FIRE IN ROSS PLACE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 413, 2 December 1874, Page 2

FIRE IN ROSS PLACE.

On Sunday afternoon, at a few minutes to ' four o'clock, sarc'oke was observed issuing from the upper story of F. Meyer and Co.'s buildings, in Ross Place, and in a very short time it was discovered that the upper portion of the building, was on fire. An alarm was immediately given, and several members of the" Fire .Brigade 'were quickly in attendance with their appliances. There being a fire plug directly opposite the building, no time was lost in fixing the hydrant to it. By the' time the hose was fastened, the flame 3 had burst through the upper floor windows with great fury, and tc these the hose wa9 first directed. Unfortunately none of the officers of the Fire Brigade* were present, and for a short time the efforts of tha members were considerably retarded for the want of a commander, and nofc being, in uniform, the police could not distinguish between the firemen and ordinary civilians. The hose was kept on the fire through the front and back rooms for about half an hour, when it was got under, and the work of extinguishing it was then easy. The 'tyater was, however, ' kept playing on the smouldering debris uniil eyery sign oi fire had disappeared. A great, crowd of people assembled on the alarm being given, and many willing hands assisted in the removal ,of the goods and 1 other property. .Several individuals in the excitement <^id more harm than good. One instance in particular ...was very ludicrous. A yonns; map. rushed out of the store in frantic haste, with several bottles of porter," and thr£w; them out in the street as though they had been a. .bag-uT nails'. A 1 great deal of the' stock was ; sa'ved, "comparatively uninjured, 1 and afterwards' removed 7 by the inSoranc© agents to a place'of safety . Sub-Inspector. Thompson ahd !> several memTjerl o'f^the police- force were early- 'on. the gro&nd, and lent valuable assistance throughout — their first care being to remove the gunpowder^ -^ev,eral tins , of which- were kept in the shop. Luckily most of the inflammable articles, 'such as kerosene oil, &c, were in an outbuilding, which thefire did not touch, otherwise the consequences would have been far more serious. Messrs. Hayes, Jeffery, and Harrop, representing the offices in which the property -was insured, did all" in their power to save the stock and material from damage, and they, succeeded very well indeed. Great praise is due to the members of the Fire Brigade, wha were present, for the plucky manner in which, they stuck' to their work. ' The hydraunt and all appliances in possession of the brigade was at the scene kof the fire in four minutes from the time of the alarm being given, and in a very few seconds the water was playing on the building. The absence of all the officers caused some little confusion at the first onset/ as to which way the water should be - first directed, and a few moments were- lost in shifting the position of the hose ; but the men worked- with a w3L' and followed up the fire foot by, .foot, ,As ' they gradually mastered the flames, the mv Jmrnent danger in which the. adjoining buildings- were, placed utas soon over,.. Several,. of the" firemen were knocked down by the^K>se in shifting it, the power the ' water 7 has 'ah- this plug being 'velry great, the dam being quite ■ fus ; at, the time of the outbreak. r In a great measure the rapid extinction of fire is due' to' the splendid supply of. water, and it therefore, behoves our local authorities to keep the reservoirs always filled. We must here remark that Mr. Robert Tucke'yVon hearingof the fire, rode off and informed thetmau in .ch.ar.ge of. the dam;of the fire, so as to ensure a good supply of water. A large number of^ people visited the „scene;of the,., conflagration oniMoffday, and general surprise was expressed at the*'fire being got under without the building being totally destroyed, considering tiie hold it had of the upper rooms, r Ifril fortunate it broke out where it did, as had it commenced on the ground .floor nothing would • have' 'been saved^ J - buildings and stock we£e insured in the following offices :— Northern, £1000 A[ on the stock £400 ; on buildings, Victoria, £500; stock, £50; furniture, South British, £200, „-.'. » I - •■ The origin of the fire- remains in. obscurity, and is likely to do so. It appears that Mr. Meyer and children were'away from the house when it was discovered, leaving Mrs. '.Meyer; and ; the; :baby Jat home. Mrs. Meyer, did not notice any signs of fire, neither was,there any smelj orbufhing until the alarm wag jgivrih' by some one outside. This cari-be accounted ft >r by the fire starting in the upper rooms, occupied as . bedr-ooms; by the children. It is surmisect ttiax the children had been, playing -jwith -matches,.; and th§tspme of them before leaving the room had Ixod on one, causing>it' to .ignite, and hence the catastrophe. This is only a snpposi* tion, and the actual cause of the fir© inj\ most lively never te discovered^

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