LINER JANUS. - HER NARROW ESCAPE.

LINER JANUS.

HER NARROW ESCAPE.

It needed but a glance at the British-India liner Janus, which arrived here yesterday morning from Calcutta to realise the narrow escape which she experienced from destruction through fire which attacked her at sea. Seldom has a vessel more seriously damaged from this cause been brought to port, and the statements of her passengers that the safety of the Janus was largely due to the courage and resourcefulness of Captain Colin Macdonald, his officers, and crew can be readily appreciated.

The story of the sensational plight of the vessel, her arrival at Albany a mass of flame, and the necessity for completely flooding her holds, in order to extinguish the outbreak, has already been told. Her iron decks buckled and bent out of all shape by the terrific heat to which they were exposed, the Janus now lies at a berth in the Victoria Dock awaiting a survey by the underwriters.

One of the most striking effects of the fire is to be seen in the saloon, the wooden floor of which is bulged up in one spot to a height of more than a foot, as a result of the fearful heat from the decks below. Had the fire attained the upper hand in this portion of the ship it would invariably have also destroyed the navigating bridge which is located above the saloon. Fortunately this calamity was averted, and though almost blinded and suffocated by the smoke, which was in alarming volumes, the navigating staff stuck manfully to their duties throughout the whole trial.

Of the 10 passengers on board two were ladies, and all speak highly of the splendid discipline that was maintained by the vessel's whole company. Though naturally excitement ran high. there was a complete absence of panic, and to quote Captain Macdonald, all on board "worked as one man" to subdue the fire.

Preparations were made for launching the boats in case necessity rose for abandoning the burning vessel, several of the male passengers lending valuable assistance, not only in this direction but also in helping to extinguish the fire. Questioned as to how the Lascar crew behaved, Captain Macdonald said that their conduct left nothing to be desired and it was not until they were almost suffocated by smoke that they relinquished ?? in the engine room.

Of the valuable assistance he received from the port officials at Albany, and especially from the naval brigade in fighting the fire, Captain Macdonald speaks in glowing terms, one and all of them using their (unreadable) towards this end. Being well (unreadable) in shipping (unreadable), Captain Macdonald received several expressions of sympathy upon arrival here. For Melbourne the Janus has about (unreadable) tons of Eastern produce, including a large (unreadable). How far this has been damaged by fire and water has yet to be ascertained.