An outbreak of fire, shortly after 8 p.m. on Monday, at the China Garage, Foochow Road, caused a deal of excitement in the neighbourhood and considerable anxiety to the Hire Brigade; and the Settle ment has again to be congratulated on the efficiency of the firemen, who, with very slight damage done, stopped a fire which could easily have become very big indeed. The blaze is believed to have started through a man who was filling a gasoline tank using an oil lamp, at Which the vapour became ignited, shattering a drum and scattering burning gasoline all over the place. One man was rather badly burned about the hands and face.
he Centra] Division, who answered the alarm, found a motor lorry and three gasoline drums in the back part of the premises enveloped in a sheet of flame. A "number of cars were run out and a jet brought into play, but the fire got to the roof and threw a terrific glare over the district, on account of the burning gasoline. However, the firemen soon effected a stop, though it took some time effectively to damp down.
The damage was surprisingly small, being confined to the back of the garage and even there a number of cars were not reached by the fire, though they could not be got out. Practically all the damage was to the motor lorry, a few unpacked cases and part of the roof, besides the drums which started the trouble.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.