Copra Meal

Spontaneous Fire In Copra Meal

THE fire in Carpenters’ Copra-meale store, in Walu Bay, west of thor Suva docks, late in January y was an outstanding example oto spontaneous combustion.

About 2,000 tons of coconut mealls from the crushing mill, had accumu-u lated there, awaiting shipment to"

New Zealand. There had been heavy rain; and some water go'o through to the sacks. The combineos result of wetness, the hot seasonm and enormous weight (the sackix were stacked very high) causeoo fire to generate in the bottom layerm of bagged meal.

Early morning workers on Sunn day, January 20, saw smoke comr; ing from the top of the store, anon gave the alarm.

The fire did not blaze; but therii was a stubborn smoulder. Thousandbi of bags were shifted hurriedly outii. side—it was still raining—before thri. seat of the trouble was reacheoo Just as the smouldering baggf were being taken out, another finf developed similarly in another pans of the store. The job of stampinni out the trouble went on for tww; days.

A few hours after the fire wav noticed—on the Sunday—a shied came in for the 2,000 tons of meas- But it could not load. Most of thff sacks —even those well way froio the fires—were too hot for placimi on a ship. The process of spontanen ous combustion had affected a largx proportion of the copra meal at tMJ lower tiers. t Three Capuchins from tiff United States have arrived in N©P Guinea to join their Ordeito. missions. They are the Rev. Fatheer Gregory Roger Smith, OFM, Gai£’

Stakem, OFM, and Brother Clautu Mattingly. OFM. The Capuchri Mission of Papua comprises tlf whole of the Southern Highlands!) i

Passengers of "Matua" wait quietly in the [?]wn of January 21 to get into the ship's lats after "Matua" had run onto Duff Reef few hours earlier (see "Shipping News", is issue).

It was good luck that four American stroyers, heading for Suva, were only a few [?]iles way at the time. And it was extra-

ordinary luck that, since the "Matua” was destined to go on that reef, that she went on in that particular spot.

The Americans sent down a diver to see what had happened to the "Matua's" bottom.

He reported that there were rough lumps of coral stretching away on both sides, all big and ugly enough to have torn through the

ship's plates; but, in that particular place, the ship was resting easily and quite un damaged in a bank of coral sand. She was polled off without much effort. The destroyers took off all her passengers, and in Suva USS Co. manager Butler and a busy company had organised accommodation for them in the lounge and lower rooms of the Grand Pacific Hotel (then empty and undergoing renovation).

By the time the "Matua" tied up it was plain that the ship was completely unharmed; and within an hour or two the greatly relieved passengers were going back to their cabins, and settling down for an uneventful voyage to Auckland.

Photo: Eric S. Adams.