FATAL FIRE AT VIEW HILL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1561, 29 March 1887, Page 4

FATAL FIRE AT VIEW HILL.

A heavy nor’weiter was experienced at Oxford on Friday. Two bush fires occurred in the Oxford and View Hill districts. One caused the destruction of a eix-roomed house, the whole contents of which were destroyed. A cottage at View Hill, occupied by a laborer named Anderson and his family, was destroyed shortly before midnight, and Mrs Anderson and two of (he children were burned to death. Thd man was away with a threshing machine. Another child was badly injured, and is not expected to live. The following are further particulars Mrs Anderson, who was sleeping downstairs with three children, aged two, four, and eight years of age (two boys and a girl), found the house on fire about a quarter to twelve. She immediately put two children out of the window, and it is supposed left the youngest boy to run upstairs and waken those that were sleeping there—-her boys, Oscar aged 17, Kenneth aged 6, Mr Hudd, senr,, ot Qreendale, who was sleeping there for the night, and a boy he had with him named Carlyle Hudd. The Ruddsaud Oscar got safely out, and Oscar, not finding his mother, ran into the house again and got very badly burned about the face and shoulders. He is not expected to recover. The mother, in endeavoring to save Kenneth got suffocated, the flames having got such a held on the house that the ceiling gave way, Bhe fell on to « bed underneath and was to ashf-s. Kenneth also fell through the celling and met the sarao {ite. Tim child, who it i B

presumed tbe mother intended picking up when she returned, was also burned to death. He was sleeping in « crndle close to his mother. The fire is supposed to have been caused by the North West wind blowing down the chimney and casting the fire out on to the floor ; not by a bush fire as was at first supposed.