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A good account of the fire was given on page 7 of the Sydney newspaper The Dayly Telegrah on the day of the fire:
A few minutes after midnight a fire was discovered on the British India Steam Navigation Company's steamer Janus of 4OOO tons, lying at No. 9 wharf, tWoolioomooloo. The ship's quartermaster and the man on watch were the first to notice the outbreak. Dense volumes of smoke were Been to be issuing from, the ventilators. In a twinkling the whole of ' the ship's crew were astir, and the alarm was given to Headquarter's Fire Station.
The fire was burning fiercely in Nos. 1 and 2 holds, and the heat and smoke, which had begun to find their way lnto the tween decks, where a number of' valuable horses shipped at Melbourne by. Messrs. R. T. Baldock. were standing in their stalls, threatened to cause a panic.
A gangway was thrown ashore, and with the assislance of a number of willing coal lumpers, the animals were got on land before matters became serious.
Meanwhile the fire was making rapid progress amongst, the bales of gunny bags and jute that comprised the ship's cargo. Headquarters and Darlingurst turned up, and two motors were quickly at work. Two lines of hose were carried on to the top of deck, and the water was pumped into the open hatchway. Another pair worked from the tween decks, but owing to the ticklish nature of all fires on board ship, by virtue of the fact that it is wellnlgh impossible to locate the seat of the outbreak, it was some time before he firemen gained control.
The fire quickly spread to a cargo of chaff, the flames shot up, the decks became hot, and frantic coolies rushed about gesticulating and jabbering in their native tongue, adding to the general excitement.
Gangs of men lent willing hands to the work of flooding the holds, and the chief officer, Mr.J Hughes, directed operations amongst his crew.
Chief Officer Sparkes and the Deputy-Chief, Mr. Jackson, controlled the work of the brigade.
By 2 o'clock the fiames were under control, though the smoke was blinding and the heat terrific. The firemen and crew stuck gamely to the work, however, and managed to confine the outbrank to the forward part of the ship.
Whien this edition went to press the tfire was still burning in No. 1 hold, but It was anticipated that it would be extinguished in the course or an hour or so. The fire In No. 2 hold had been, successfully smothered.
The vessel was due to Sail for Calcutta via- Newcastle and Brisbane to-night, at which latter port she was to ship 509 remount horses, but the officers were Unable to say at an early hour this morning whether she would be able to get away to schedule time.
Further reports noted that
by 5 a.m. the hold was sufficiently, clear of smoke to enable the crew to descend. They removed the top cargo in both No. I and No. 2 holds, then the seat of the outbreak could be reached, and a final soaking given to the still smoking chaff. At 11 a.m. it was considered safe to withdraw the last of the firemen.
The agents advised that the structure of the Janus was practically undarnaged, the bulkheads alone suffering from the heat. The vessel could not proceed to sea, however, until she had been examined by a surveyor and declared, to be in a safe condition. |
SS. Janus
