FIRE AT SOUTHLAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1643, 6 October 1887, Page 2

FIRE AT SOUTHLAND.

IITVEECABCtILt, Oct. 5. McOallum and Co.’s sawmill was destroyed by fire this morning. Nothing was saved. There was no insurance. It was an old established business, and numbers are thrown out of work. Later. The loss through the fire at McOallum and Co.’s sawmill is estimated at £2OOO. The flames bad a good hold before being noticed by the nightwatchman. He ran for assistance, but the fire spread rapidly and the buildings were speedily destroyed, only a small part of the plant being saved. The mill stood jnst outside the town boundary, and as the Fire Brigade have instructions not to attend fires beyond the boundary, the bell was not rung, nor did the Brigade turn out. The members on duty at the station were asked to attend, but refused pending instructions. If they had gone the engine could have been worked within the town boundary, as only a paddock interred between it and the mill; water was plentiful, and a good deal of property would probably have been saved. The captain of the Brigade states that the Council had previously objected to their attending outside fires. The reason is that suburban boroughs do not contribute to the maintenance of the Brigade.