H e did so on the 23rd June, but fell asleep without extinguishing a candle, which, left burning by the bedside, communicated with a curtain and ignited it. About 1 o'clock on the morning of the 24th, the napping husband was hastily awoke from his slumber, the poor wife was after m u c h difficulty and .risk, rescued from imminent death, and conveyed to a friendly house in the neighbourhood. T h e flames spreading rapidly to some of the adjacent places, the group was a huge pillar of fire. T h e police, military, the Mayor (Mr. A. Russell), and several leading citizens were promptly on the spot, but the firebrigade arrived just in time to be too late. W h e n about to start the engine, no horse could be obtained to draw it, whereupon the foreman (Dalton) triced on some of the men, w h o pulled it merrily along up Elizabeth Street, until getting into a quagmire near the Post Office, there the whole lot (animate and inanimate) stuck, and were not extricated until the worst of the fire was over. T h efireburned out in an hour and a-half, when it was ascertained that three of the houses fronting the street, and the workshop of Denis Leary (a cooper), were destroyed. M'Culla's house at the back had also gone to ashes, and the butcher's shop of one O'Brien had a wonderful escape. Nathan was completely burned out, but M'Culla saved his furniture, and his loss was lessened through having had a clearing-out sale at his place a couple of days before. Clay had ,£13 in notes destroyed, and Leary had withdrawn a s u m of money from the bank only the day before. This also disappeared, but whether burned or stolen could not be ascertained. T h e day after, a cash-box was picked up amongst the debris, containing some money which was uninjured. A Mr. Douglas, one of the theatrical company then playing in town, was a lodger at one of the places, and the fire bereft him of everything. Property to the extent of ,£500 was destroyed, exclusive of the buildings, four in number. Such as they were, there was no insurance effected. Amongst the individuals w h o distinguished themselves in assisting, were Messrs. E. Grimes, and H . W . Smythe (Crown Lands Commissioners), J. O'Shanassy, Frank and James Stephen, H . Condell, H . Moor, T. Robinson, and C. Campbell. Michael Jordan, a bricklayer, was very active, and obtained m u c h praise for his exertions. Chief-Constable Sugden and his town police worked well, but general dissatisfaction was expressed with the inefficiency of the fire-brigade.
THE FIRST FIRE IN FITZROY.
About 3 o'clock on the morning of the 23rd January, 1850, a fire broke out in the rear of the house of a quarryman named Wells, in William (now Moor) Street, Fitzroy, by which two dwellings, a stable and portion of three other premises were destroyed. It originated by a m a n smoking in the stable and so firing some straw. There was also a horse there, and although the m a n was drunk the brute was not, and it was by the neighing and prancing of the scared animal that the occurrence was discovered. T h e man-beast escaped unhurt, but his companion was well singed, though not otherwise seriously damaged. T h e fire speedily reached the dwellings, and burst forth in such a luminous body as to light up the tower of St Peter's Church, the then next prominent building, and it was seen from all parts of Melbourne, spreading general alarm and inducing crowds to gather from every point of the compass. T h e Superintendent of Police (Mr. Sturt), Chief-Constable Bloomfield, and all their available force were speedily on the ground T h efire-brigadewas there too, but without either engine or water. There were plenty of water-carriers driving about, swearing and vociferating with willing horses and empty barrels, everywhere in quest of water but not a drop, though in the hot wind season, was to be found, for on that night, above all others there was not a single p u m p in working order at the Yarra, and the not-long-established Water Company's tank at the north-east corner of Elizabeth and Flinders Streets was quite dry. In Wells' house was a cask containing 25lbs. of quarrying powder; thefirewas hemming it in, and great were the fears of a terrible explosion. Numbers hesitated to go near it, until one man, named Allcock, fearlessly rushed into the blazing circle and brought away the cask in his arms. This act of undoubted heroism was rapturously applauded, but beyond the empty praise of the moment, this gallant fellow's intrepidity was never further recognised. If the wind had chanced to blow westerly, nothing could have saved the twenty or thirty buildings crammed together in the immediate neighbourhood. A s it was, Wells was the only sufferer and he was ruined, for all the burned down tenements were his, and uninsured.
