DOCKYARD FIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 235, 4 October 1937, Page 9

DOCKYARD FIRE.

FIGHTERS IN DANGER. DAMAGE ABOUT £50,000. INTENSE HEAT, DENSE SMOKE. SYDNEY, October 1. Damage estimated at nearly £50,000 was caused by fire, the most spectacular seen in Sydney for many months, which destroyed the main general store and part of the paint store at the Cockatoo Island dockyard.

Firemen, assisted by residents of the island, police, eea cadets, yachtsmen and other volunteers, made desperate attempts to save the store. They were able to prevent the flames spreading to other valuable equipment. The coastal steamer Allenwood (398 tons) was towed away from the dock by launches, with her paintwork blistering under the fierce heat. For nearly an hour the fire presented the appearance of an erupting volcano. Flames rose hundreds of feet into the air, and a column of dense black smoke reached a great height. Thousands of spectators watched the blaze from the higher parts of adjacent suburbs and from small craft on the harbour. Series of Explosions. There are only about 30 residents of the island, nearly all of them employees of the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co., Ltd., or members of their families. The fire was seen and reported from the mainland soon after it began, about 1.30 p.m., but the first warning most of the residents received was a series of explosions, apparently due to the bursting under heat of drums of oil and paint in the paint store.

The intense heat made the work of the fire-fighters dangerous from the beginning. A party of men, led by senior officers of the company, made an heroic attempt to check the fire with hoses before help arrived, but were beaten back. The engineer superintendent- at the dock (Mr. T. Whyte) received burns to the hands, and other officers also received minor burns before they retreated. The Allenwood was saved by a few residents of the island and other volunteers and a party of Navy League Sea Cadets, who had brought their own 20foot launch. The vessel, which had been undergoing repairs, was tied alongside the dock, near the paint store.

"Almost Blinded by Heat." "We were almost blinded by the heat," said Mr. F. D. Wilkinson, a cadet on the P. and O. vessel Peshawur, who was one of the party. "We cast loose as best we- could, and managed to get a line from the launch to the Allenwood. Another launch came along to help— otherwise I don't think we could have managed in the time. There was no time to disconnect the power lines connecting the boat with the shore. We let them snap as we drew away. It was one of the closest things I have ever seen."

Firemen under the third officer (Mr. Tuck) left their engines at Balmain and travelled over to the dock on launches. They were able to direct the work of the firefighters, but the flames had gained such a hold in the store that nothing could stop them. Even after the firefloats Pluvius and Hydra arrived and commenced to pump tons of water from the harbour into the heart of the fire, the heat at times made their work almost impossible. They could be seen against a livid wall of flame crouching close to the wharf as the fire roared out over them. Those in the worst positions had to reverse their helmets to protect their faces, and every few minutes drenched themselves with water from their own hoses.

Desperate Fight. The paint store was saved after a desperate fight. Nothing could be done for the general store, but two electric cranes near it, and propellers, propeller shafts and other equipment for H.M.A.S. Sydney were saved from damage. The general store was a three-storey building with a steel framework. In the fierce heat the stout steel supports bent like candles, and when the fire was finally put out about dusk the store was a twisted ruin. It was necessary in the early part of the fire to switch off the electric power in the store, so that fire-fighters might not be injured -when they began to use water. Miss Sheila Mitchell, a daughter of one of the officers, undertook this task, but in order not to waste time, had to run down the length of the dock, with the fire on one side and a sheer drop on the other. "The heat was unbelievable," she said afterwards. "I was afraid that my hair would catch fire." A careful examination of the ruins gave no indication of how the fire had started. The managing director of the company, Mr. N". Frazer, said that a substantial part of the damage done was covered by insurance. Although the main store had been destroyed there were others. The administration offices had not been affected. He added that it did not appear that there were any suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire.