction.

A great concourse of specters gathered, and a thrill of horror phot through them as the lonely figure of a man appeared on t v P 'on of th<? parapet. He clung to tie ornarrental b ickwork on the top of the Vuildi6g, shifting his po o'csionally ps a gii't of wind fanned a foneue of flame from the windows beneath in his direction. Then came the lif "-saving tu°, and a marve'lous hush fe'l ryra'l »s the spidery ladders were unrreled in the dire jt ion of the pan pet. This was broken by an audible moin as the ladders failed to r*ach within 30 feet. I Meantime the Riefeet Brigade threw 'a fite line over the building, but for some reßsm at present unexplained the apparatus failed. The flam's now nnd again made a feroc : ous lick at the vie tim, who sm that his only hope of deliverance was gone, ardthen with a, gesture of deppair jumped a clear 100 feet into the roadway, and never stirred.

When the fltmes took hold of the building Cons'abli Corroy end two firemen ascended to the .top storey to ste if they cou'd'finl Clegs, his fellow employees having aiven warning oF th l * man's position. The top floor was searched without avai', tho man having evidently gone thrrugh the trap door on f o the roof.

• 0 her hinds saved themselves by) sliding ftom 'he upper fliois down a' I : ffi rope. Sfime -wpra found ah the •"Ot'cn of lhelift-we r ], overcome by the smoke. Had the fire o"ourred »n hour rr so 'at°r, wh a n the hug* e-tablishment would lavp been in fu'l swine and thronged with custom'rs, the loss of lif<? must have b« en pre**. Thn flirars went through the hwar floors like a fl 'sh. cutt : ng off all rscpe Whi'e the tragedy was being enac'ed in the pa«t*m bui'dingp, tha flames crept across a narr nv right-r f- 1 way and wo-ked ag i"gt: the »inl to, the bu'ldings ficing Gorge | A three s L < rey hui;d : ng, containing merely ard sidd'fry, was scon ! e'v loped, and tVv flsmfs swept out of i the offices and climbpd rapid'y from | fl-or *o fl'or of a seven storey build r ng | adjoini g. | Several smaller fhops to j othuv owners were ancil ilated by the j fire in a few minuses. B'ckwird in went the flames till thpy. came against; fc'io wall of 'he huge pile, and dsviat d to the i'onmorgerv dppitm nt. The Fire B igade worked with des paration *o save tho s'rnrtura from the fire which had into the upper star??, *nd managfld to subdue it and fave the bniHing from the fhmes, although water will h*ve causel greaH damage. When it was seetl that a cinflagra•ionrf a character was imminent -teps were taken to immediately discharge the pas from t'irso which was eurcep-fully rccomplished. The huildinss usrd by the caretaker, and thp 1 \b">ra l ory as well asthps'owroom of the Gas Company, were destrovpd.

For a great di-tance around the street looked csif it hid been subjected tn a volcirlc frup 1 ion, being covered to a depth of several inch's with tin Ry el ven o'clock the dangur of any further spre'd was over.

Rumwrs are nrr'nt th t other lives were lost; bu l confusion is tro great it nt. t ■ 1 a n whether there is any truth in the ass'rtinns. It ii difficult, to know what the dimasfl is, although it is stited at £1,000,000.

THE LATEST, 9 Received Ift, 10.20 p.m. Sydnry, July 10. Some two- hundred rarly hands, including a number of women, were in the builHirg when thf> fire broke out, thofe on tKe higher floors having difficulty in es spins. A man named Borthwick, employed on thf> top st6rey, who escap-d, was cut off and attemp'ed to descend a rope from a window and I MI, breaking his leg. Two o'hers were in a lift well when the lift descended and held them prisoners ti'l firemen released them.

Clegg's coat ciuglit fire as he stood on the pirapet. He threw it ofi' and then knelt a moment, evidently praying, and rose and jumped. Many <■ mpioyees assisted the fireman in the early stages of the conflagration, Qlegg'and two o'hers working a hose,

Seeing their position was < angerous the superint'iidant ordered them to de ist-. Clegg evident'y failed to take warning till too late, and found his rctie.it cu' oft'. Thi employees managed to suve considerable property in the departments adjoining the main building, and also saved 'ld books and p p rs. The firm have aire taken st ps to sfcure temporary prem'ses to carry on business. Thry hive res'rve f-tcoka, valued at a million and a quirter s'erling, warehoused in the ciiy. The-e ; were secured in anticipation of the Federal tariff.

THE INSURANCES. Receive! 11, 1.15 a.m. Sydney, July iO. ' Hord in's insur.iuces auiout.t to about £400,000, tbe bulk being wfth British rompanie?. So far a3 cm be gathered, local insurance companies are Jittle The New Zealand offices involved sr.'he South British, £10,500; Zealand, £5168.

FIRK IN AUCKLAND. Auckland, July 10. Early this morning a fire was discovereJ in 'he third s'ory of Robeit Furne ; s and (Vs. premises in Fortstreet. The suppressel tha snd confined it to the uppsr story, which w. s used is a lollie factory. The rema nder of the building was damag'd y wa'er to the extent of hundreds of pounds. The damage by the fire at Fumes*'is ove>' £2,000. There is an insurance of £4900 in six offices.