A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 March 1917, Page 7

A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

I TAWHITI CHEESE FACTORY ' DESTROYED. j The Haweva Dairy Company's Tawhiti , cheese factory and creamery was totally , destroyed by fire at midnight on Friday, , the whey tank and men's cottages alone being saved. , The fire was first noticed by Mr. J. G. McCallum, who was returning to his ; home close by. He immediately awak- . ened the branch manager (Mr. J. CampI bell), and the general manager of the , company (Mr. A. Dunlop) was immedi- , ately telephoned for, and was soon' on , the spot. The fire had a cood hold when discovered, and, owing to there being |-no tire-fighting appliances, it was impos- , sible to arrest the flames. | Mr. Campbell, when awakened, man- . aged to save his gig, but in doing so , had his feet, which were bare, so severeI ly burned that medical treatment became necessary, It will be some time ! before he will'be able to get about. ,• The factory was a wooden building, . and contained three 000-gallon vats and , three 700-gallon vats. 'The creamery, which had at one time been used as a \ butter factory, was about 20 years old, but the cheese room was only 10 years old. The fire is believed to have originated in the boiler room. The cheese factory was insured for £.550 in the Phoenix office and the ma. chinery for £375 in the same office; the creamery building was insured in the Phoenix office for £175, and the machinery in the State fire office for £307. The value of all the buildings and plant was between £2OOO and £3OOO. Arrangements have been made for the suppliers to take their milk to the Glover Road factory. Mr. Campbell had just completed the adjusting of the pipes for the making of casein this week* It is understood that the company will not rebuild the factory for this season.—Star.