Fire on the s.s, Waimate.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 138, 7 December 1901, Page 1

Fire on the s.s, Waimate.

Napier, December 4. A fire brake out on the s.s. Waitnaf** which was lying in the bay, at -7.30 last night. The-crew were unable to subdue the flames, and sent for assistance. Owing to the signals 'ceasing, this was not sent out till they were 'repeated <Ut II p:m.; an hour and a half later. The fire broke out in n consignment df flax shipped at Wanganui, and stored on the middle deck of -No. -4 hold. The cargo stored in the lower deck has ndt, it is believed, damaged by fire, but must have suffered greatly by water. Altogether 2837 bales of wool and 182 S, casks of tallow were shipped here, and of this quantity 500 bales -of -wodl and the whole of the tallow are stored m the lower hold below ’the seat of the fire. The 'Waimite bad *very 'nearly 'completed her loading here, requiring only about 3000 bales of Wool to flnish, and she wou d prdbably have left for Auckland to-day. She «lso ‘has on board <B quantity of cargo shipped from Lyttelton and Wanganui, details of which are <nctt available here. Latest news from the 1.8. Waimats stales that the fire has spread to No. 6 hold. Arrangements are being made lo send the Hostings steam Are engine out to assist. Later particulars say that'it isbdlievatfi that the fire >on the e.s. Waimato boo practically been sgot -under. -At two o'clock this afternoon the 'batches were ■battenedtdbwtt, a hols out in the iron bulkhead df No. -4, « pipe 'put through, and’eteam -driven into the -bold. This hadtbe effeeo of obeohiog tbo fire, aeda '5 p.ra. carbonic -acid gas was pmnpefi -into the holds. Tbe hatches will be •opened to-morrow, but ’from preserSt -appearances at is hoped that tbe flredufli been pat out.' The steamers W-eka and Ahuriu mm dying «loqgsida with -the Napier *uH •Bpit bra 'engines on board re*4j Wt

render assistance if needed. No estimate of the damage can be nor is it known how the tiro originated, except that it was among the flax in No. 4 hold. At 11 o’clock this evening nothing farther had transpired, no signals ’ having been given and no boat having left the vessel. December 5. The fire on the Waimate, which it was thought had been successfully coped with on Wednesday night, burst out again at 3.30 o’clock this morning amongst the flax in No. 4 hold. The work of driving in steam, which had been going on all night, was then stopped, and the Napier and Spit Fire Brigades with their engines set to work to pump water into the hold. The seat of the fire was located and the stream of water directed to where the fire was burning. Gradually the increasing volume of water had its effect, but it was deemed advisable, to make matter* fully secure, to send for the Hastings Fire Brigade’s engine, which is a very powerfi l one, and when it arrived the thr •. engines were pouring watei’ into the'ho’d at the rate of 84,000 gallons per hour. By 5 p.m. the w.iter had reached the lev d of the ’tween decks, and tie Spit Fir e Brigade, who had been working alternate spells of one hour since 2 a m • yesterday, a continuous run of hours of the moat arduous labour, with practically no sleep and only snatches of food, w ;ra allowed to come ashore, ar.d they ware thoroughly done up when they 1-mded. The work done by the Spit Brigade, as well as by the officers a d crew of the vessel, practically saved the steamer, for they kept steadily at what appeared at times a hopeless task. The representatives of the Underwriters Association, who came off at 5 o’clock to-night, opined that in a few hours the fire would be completely subdued, and latest advices received at 10.30 p.m. are to the effect thatitwa 8 expected chat the steamer will be qu to safe by midnight. Wellington, December 4. The Only cargo in No. 4 hold of the 38. Waimate whek she left Wellington was 100 casks, of tallow shipped, at Wanganui. . Christchurch, December 4. The Waimate shipped no cargo at Lyttelton.