DOUBLE LOSS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21214, 10 September 1940, Page 4

DOUBLE LOSS

FIRE AND BURGLARY RED CROSS SOCIETY’S DEPOT GARDEN PLACE INCIDENT A burglary a*nd a fire in the Red Cross Society’s depot in Garden Place were disoovered by a constable when covering his rounds early this morning. With the prompt arrival of the Hamilton Fire Brigade following the alarm by the constable, the fire was quickly extinguished and no serious damage was caused to the building, which is part of the new block of shops cn the northern side of Garden Place. While testing the doors in Garden Place the constable noticed all the lights blazing in the depot and found the front door open. One entering he found a fire burning in the rear part of the shop and quickly gave the alarm. The firemen found clothes and other material on the floor and a cupboard ablaze, but the outbreak was quickly extinguished with the brigade’s first-aid apparatus. The cupboard, some shelves, a screen and other fittings were burned. Clothes, wool, soldiers’ comforts, Red Cross text books and other material was lost as a result of the fire, the total loss being estimated at about £3O. A subsequent investigation showed that about £5 in small sums of money, which was kept for the society’s daily operations, had been removed from the premises. The receipts for yesterday had been banked and the petty cash amounts were the only money remaining in the depot when it was closed last night.