The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-08-15
BROKER POLITE ARRIVES THESE JUDGES BARHLN OFFICIAL FIRE PROF. NNNDEDAD
KAKAAKO PEST HOUSE Is DEs-
TROYED.
Mistake Causes Firemen to Set Fire to
Wrong Building-New Shooting Butts
to Be Erected.

What will probably prove the last
| official" fire in Honolulu for many
months to come occurred this morning
when the old plague pest house at Ka-
! Kaako Point was destroyed by the or
ders of the Board of Health. With the
fall of the mauka wall disappeared the
last of the buildings which the Board
expects to find necessary to remove by
! fire and should it ever become necessary
for the plague to be again combatted
the Board is well equipped to handle
cases by the thousand at it's new camp
at Kalihi.
DR. Garvin the executive officer of the
Board of Health had charge of the des-
! tructiOn of the pest house today. In
order to guard against the fire spread
ing to other property engine company
No 2 was specially detailed to assist In
the work and Fire Chief Hunt was also
on hand to protect surrounding property
Fortunately the pest house was situated
so remotely from the neighboring
houses that there was no occasion 70
call or the department for aid in stop
ping the fire and all that the crew had
to do was to stand by and watch the
flames rapidly destroy the old shack
/ The building was formerly the property
| of the Military and was used for shoot
| ing booths the ranges being across the
water to the butts a distance of several
hundred yards. There were about a
/ dozen rooms in the building with two
I additions on either end used for
| kitchen and a morgue during the pia-
que. The building was about $50 feet
/ in length by twenty in width with a
( long platform overlooking the water
Absolutely nothing was removed from
the place all of the old bedding and
other material used by the plague pa
tients being burned.
TbTpnpb n mis- a lvp in p1IprS a hti{I1-
| ing which had had nothing to do with
! the plague and was situated remotely
! from the condemned building came near
being destroyed. The firemen thought
that one of the buildings to be destroy
ed was a little two room affair situa
/ ted directly opposite the new Honolulu
! Rolling Mills and close to the fence of
| Vincent & Belser's horse corral. When
| DIR. Garvin appeared he found that the
men were busily engaged in playing the
| hose on the coral while the flames were
| beginning to roar inside the other build
! ing.
Here what in the world have you
set that place on fire for? asked DR..
| Garvin.
why we thought that was the place
| to burn" replied the men
! "Well it isn't" egaculated GarVin and
you had better put it out right away"
! If all departments We're as efficient
/ as the men showed themselves lb ne
within the next few minutes there
would be little need for fire insurance
| companies as the blaze was eXtinguish-
| ed with a dispatch that was lightning
in character. Fortunately no damage
had been done beyond Charring a parti-
tion as only the coal oil had caught fire
when the mistake was discovered.
The attention Of the crew was then
directed to the destruction of the right
place. Coal oil was sprinkler about
several of the rooms and along the
platform. Before setting the fire to the
stuff however several boards of the
little pier running out to the butts were
torn up as the men did not care to have
the flames extend that far When all
was in readiness DR.. Garvin and a fire
man with lighted brooms went into one
of the rooms and within a moment
both men came running from the place
with the flames leaping high about the
walls. There was a strong wind from
Manoa valley and when the doors of th'
other rooms We're opened draught wal
created, causing the flames to spread
with astonishing rapidtty. AS the thicl
, heavy black smoke rolled out toward
the sea crowds of people from the Sout
; Sea Island village out by the sea wal
thrOnged the shores and gazed with evi
dent wonder at the destruction of tn
/, long, low white building. Within twen
ty minutes after the fire was starte'
+, the walls had fallen and the place re
! duced to a mass of smouldering ruins
The board of Health will begin imme
: diately to erect a new building for tn
rifle company.