The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1886-12-10
A STUBBORN FIRE.
The Pacific Navigation Co.'S Building
Damaged.


About nine o'clock last evening
Messrs. Wilder & Co.'s Waterman. ON
duty at the steamer Kilauea Hou lvino
at the Old Custom House wharf
noticed smoke issuing from the ridge of
the Pacific Navigation Company's stone
building. He gave notice quickly to a
policeman on beat in the vicinity who
blew his whistle vociferously. Captain
Tell ran over from the Police Station
and seeing that the building was on
fire fastened back and transmitted the
alarm by telephone The big bell
almost Immediately pealed out with the
ward number, keeping it up till the
whole brigade and an immense crowd
of people were rushing to the fire.
The Volunteer boys were the first to
have hose run out, but being delayed
in opening plug on the wharf, Pacific
Hose Company got first water. En-
gines l and stationed themselves on
the wharf drawing water from the har-
Dor, while No 4 attached to the by
drant at the corner of King and Nuu-
anu streets. There are balconies on
the second and third floors, with stairs
leading to them on the outside of the
building on the Eva side. The hose
men of No. a engine occupied the bal
cony Of the second floor, those of No.
? that of the third floor while No.
played on the building wherever there
was any chance Of doing good.
AS all the doors and windows were
almost Theoretically sealed with closely
fitting iron shutters, there was much
delay in getting water on the fire, the
location of which was under the iron
roof among the timbers. Smoke was
pouring out the whole length of the
ridge, and thin streaks of it was issuing
through the interstices of the shutters.
The men of No. 2 got ladders up to
the root and tearing off sheet Of iron
inserted a branch, but could not get
close to the fire at that point. How
ever, the water poured on to the floor
soon began to have some effect, al
though meanwhile the fire had devel-
oped strength sufficient to start through
the roof at different points, along the
ridge and at the caves. After hare
work with maui and chsel for about {
quarter of an hour the fremen sue
ceeded in wrenching off the door shut
tiers, when they obtained full access t.
the burning flat and had the flames
speedily subdued.
| The floor where tue fire occurred i
the sail loft formerly occupied by ]. M
Dat & Co. 1t contained two suits o
sails belonging to the schooner Jenni
| Walker, which, strange to say, wer
not damaged by the flames that hell
possession of the flat for more than al
hour. Two men were working o.
these sails yesterday, and the onl
. theory of the fires origin is that the
we're smoking and dropped spark o
some equitable material A miscell'
neous lot of lumber formed the ba
ance of contents of that floor. Variou
5 classes of ship chandlery goods wer
. stored on the second floor, which prot
! ably will have suffered very little dan
r age from the water with which tn
e whole interior was drenched. On tn
ground floor was a large wareroom,
which there were quantities OF bra
! and barley, besides a large stock
< calabashes and other goods nj
susceptible of damage by wat'
as the fodder stock mentioned. III
{ company's office is also on tn
q floor, but Mr. A. f. Cooke, the pres
dent, and Mr.. Terrill. book-keepe
we're on hand in time to secure loo
l. papers from damage. Another roo
y was occupied as the business and &c
a torial Office of Rev. II. H, Parker
y native paper Knokoa. Its conten
q we're removed under the supervision
is Mr.. Paul Aea, local editor of Il
- paper.
y The building was insured for 5000
?, ?, transient freight for $4,000 and me
u chandise for $4,000. OF this $4,5t
q is with Mr.. A. ]. Cartwright in Il
r. Firemen's Fund, on the building al
merchandise; while the amount
transient freight is with Messrs.
Hackfeld & Co. in German compan