GREAT FIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 January 1922, Page 5

GREAT FIRE.

HUNDREDS HOMELESS, BURNS ALL DAY. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. London, Jan. 5. The Hartlepool fire, which started in extensive timber yards and spread to the residential area, is still blazing after 20 hours in the timber yards. A length of two miles long is envolved. A terrace of 28 houses has been reduced' to an empty shell. The houses in six streets have been wholly or partly destroyed and fully 700 are homeless. Fortunately householders had timely, warning and hurried away their furniture in all sorts of vehicles. The firemen’s efforts were unable to extinguish the fire, but succeeded in preventing it reaching West Hartlepool, which, at one time was threatened,

The damage is estimated at fully £1,000,000. There are no casualties.

The fire was caused by the fusing of an electric wire. It continues to spread. Three hundred thousand sleepers, belonging to the North-Eastern Railway Company, have been destroyed. The hope of coping with the flames last night disappeared with the ignition of two tanks of creosote in the path of the fire. firemen are frantically working to save the big creosote works, which w’ill afford a great new hold if involved. So far an area of eighty acres has been burned over.

FIRE UNDER CONTROL.

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE DONE. Received Jan. 6, 8.5 p.m. London, Jan. 5. Twenty-eight fire brigades were brought to the Hartlepool fire, which is under control. It lasted for twentyseven hours, covered eight acres, and destroyed 43 tenement houses, four shops, 300,000 railway sleepers, and many pinprops.