Great Fire in Owen Street.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3147, 20 March 1879, Page 2

Great Fire in Owen Street.

OUR EFFECTIVE WATER

SUPPLY,

What might have been, but for a good supply of water, the most destructive fire

that had ever visited Grahamstown, broke out this morning in the Commercial Hotel,

;he licensee of which is our respected

fellow townsman, Mr Albert Butler. The origin of the fire is shrouded in mystery, but it appears the flames first burst out inMrs Butler's room, on the upper storyj

facing Owen, street, where it was dis-1 covered by Mr Logan, who sangj out "fire," and: Mrs ; Butler,; in] h^rj anxiety to save some articles in the room,; had a somewhat narrow, escape. Almost; immediately afterwards the forked tongue' of the flame burst through the roof, where! it was observed. by Messrs Price Bros', employees, some of whom hurried to the! scene of the conflagration, while others| got. their suction engine ready for action.: At seventeen minutes past eight o'clock, or about two minutes after the flames appeared on the top of the hotel, the! Williamson street fire bell elangedi out

the loud alarm and about the same time

Mr, George Lawlor, passing by the Karaka bridge observed the blaze and conveyed the alarm to the inhabitants of Shortland. Shortly before the clanging of the firebells Price Bros', men got water on behind, but as the whole upper story had commenced to conflagrate, they could do but little good. Four minutes after the sounding of the alarm about twenty men of the Brigade, including Superintendent Price and Captain Pierce, were on the ground, and fire, effect ire jets of water were, playing, on _ the flames. Messrs Leydon, McGowan, Price (tailor), Connon (junr.)i S. Driver, Hawkins, and others^ w,ho werd amongst th^ first •al' TtiieVlfirej finding that they could not tare anything in the upper story, with the fierce firej blazing OTer their head, plupkily i com: menced saving what they could on the ground floor. The danger to those engaged in this Work was great, as at any moment,the ceiling might hare fallen in, burying them id -the 'ruins* Mr Leydoii was burnt on the head by the scalding water trickling down from above 1/ Aftert clearing the bar (orer which thefieroest of the fire was raging), and saving as much of the furniture as possible, the self-organised salvage corps turned their attention to the billiard room, in wjrich there was a fine billiard 1 table. The gentlemen we have named, and others who came afterwards, endeavored to lift the bulky table, but finding it beyond their strength, the clbth was cat; and toe slate slabs carried outside to a place of safety. Another attempt was made Ito get the frame through the window, but'it was too large.: Mr Connon, with others; however, speedily enlarged the window, and the billiard table was saved. While this was going .on inside, the Mayor (who was also early on the scene of the fire) suggested the stoppage of the crushing batteries using the County Supply, as, a means of augmenting the power of the water The suggestion was quickly acted on,, greatly increasing the eifectivenes of the supply.; For several minutes after water was playing on the fire, it seemed to act but as? fuel to the flames— fire, smoke, and' • steam: rising, apparently, from the whole building. At this time everyone believed that the whole: block from the hotel corner to Stone Bros, in Burke street Would be consumed,! and long before the time of which we are now writing, willing hands were assisting the neighbors to move their goods and chattels to the street. The equal'struggle between the elements*-fire and waterdid' not - continue long; it. soon, became palpable that the welldirected^etslof water were obtaining the mastery. Fireman Hay of the Grahamstown Brigade did good service in checking the flaraes ib Owed street. Mounting a ladder en «Mr Clark's shop he soon had a jet of water playing on the fiercest of the fire, and in effect pronounced the dictum to the flames], " So far and no further." At the Abraham street end of the conflagration is a duster of two-storey tenement houses, to save which Fireman Hastings, Mr.. S. Driver, and others directed theirattentioni Bight in tip teeth of the scorching flames, these brave men sent a volume of water straight into the centre of the advancing wall of fire, and checked its further progress. These men also did good service in subduing the flames in the centre. While the men were working at the two extremities of the fire, thje Sullivan brothers kept a branch on the central pprtion of the building. Just as the flames had. begun to subside a little the Shortland Brigade, under Superintendent Hollis with their paraphernalia arrived on the scene, but at this time the danger was over. 'The whole inside of the upper storey was gutted but the outside walls though charred were still standing, and acted as a barrier to the water having so good a play on the flames as it could have if they were removed. A rope and hook were speedily brought in^o requisition, and affixed to upper por« : tion of the walls; which soon came down with a crash on the footpath. The flames were then completely subdued, though the water-was kept playing tillthe last ember was flooded out—we use the term advisedly: tons of water were cast on the flames, and the fact of the fire being confined to the upper storey of the one building, with witJoden buildings on each side, is one of the greatest triumphs of fire brigade organisations ever chronicled. The lower storey of the building is almost uninjured by the fire, with the exception of the portion near the staircase, while thn upper is now a heap of ashes. Thanks to the efficiency of our fire brigade and the splendid appliances at their command, the principal portion of the town is not at the time we write, a smouldering heap of ashes* Had this conflagration broken out a few months ago—before the nine inch mains were laid—we would probably be now gazing on such a scene.. Before concluding we must not forget to give a word of praise to Mr S. Young and thoje who worked in the intense heat to save the Empire Hotel. Mr J. C. Williams, Captain Pierce, and Mr Fire Inspector Price, were ambiigst the most conspicuous. for their exertions; and also ;Messrs, Price's employees, whose grimy forms were to be seen always to the front working like niggers. From the time th*'flames first burst through the windows of the bedroom to the time the flames were

subdued, about twenty minutes elapsed. The building is insured in the Imperial Insurance Office for £600. ,