The Express.
London, England, 1866-07-16 00:00:00

SERIOUS FIRES LAST RIGHT AND THIS

MORNING.

No lees than twelve finis have broken out in
various parts of the metropolis since Saturday night, caus-
ing great destruction of property. The most serious were
the following :
About half-past 9 o'clock last night the premises
No. 31, Patriot-road, Cambridge-heath-road, Bethnal-
green, occupied by Mr. W. Baker, firework manufacturer,
suddenly burst into flames, and the fearful explosions
that quickly followed led to the greatest consternation
and alarm among the surrounding inhabitants. The pre-
mises, which contained six rooms, were used chiefly for
storing fireworks, the manufactory being some distance off.
At the time of the alarm being raised, there were
no persons in the house. Mr. Baker and his eon
were returning home from Gravesend, and saw the
outbreak of the fire as the train passed by the end
of their street. It commenced in the basement story, and
very speedily spread throughout the building. The street
at the time, like almost every thoroughfare in the district,
was crowded with people returning from a Sunday
evening's walk in the Victoria-park, rod, as may be sup-
posed, the sight of the fire increased the crowd tenfold. Ex-
plosion after explosion rapidly took place, blowing out
the windows and the tiles off the roof, followed by flights
of rockets, blue lights, crackers, squibs', and other fire-
works, a large portion of which shot amongst the crowds
and created the wildest excitement. One heavy explosion
blew out the whole of the back wall into some gardens,
and carried in the roof of some back premises; but
fortunately no person was injured. The police mustered
in force, and managed to clear a space for the engines.
which were got into operation the moment they arrived.
Mr. Baker's house was then in ruins, and the firemen's at-
tention was entirely directed to saving the adjacent
houses, which they succeeded in accomplishing. It was
nearly eleven o'clock, before the fire was eutirelygot under.
Mr. Baker, who is not insured, entertains a belief that
the premises were wilfully set on fire by some thieves who
had broken into the place.
Shortly after 1 o'clock this morning another fire of
far more serious extent broke out at the very extensive
oil mills and turpentine works, belonging to Sir Charles
Price and Co., at West Ferry-road, near the south (West
India Dock) entrance, Millwall. The works covered
several acres of ground and are considered the
largest of their kind in London. The fire
originated in • refinery, a long brick kind of
warehouse, near the waterside and containing an immense
stock of oil in tanks, which on becoming ignited boiled forth
in a flaming state from the windows, firing everything it
came in contact with. The great light it produced in the
heavens led to an immediate turn out of moat of the brigade
engines. Captain Shaw, on reaching the spot with the steam
force, found titers was no chance of saving any part of the
refinery, and the whole works were in imminent peril from
the burning oil which was flowing about in all directions,
and among the casks of tar and turpentine piled in the
adjoining yards to the extent of several thousand barrels.
Suddenly a large body of flame shot up from another part
of Sir Charles Price's works in the marshes, which are sepa-
rated by the main road. Captain Shaw, on proceeding
thither, discovered that the burning oil from the
refinery had flowed along a sewer under the main road into
a ditch at the extreme end of the works, there setting fire
to a still-house, cow-shed, and a stack of empty turpentine
barrels. A portion of the steam force was at once drafted
off to this part of the works, and the firemen had to labour
incessantly for some hours to prevent it from extending.
The property was not insured.
Another heavy fire occurred soon afterwards at the
Abbey Flour-mills, West Ham, in the occupation of Mr. J.
Can. They were very lofty, and had only been built about
three years when a former fire burnt down the old mills.
By the time the engines arrived the whole fabrics was in
flames—nothing could be saved. The mills were worked
by steam and water power—a stream from the river Lea,
in fact, passed under the mill. The property was insured
in the Royal and other insuranoe offices.

WEATHER REPORT.-('PHIS DAY.)

MONDAY. JOLT la, $ A.M.

B. W. lrtO iltdre"
W. I Kfo
12 N. D. 0.
Nairn
Aberdeen - - -I 1
Leith
Ardrouan 30.2162 N.E. 3 3 W. e —l2
Greencastle 30.24 SS N. N. K. 2 4 N.E. ro 0.01. 1
Valentia "30.15 61 N. N. E. I S B.W. Do 1
Liverpool 30.1964 N.N.W. 1 2 W.N.W. cm I 1
Holyhead _10.1657 N.N.E. 2 3 3.3. W. cf 2
Penzance 30.0665 E. 4 6 N.E. o 10.07 3
Brest
Lorient 29.96 631 3. 2 I 3 N.E. of I 1
Rochefort.. . 30.04 66. K N.E. 1 2 W.S.W. co 1 2
Plymouth
Weymouth ... I
30.07 63, E. 4 0 Z. oo 0.29 4
Portsinouth 30.02 62. E.S.E. 4 2 S.E. er 2
London 30.1664 E. 2 1 . E.S.E. be —•-
Yarmouth 30.20 64. E. 2 1 S.S.W. 'hol —'
Scarborough. 30.21 641 N.R. 1 1 3. 'be 1
Shields 30.2663 E.S.E. 2 2 E.S.E i e. 2
Helder