The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-02 00:00:00

GREAT FIRE IN ST. KATHERINITS DOCK.

Yesterday forenoon another senors fire broke out
in Si. Katherine's Dock. making the third that has
maimed there within the last few years. It raged with
terrible fury during the whole day and last night, consum-
ing part of two hooded warehouses and destroying pro-
perty to a wry large extent. The warehouses formed part
of the letter H stack of warehouses, occupying one half of
the north aide of the docks next to East Smithfield. The
stack contained some eight or ten buildings in number, each
four or six floors in height, all communicating oo every
floor by means of double iron folding. doom. The import
Nein of the dock, with its shipping, flanked the south side
of it. The principal goods stored in them are spirits,
tallow, palm oil, cotton, flax, jute, and other merchandise,
to the extent of upwards of two millions value. The cir-
cumstances connected with the outbreak ere somewhat
singular. The warehonme had been open some hours,
labourers were on every floor receiving goods raised from
the quays by the hydraulic lifts, and were wheeling the pro-
perty through theentirelength of the stack for storing, when
people came running into the lick from the adjacent streets
and waterside with intelligence that one of the warehouses
was on fire, and that they had seen the flames coming out
of the root. The police at the entrap°e gates looked upon
the informant with surprise, for to them there was no
appearance even than of say danger, but a few minutes
sufficed to show that a serious fire had broken out in the
fifth story of warehouse letter F, yet on some of the dock
officials rushing up into it, they found men at work in the
floors below, quite unconscious of the fire's existence. The
dock managers, with the superintendents, dock masters, and
polies officials, were immediately summoned to the scene,
and several gangs of labourers who were in the docks were
set to work with buckets to extinguish the flames. The
class of goods stored oo the floor in question was chiefly
fibre and bales of jute. There was an immense stock of it
on the floor, piled and stacked up to the ceiling. It was
evidently all on fire, sending forth a fearful blinding and
suffocating smoke, compelling the men to beat a speedy
retreat. The dock officers, finding it was imme-
Bible to extinguish the fire, commenced securing
all the iron doors, so as to shut off com-
munication with the rest of the warehouses ; this
they effected, except one connecting the fifth floor of
F warehouse with that of the same floor, lettered H. It
was wide open, but owing to the overpowering influence of
the smoke the men could not reach the door. Daring this
time the flames were spreading fast throughout the two
uppermost floors of F warehouse, while the clouds of smoke
which poised forth completely darkened the neighbour-
hood. The dock fire engines were brought out the instant
the alarm was given, and the company's engineer put
full pressure of water on the hydrants throughout the
dock, so that when the pipes were affixed to them very
powerful jets of water were brought to bear upon the fire.
Captain Shaw, the Chief of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade
(which force came into operation under the act of parlia-
ment for the first time yesterday) heard of the outbreak of
the fire about 11.40, and instantly summoned, by telegraph,
nearly the whole of the engines and men to the spot, and
proceeded et once to the dock with a steam fire•engine from
W►tling•etreek In less than 20 minutes he was followed by
seven other steamers. Four of these were taken to
the north-east angle of the import basin, and
were got to work directly from the basin ; the hose
being hoisted on to the roof of D stack, which is very high
—from 80 to 100 feet. The steam floating seems from
Southwark-bridge was got into the basin about the same
time, and was soon at work. The otter engines brought up
in Fest Smithfield, where plenty of water was to be bad
from the mains. The excitement was then becoming very
great. Four floors of F warehouse, with the roof, were
completely in flames, and the llama bad penetrated into
the fifth floor of H warehouse, and by 2 o'clock the whole
of the upper part of this building presented a similar aspect.
Great fears were entertained that the fire would descend to
the remaining floors, wherein were stored large quantities
of palm oil and tallow. Gangs of labourers were set to
work to bank up with clay ►ll the doors leading to these
floors, in order to prevent the water from escaping, and
thus to flood the floors in jeopardy. For hours the
engines and firemen laboured incessantly to get
the fire under. With regard to the extent of the property
destroyed, some reports state that it will exceed 100,0001.,
and that almost every insurance office in London will
suffer. The origin of the fire is a perfect mystery, and
no doubt the Dock Company will institute a most searching
investigation as to the cause. Happily no lives were lost.
In the coarse of the evening it was thought that the
firemen had obtained a mastery over the flames, but
towards 10 o'clock it was apparent that the fire had pene-
trated the floors of the third division of warehouses, and
in a comparatively short period the whole of the upper
floor was in a general blaze. The roof speedily fell in, and
it became evident that the whole range of D warehouse
extending to the eastward was doomed. Toe brigademen
struggled manfully against the large body of flame, but it
was clear that their efforts were of no avail in checking
their program, and the fire extenied and at length reached
the extreme eastern end of the range of the D warehouse
opposite the entrance of the London Dock.
The oldest officers admit that they never met with a more
disastrous conflagration, for the fire seemed to defy every
movement to check its progress. The flames gradually
penetrated into the warehouse at the extreme end of the
range of the buildings wherein was stowed evidently a large
amount of inflammable material. An immense body of
fire shot up from the roof, lighting up the whole district.

NEW PENALTY ON FIRES IN THE METROPOLIS.—
Yesterday the Now Metropolitan Fire Brigade came into
force. All the fire engine' and "plant" are now under the
management of the Metropolitan Board with MI efficient
force. The following new provision respecting " chimneys
on fire," will affect the public generally. 'lf the chimney
of any house or other building within the metropolis is on
fire, the occupier of such house or building shall be liable
to • penalty not exceeding 20e. but if such occupier proves
that he has incurred such penalty by reason of the neglect
or wilful default of any other persor, he may recover sum-
marily from such pe!son the whole or any part of the
penalty he may have incurred as occupier."
THE MURDER AT DEVONPORT.—Thomas Lynch,
the private in the ath Regiment remanded from last
Friday on a charge of wilfully murdering John Thomas
Johnston, • private in the same regiment, was again
brought apes Setarday before the Devonport magistrates,
aod was formally committed for trial at the 8•111160 for
wilful murder. He wee removed to Exeter on Saturday
wean.