DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4505, 13 June 1883, Page 2

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

Burning of the., Dunedin New Railway Goods Shed. Estimated Loss, £100,000. (Pee Pbeß3 Association.) Dunedin, Yesterday. A fire broke out in a new railway goods shed, at about half-past eight o'clock this evening; it was completely destroyed in less than an hour. The shed was full of goods, a considerable portion, of the cargo of tb« Westmeath and the whole of the goods per Tarawera, which came in this morning, having been stored in it. No details are at present known. It is a. question whether, as the goods were being stored from ship board the insurance risks are at an end. The shed had only been taken over from the contractors a week or ten days ago.. It was a building of about a couple of hhndred feet in length. There was no water available for some time as the shed was on the reclaimed ground. Thousands of, people were at the scene of the fire. There were 14 truck loads of goods from the Tarawera put into the burnt shed this evening. One importer of jewellery has goods to the value of £5000 in it. The shed has been in the hands of the Kail way Department a month. Nothing is known as yet of the origin of the fire. It is believed the loss to the Insurance Companies will be extremely little, but that it will fall on the owners. —The size of the shed burnt is 450 feet in length, and it had cost nearly £3000. Two night watchmen were on duty, one of whom was specially told off to watch this and another import shed. He had gone his rounds at 8.15, trying all the doors, and nothing appeared to be wrong. Within less than half an-hour th& firebells rang. All the goods per Tarawera and a quantj by the Wakatipu and a few packages by the Westmeath were in it. Eleven railway trucks (loaded) were in the shed. Nothing at all was saved. A large number of leading importers are losers. Al6 horse power gas engine, 'intended to drive the printing and electric light machinery in the Daily Times office, was burnt; Later.

This day. The goods shed was completely filled with inflammable goods. The flames, which spread with astonishing rapidity, bad the effect of brilliantly illuminating the Southern and Central Wards. Though sereral streams of water were played on the shed, it was impossible to save it. Superintendent CoomaH aod Lieut. Fox, of the 'Salvage Corps, found the railway constable breaking open the main door of the goods shed in- order to obtain certain books and other valuable property. By this time the smoke was suffocating, and it was with the utmost difficulty the firemen again closed the door, opening which had been the means of increasing the volume of flames. The. shod, which was of wood, and roofed with slate, was 400 feet long by 30 feet in width, and had only been used about two months. One lot of jewellery in it was supposed to be worth £5000, and very little was saved. It is impossible to estimate correctly the value of the goods destroyed, but some authority has given an expression of opinion to the effect that £100,000 will not cover the actual loss, and among the goods destroyed were mostly those included in the following manifest per Westmeath :—l3lO rails, Hon. Minister for Public Works; 272 packages, Reid and Gray; 1 do., Bishop Moran; 16 do., G. Bell; 2 do., Matheaoa Bros.; 1 do.. C. Ford; 1 do., W. H. Teschemaker; 2 do., R. Storm; 1 do., W: Turpin; 60 infots, A. and T. Burt; 48 packages, Park and Curie; 2 do., Park and Curie; 2 do, Whittingham Bros; and Instone; 42 do., Couston; 7 do., Boss and Glendinning 6 do., Sargood, Son, and Ewen ; 2 do., W. Millichamp; 2077 do., A. Briacoe and Col; 4931 do., 50 tons pig iron, N.Z. Wood ware Co.; 33 packages, G. W. Munro; 2 do, Gibbs, Bright and Co.; 2419 do, Hardware Co.. To order and transhipment per Wakatipu—3B packages, Gibbs, Bright and Co.; 3 do, Tomlinson; 3 do, Fernhill Club 5 7 do, Cargill. ajad Go.; 25 do, Murriss; 1 do, Walker;. 20 do, Carter and Co.; 1 do, White; 26 do, McAvard ; 4 do, Browning and Co.; 172 do,' Dunning Bros.; 103 do, Bull; 1 do, Hutt; 1 do, E. Smith ; 188 do, order; 3 do, Haggitt; 1 do, Esqueliant; 1 do, Lester; 20 do, Turn bull and Co.; 2 do, Larnach; 1 do, Dr. Coughtrey ; 8 do, Wilson; 1 do, N.Z. Drug Company; 1 do, Braithwaite 1 do, Wilkinson and Pettitt; 1 do, Green; 1 do, Herbert Haynes and Co; 2 do, Hallenstein; 20 do. Wilson and Co; 1 do, Jolly, Connon and Co; 1 do, Evening Star; 50do, Netellßros; 2 do, Kugmoon Lee ; 1 do, Leibtr and Co; 135, do, Turner; 72 do, Pryer ; 7 do, Silverston; 63 do, Patterson ; 1 do, Smith ; 1 do, Isaacs ; 160 do, Maderras and Hazlett; 3 do, S. Mackay; 2 do, McGovin ; 1 do, Walters. Per Tarawora—l package, Hailean; lj do, Harbor Board; 1 do, Henderson; 35 do, Mercer Brothers; 4 dp, Wong Tape; 6 do, Buttler Brothers; 1 do, Canning and Lloyd; 2 do. Sargood, Son, and Ewen; 8 do. Robertson'; 1 do. P, Hayman and Co,; 11 do. J. Speight and Co.; 1 do. Westonj 16 do. E. Wilson and Co.; 1 do. Elliott; 1 do. Noonan ; 1 do. Maxwell; 8 do. Marshall and Copeland ;50 do. Neill and Co.; 41 do. New Zealand Drug Co.; 3 do. Grigg and Co.; 2 do. Peacock ; 13 do. Banter and Co.; 1 do. Vickers; 1267 do. New Zealand Wood Ware Co.; 13 do. Lightband, Allen and Co.; 17 do. Watt and Co.; 22 do. New Zealand Shipping Co; 20 do. to ?rder. The fire burned very fiercely until midnight, and at one time it was feared that goods in the Harbor Board shed, near the wharf, would become ignited. James Thompson, a railway employe, responsible for locking up the goods shed, states that he carefully did so at 5.10 p.m. yesterday, when there was no sign of fire in the office grate ; be locked all the doors of the shed, and can make no suggestion whatever as to the origin of the fire, which broke out near the southwest corner of the building. Shortly before nine o'clock nine or ten waggons full of goods were shunted into the shed for

safety, and two watchmen were employed by the Sail way Department to look after the sheds. One of them wont round this building at six o'clock p.m. and also at a qaarfcer past eigh last evening, when everything appeared to be quite safe; the first watchman is on -duty regularly from 5 p.m till 3 a.m.. and the second man is employe! dailr r r<Hn 8 p.m. till about 630 am. Regulations as to smoking in the poods shed have a'readv been strictly- enforced. There ia no insurance on the building; a large portion of the goods is said to have been insured, but particulars have not yet been compiled. It is prohabl* that an enquiry will be ordered by the Minister of Public Works. A man named Brown says he saw th* fire before it had a great bold on the building. It originated at the southern end ;*there are various-other persons who claim to be the first to discover the fire. Since the erection of the new railway sheds two night watchmen— Chas. Robins and W. Veitch— have been constantly on duty ; the latter was specially instructed to keep an eye on the new import sheds, and reports that at a quarter past 8 o'clock he went round the shed next Rat tray street, crossing the wharf (the one destroyed), and tried all the doors, everything being then all right; shortly after half.past 8 the alarm sounded, and a few minutes afterwards the south end of the building wan one sheet of flame. The wind was blowing in the direction of the Harbor Board's sheds abutting on the wharf, a few yards distant. Fears were entertained for the safety of this shed, and it was deemed advisable to keep two jets of water playing on its roof, which was of corrugated galvanised iron. Fears were entertaiaed for the safety of the cross wharf; and the newly built steamer Port Jackson, which was lying alongside, slipped her moorings, and stood some distance off. By the Mmc the Fire Brigade had arrived, the flnmes had so firm a hold of the building that it was impossible to save anything.. After some delay—there being a scarcity of water —two jets were brought to bear on the northern end of the burning building, with a hope of saving a quantity of valuable jewellery. The efforts of the Brigade, however, proved futile, and the whole length of the building was one sea of flame 150 yards long. The scene at this stage was grand. The southern balf of the building fell in with a crash. The flames shot higher and higher into the air, lighting the houses on the heights of Mornington, throwing out in bold relief the outlines of many of the larger buildings in Bond and Princes streets, and lighting up a considerable extent of the harbour The grandeur of the scene was impressing.? Meanwhile, the firemen worked xhe rily, and were assisted by relays from the onlookers in pumping water from the bay ; but all their efforts could not stay the progress of the devouring element, and before ten o'clock the shed was a heap of burning ruins. The shed was well filled with merchandise of all descriptions, including tobacco, rice, and groceries. Several eases of valuable jewellery, and many other articles, amongst which was a 16-horse power gas engine, imported to drive the printing aDd electric lighting mach««ry of the Otago Daily Times and Witness office. The entire cargo of the s.s. Tarawera, and a great portion of the cargo of t^ 8' Waka*i Pu» and several packages ex Westmeath, were amongst the goods stored in the building; The loss incurred by the consignees of the goods will, in most cases, be very heavy, as marine insurances lapse on goods being discharged from the vessel, while very few of the merchants are in the habit of reinsuring their goods immediately after they are landed. Among the firms whose goods were destroyed may be mentioned the following :—W. anil G. Turnbull, and Co., McKerras and Hazlett, J. Mac* Farlane, Neill Bros., Otago Bible Tract and Book Society, J. Eattray and Co., Bobmson, McGregor and Co., Boss and Glendinning, Jas. Wilkie and Co.. B. Wilson and Co., J. S. Williams, Wer. theim Sewing Machino Co., Braitbwaite, Mitchell, Sligo, Gibbs, Bright and Co., Hi J. Mowatt (Oamaru), Miles, Archer, and Ctf. (Timaru), New Zealand Drug Co., Hallenstein Bros., New Zealand Express Co., McLean and Stewart, Seomer Bemshaydt, Grigg and Co., BN.Z. and M.A. Co., F. Fretman, Singer, and Berens andjSilverston. At a late hour last night a large quantity of tobacco, and a good deal of jewellery, all very much damaged, were recovered. It was at this end of the building some four cases of jewellery consigned to j Berens _, and Silverston were stored, and j the police constables, rummaging among j the ashes and dying embers, on several Occasions came across gold and silver watches, bunches of keys, and other jewellery; which were placed in a cab, and driven away to the railway offices in Dowling street. The Latest.

The Daily Times machinery has been found in the station uninjured. Several large firms are covered by floating policies. The Star'''Office' consignments by the Westmeath and Tarawera were delivered yesterday. It is believed that £5000 will cover the insurance risks, and that £2500 will cover the importers' losses in connection with the late" fire. -