FIRE AT GREYTOWN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 29 November 1884, Page 2

FIRE AT GREYTOWN.

; . ' (From the Standard) , About one o'clock on Thursday there was an alarm of fire from the South end. of Grey town, and clouds of smoke were seen driven across the public road by the. strong-.north west wind blowing at the time. It was soon ascertained that it was the private dwelling house of Mr K. A, Wakelin, standing in front of the sash and door factory. The lire brigade lost no time in getting out the engine and were soon upon the spot, but the destruction of the building was speedy and everything was lost, There is really no knowing how the fire originated, It was only the day before that the chimney was swept, and yesterday Mrs Wakelin had only enough lire to heat a little water. There were all sorts of. conjectures as to the ■ origin—some believing that a spark must have been driven from the mill or one of the locomotives at the railway station, • and others, that it must have falW from the chimney of the house., A little boy named Leonard : Wakelin was , the first to noticft the fire upon;.the roof, close" to i the ridgeboard, end called out". Directly attention Was drawn to it the mill was stopped,-and all hands rushed to endeavor to quench it. But a furious wind was blowing and the timber being dry the building .was soon in the'power pf the flames, Indeed the heat was so intense and the fire spread so rapidly that scarcely anything was saved, Mrs Wakelin' •and the children were not able to save' "even a change of clothing.. The loss is roughly estimated at about £GOO, and we understand that there were insurances upon the house and furniture, but to, what extent we have not learned, Mr Wakelin was away at the time of tii3 occurrence in Wellington, and to him the blow is a hard one. In 1882 his mill wag destroyed by fire, and since then he has worked witb indomitable energy to overcome the disaster. Now he meets with another reverse, losing nearly all his household property. During the progress of the fire at Mr Wakelin's bouße it was observed that smoke was ascending from the roof of a side building to the hospital. This was caused by a shower of sparks being carried a distance of fully two hundred yards, and falling upon the roof ran down into tli;i guttering, and accumulating there the shingles caught. The Brigade were soon on the spot with the engine, arid with the assistance of the bystanders a further conflagration was prevented. The Fire Brigade workad well and the only delay occurring was through the hose bursting in three or four places,