Last night Duddell Street, with the surrounding area, was the scene of the largest fire that the Colony has witnessed for some years, says the "Hongkong Telegraph" of August 1. The outbreak was first perceived about 9 p.m., and the flames gathered so speedily that in a few minutes they were plainly visible on the Kowloon side, Precisely how the fire originated is not known at the moment, but the premises occupied by Messis. Kelly & Walsh and the Electric Ca. contained some highly tm!- flammable material, and the con-flag ration spread with terrible rapidity. The Fire Brigade was called at 9.10 and the first set of apparatus was promptly on the scene, but dense smoke and fumes from the printing-works hindered operations. The first approach was made through Messrs. W. G. Humphreys' godown, which, happily, was recently rebuilt as a fireproof structure.
But it soon became only too clear that Messrs. Kelly & Walsh's and the Electric Co's premises, at any rate, were doomed. The building was, in fact. consumed with almost incredible rapidity.
Exrension to Cartton Here, But this was not all. Messrs. Humphrey's fireproof godown acted as a barrier on one gide. else there is no telling how far the fire might not have spread along Duddell Street towards Queen's Koad. -Not so on the other side. Sparks from the original fire, flying upward, caught the top rear verandah of the Carlton Hotel Annexe. Presumably it was the timber work of the verandah that fed. the flames, which in a very short while made their way into the rooms from back to front. Soon the fire was darting through the roof and the front windows, threatening the balcony in Ice House Street and singeing the overhanging trees.
Another hose was brought into operation from an upper room of the Carlton Hotel building on the opposite (the lower) side of Duddell Street. At first the fire fighters were handicapped through insufficient hydraulic pressure. This being remedied, a party of firemen sent the water stream across the intervening space through the windows of the blaze ing rooms.
Tt was remarkable how windows resisted the heat of the blazing rooms, nor could the strong water pressure break them at once. In some cases the unusual sight was witnessed of crowds of onlookers engaging ina stone-throwing competition to overcome the obstinate glass.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.