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From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer,
January, 1863.
FIRE IN DOVER
Early on Wednesday morning last a fire broke out in the Ark public
house opposite the South Eastern Railway terminus in Beach Street which
unfortunately resulted in the destruction of the house besides
endangering to a certain extent other property.
It appears that the Ark is a public house. No one has slept in it for
some time, the landlord, Mr. E. Emery, locking it up at night after
business has been concluded and going elsewhere to sleep. From his own
statement it transpires that he went away as usual on Tuesday night and
somewhat hazardly, as many suppose, left some linen to air in front of a
fire which had been banked up. On the following morning between one and
two o'clock a neighbour named Oxley who is employed as a foreman in the
South Eastern Railway and who lives next door to the Ark was disturbed
by a roaring noise and things falling about and on getting up discovered
that the house was on fire. He quickly raised the alarm and Mr. E. T.
Way, the superintendent of the railway station, having been aroused, he
at once ordered the engine of the company to the spot and set on as many
of the railway employees as could be found to work it. For some little
time, inconvenience was experienced from the want of water, but the hose
was ultimately connected with the immense reservoir from which the
railway engines are supplied and an abundance of water was by this means
obtained until the town mains could be charged.
This was speedily done, Mr. Superintendent Coram, the captain of the
fire brigade, attending in command of the regular brigade as well as a
large contingent of the volunteer brigade who conveyed between them the
extinguishing apparatus and also the fire escape. Fortunately the latter
was not required.
The apparatus was speedily brought into very effective application,
the force of the water from the mains causing the tiling of which the
side of the burning premises was composed to rattle down like
hailstones.
Great credit is due to all who were employed in extinguishing the
fire which no doubt would have proved very disastrous to the densely
packed property in the neighbourhood but for the timely discovery of the
man named Oxley and the prompt assertions that were made by all in
rendering assistance.
We regret to say that this man has sustained injury to his furniture
in the efforts made to 'save it' by throwing it out of the windows and
submitting it to destructive ordeals usually adopted by well meaning and
panic stricken people on like occasions. His house was also much injured
by the passage of the firemen through it in order to get to the most
commanding situations for playing on the burning building. Oxley is not
insured but in the case of the Ark the house and stock are insured to
the full value, the house in the Atlas and the stock in the Phœnix
(insurance companies).
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