AN UNUSUAL FIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 162, 8 January 1914, Page 8

AN UNUSUAL FIRE.

TELEPHONE SERVICE DISLOCATED. Br To I cgvapli.—Press Association. •Wellington, Last Night. A. small fire in the dist:ibntin<j frame at. the Wellington telephone exchange this morning was quickly extinguished, but not hefore about 1500 su!)seribers' wires hail been "cut off." The fire was first noticed about half-pist seven. It originated through a bundh of telephone wires outside the building falling or sagging on to the high-tension tramway cable. They immediately became charged with a high current of cable, and soon, became red hot. . On the distributiii" frame inside the exchange the heat set alight the paraffin and otler substances which are used for insulating purpose*, and smoke and flames soon spread up the frame to the ceiling. An exchange attendant endeavored to smother Hie outbreak with bis cap. as has been done previously, so as. to check the llamas till he could find the wire which wis carrying the high current and break t'le connection, but t' e task was too mil. h for him.

The fire brigade, arriving on the seen > and fearing for the safetv of the build ing, commenced to extinguish the fiamo with water. This method was effective, but it 'did much more damage than the flames would probably have caused, for water, bcin« a conductor, n a verv decided nuisarje among insulators and insulating mau-rial. For efficient working it is necessary that the distributiii'.' frame be kept dry. When the flames had been extinguished it was found that they had done very little damage. The whole of the damage to the material could be covered by a pr -.ml „.r two. but everywhere there was nioUiire. and to remove it was the task which eonfronted the telegraph engineer and his stall'. All available workmen wre immediately put on the job, and win thev were busily engaged with heating apparatus, hot-air pipes and calcium, endeavoring (o exticet the moisture from the insulators. Tt is hoped that the full service will be restored tomorrow morning.