TIMBER FACTORY DESTROYED.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20839, 26 April 1933, Page 12

TIMBER FACTORY DESTROYED.

JBIG FIRE AT HARDIE AND THOMSON'S. SEVERAL HOUSES BURNED. DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT £20,000, One of the largest timber and joinery works m Chnsicnurch, Hardie aim Thomson's mill at the extreme nonnern end of Colombo street, was completely destroyed by lire early yesterday morning, 'ihe damage to the mill, to the timocr stacks surrounding: it, and to the houses which adjoined them on three sides is estimated at £20,000. Strong forces from the Christchurcli and St. Albans Fire Brigades had the utmost difficulty in keeping the fire within the area of about one acre, which is occupied by the factory and yards. For nearly two hours after the outbreak this whole area was a shapeless, blazing mass; and had the wind been keener or from a quarter other than the southwest, it is practically certain that the whole block would have been swept away. All the machinery in the mill was damaged beyond repair, as well as the greater part of 1,000,000 superficial feet of matured timber that was stacked around it. Mr Frank Salter, the tenant of a house backing on to the mill from Colombo street, was framed about the face and hands, and had to be treated at the Christchurcli Hospital. His four children also had a narrow escape when the flames burst Into the sleeping-porch and the bedroom of his house. Three other houses facing on Sherborne street had to be evacuated about 3 a.m.. bint they were fortunately saved from mafor damage through the concentrated efforts of the firemen. The origin of the fire has not been determined, and Mr William Thomson, the managing director of the firm, states emphatically that it could not have been accidental. "You can put it how you like, but 1 suspect someone," he said to a reporter of "The Press" yesterday. The police are making investigations. Mr Thomson also criticised the Christchurcli Fire Brigade for its delay in reaching the fire, but Deputy-Superintendent C. J. Blake, who was in charge of the brigade on account of the absence of Superintendent C. C. Warner in Wellington, declared that the first lead of hose was being directed on to the flames from. Sherborne street not more than six minutes after the automatic fire alarm registered at the Christchurch station. Extent of Bamage. The following properties owned by Hardie and Thomson, Ltd., or by Mr Thomson personally, were burned by the fire:— The whole of the plant and buildings, and 90 per cent, of the stacked timber at the firm's works at 1062.C010mb0 street north. The fences of Mr William Thomson's residential property at 1054 Colombo street. The rear of an unoccupied shop at 1062 a Colombo street. The billiard room at the rear of a tobacconist's shop, occupied by Keith Smith at 1062b Colombo street. The back of a shop and house at 1064 Colombo street, occupied respectively by Albert Frank Salter and Mrs F. Macdonald. The rear of the house was badly • gutted, and the motor-shed on this property, housing a touring car owned by a neighbour, Gordon R. Hayman, was destroyed. A house at 135 Sherborne street, occupied by H. Rieper. The fire caught this house at the back, burned the waUs badly, and ran along the roof to the front. A house at 133 Sherborne street, occupied by J. Mora. The damage to the roof and rear of this house was severe, though not so extensive as at 135. Mr Thomson estimates the loss on all these properties at £20,000, of which he says only about one-third is covered by insurances with the Hartford, New Zealand, and Sun offices. The insurances on the timber mill were recently reduced. Houses on two other properties were blistered and scorched. They were a house at 1066 Colombo str( occupied by Gordon R. Hayman, and a house at 131 Sherborne street, owned and occupied by W. G. Lockwood. The fences at the back of these and several other houses, and shops fronting on to Edgeware road were wholly or partially destroyed. Fire Brigade Criticised. "It was not a very big blaze in the factory when the automatic alarm woke us up and summoned the brigade," said Mr Thomson, whose house is next door to the mill in Colombo street. "The fire was in the door factory, and looked no bigger than a two-roomed house on fire. I rang the brigade. They said, 'Your alarm is ringing—have you got a fire there?' I said, 'Yes, we have got a. fire here, and send everything you've got.' I could see the flames had a pretty big hold. I opened the Colombo street gates and ran round to Sherborne street and opened the gates there. Then I had to stand around and wait for a auarter of an hour before they arrived in Sherborne street and more than half an hour before they reached the Colombo street gates. It was a shame and a. disgrace—over half an hour before they got a nozzle going from Colombo street. Although the wind was light southwest and the fire started on the east'side it burned . right, back against the wind to Colombo street. We could have, saved two-thirds of the mill if the brigade had got here quicker. When they didcome they Just went on to the stuff-that was gone instead of saving what* they could." Mr Thomson could not account for the origin of the fire. "I went through the factory at about 10 minutes past nine on Monday night, as I have gone through it every night for the last 16 years," he said.

"There was no sign of trouble, and everything was clean. You can put it how you like, but I suspect someone. I don't think that fire could have started itself." Chief Officer's Statement. Deputy-Superintendent Blake said that earlier in the morning the brigade had received calls to a burning house in Lincoln road. Since it was outside the area and not supplied with water, however, they had had to be refused. Then, at 2 30 a.m., came the call on the automatic alarm to Hardie and Thomson's timber works. "The watchman put the general alarm over and everyone turned out smartly," said Mr Blake. "I left immediately with the No. 5 engine. It was not more than four minutes from the time we got the alarm to the time we arrived there. We had a clear run and we did 40 miles an hour. I pulled up in Colombo street. There was a squally south-west wind, and I could see that the fire had a big hold. It was showing well in the sky before we reached Bealey avenue. With the wind in the quarter it was, the flames were making towards Sherborne street. I went there and got two 300 ft leads to the fire in the centre building. There was a good pressure of water, but the wind was stronger now and these two leads had practically no effect at all. I had to concentrate on preventing the fire from spreading to the three cottages | that were in danger on the Sherborne street side. When I got into j touch with the station by I telephone, Foreman Lowe had already turned the St. Albans brigade out, and I told him to send out the No. 6 engine from central, ' leaving only one squad of men at the station." Beginnings of the Fire. Mr Blake declared that the first lead was in action not more than six minutes after the automatic alarm had rung. He had been surprised to see the extent of the fire when he arrived, for the automatic system at the factory was particularly sensitive, and the brigade had had a number of false alarms from it. After the dry weather the racks of timber round the factory were just like match-wood. The flames were driving right in on to his men, and they had to be covered with wet sacks before they could make any advance. "When we got there the racks were already burning," said the deputy-superintendent. "The men worked splendidly, and I am quite satisfied that considering the conditions and the hold that the fire had when we reached it the brigade did remarkably good work." The main entrance and office of Hardie and Thomson, Ltd., are situated on Colombo street, but the factory and timber stacks were spread out behind over an area of about an acre and bounded by rows of shops and houses on Colombo street, Edgeware road, and Sherborne street. The factory itself was a large corrugated iron building extending over about half the area. According to Mr Thomson the fire originated towards the east, or Sherborne street, side of the factory. The wind tended to drive it further east, but once the flames gained a proper hold they spread swiftly to all corners of the building.. Running along the sawdust-covered rafters they attacked the main supports of the roof, and within very few minutes the whole building was on the point of collapse. An Acre of Flames. As the wood and iron fell outward it ignited the giant timber stacks which stood all round the yard. This timber was dry and highly inflammable. For drying purposes each plank was separated by a cross-piece from the one underneath, so that the stacks received and kindled the flames much as carefully piled wood in a fireplace receives them from the paper underneath. , , When ihe brigade arrived several of the stacks as well as the main building were burning fiercely. Because it was enclosed by a ring of houses the fire was not as spectacular as it might have been; but the roar of the flames and their brilliant glow in the black, sou'west sky brought some hundreds of people to the scene even at that early hour. By 3 o'clock the firemen had to engage nearly an acre of scorching flames. There were now 10 leads at work—-four from Edgeware road, two from Colombo street, and four from Sherborne street; but the fire was threatening at so many points that there was no time to make a concerted attack on it. Each blazing timber stack as it crashed was a fresh peril to "be fought and overcome before it reached the houses and shops. Most o£ the damage to the buildings on Colombo street was done by this time, and for the greater part of the next hour it was the Sherborne street front which provided the greatest excitement. Fight to Save Houses. By now the factory had been coniDletely destroyed. Everything on the site had been reduced to ground level, though it still blazed angrily. ' On the Edgeware road side the fire had begun to take hold of the timber stacks which towered over the backyards and little orchards of the row of shops and houses extending from Colombo street to Sherborne street. But 50 yards away, on Sherborne street, there was an immediate menace in a great breakaway of fire in the stacks of boards at the rear of three dwellings. From the two nearest the factory the furniture had been removed and was scattered along the opposite side of the street for a chain or more., So great was the heat here that the crowd watching with admiring interest the work of the firemen suffered no real discomfort from the light showers ot bitterly cold rain. Now and again, indeed, a particularly fierce burst of flame would aid the efforts of the police by forcing the onlookers back several yards. At one time it seemed impossible that any of the three houses could be saved. Tongues of flame 20 feet and more in length reached out from the burning stacks, licked the rear wails of the two houses nearest the factory, and set the dividing fences alight. Two of the houses were soon alight, and in a few minutes more the flames had travelled on and were issuing from beneath the front gables. Nothing then, thought the crowd, could prevent their destruction, but in another quarter of an hour the firemen with judicious 'management had this front under control. Of the three houses one suffered merely a little scorching and a cracked window. The other two were badly charred at the back, and their rear rooms were slightly damaged. In neither case had the fire done much damage when it ran along under the roof to the front. -Petrol Station Threatened. Little more than a chain away along Sherborne street, in the direction of Edgeware road and on the north side of the factory entrance, another house was for some time in

grave danger and had to be evacu- J ated. The brigades, however, were j now gaining the upper hand at all j | points, and soon stopped the menacing advance of the fire to this new sector. A petrol station in the Edgeware road block was the last point calling for defence. It was then nearly 5 o'clock. Everywhere else the situation seemed to be well in hand, but butting on to a brick bakehouse immediately behind the petrol station was a large pile of sawn timber through which the fire was rapidly eating its way. Some time earlier two motor-cars had' been removed from the rear of the station and with the arrival of the proprietor, Mr H. Greenslade, some drums of oil were also rolled out on to the street. The underground petrol tanks, containing about 900 gallons of motor spirit, were thought to be fairly safe unless the fire swept right through to Edgeware road, but in the last spectacular fire-fighting effort of the morning they were made secure. In the meantime the fire had been burning back again towards Colombo street. Shortly after 5 o'clock the office of the timber company, which had escaped the earlier damage in this quarter, was seriously threatened, but once again the brigades' protection was too strong for the flames. '! Roused by a Dog. j The men and women in the burned houses had some unpleasant experiences in the early morning. Mr Salter, who is a tailor, was burned about the face and hands when he made an effort to salvage his machine at the back of the house. One of his four children was asleep on a porch that was almost com- i pletely destroyed. She and the • other children had the terrifying ex- ( perience of waking in the night and seeing a solid sheet of flames just outside their windows. The Salters lost practically all their clothing. The house on Sherborne street that was most in danger was the one occupied by Mr and Mrs H. Rieper, who quickly decamped with their furniture when they saw the dangerous position in which they were placed. The Moras, who lived next door, were awakened by the frantic barkings of their dog; and they also had to evacuate their house swiftly. The third house was occupied by Mr and Mrs W.' G. Lockwood and their son, Mr G. G. Lockwood, well-known as an alpine sportsman. Maintaining their own bucket brigade, father and son kept the house free of fire for ithe first critical' half hour. There was little damage here, except to the outside paint. Patrols of firemen watched over the area all day yesterday and all last night. The smouldering fire in the timber stacks died hard, and although the hoses were running all day until the place was swamped with water and debris, there was still smoke and steam to be seen late in the evening. The firemen found it very difficult to play their hoses on to the stacks in such a way as to reach the heart of the smouldering fires inside, and there were continually new "outbreaks which required their attention all day long. As for the factory, it appeared to the crowd of visitors i yesterday just as any other factory appears after a devastating fire—a smoking, twisted mass of machinery, iron, and wood. Up-to-Date Plant. The plant in Hardie and Thomson's factory was considered to be one of the most complete and up-to-date in New Zealand. There was very little shafting, for each machine was coupled independently with its own electric motor. There were altogether 40 of these motors in the factory. In addition Mr Thomson carried a stock of -JUUU doors as well as glass and other builders' materials. Two new motor trucks and a cart were completely destroyed. The stacks contained approximately 1,000,000 superficial feet, including a great deal of valuable matured timber and large stocks of figured rimu and Southland beech. The factory was started 26 years ago, and has been enlarged and extended almost every year since. It is at present employing 25 hands. None of the machinery will be worth salvaging, and 90 per cent, of the stacked timber was There was a small fire in the factory, near the chimney stack, about two and a half years ago, but this, Mr Thomson says, was caused through the laxity of one of his employees. Mr Thomson had quite lately reduced the insurances on the property, considering that the automatic fire alarm, the excellent water pressure, and that he lived next door were sufficient safe--5' only comparable fires were those which occurred at Pepplers factory Colombo street, Sydenham, about 12 years ago, and at Hunsley s, next to J. M. Mitchell's present premises, a few years before the Great War. HOUSE BURNED. OCCUPANTS' NARROW ESCAPE. A five-roomed residence owned by Dalgety and Company, Ltd., and occupied by Mr J. G. Weir, on the company's farm at 201 Lincoln road, Halswell, was completely destroyed by fire about 1.30 a.m. yesterday, and Mr Weir, together with his wife and | three-year-old daughter, narrowly escaped from the building. None of the furniture was saved. • ; A neighbouring house occupied by Mr H. A- Coe was seriously endangered, and but for the drop m the wind there is little doubt that this building also would have caught fire. The situation became so seri- ; ous that the contents of his house j were removed to safety. A number of neighbours, by throwing water j over the side of the house near the fire, prevented the spread of the flames until the drop in the wind removed the danger. The cause of the fire is unknown, and there was no fire burning in the house when Mr Weir went to bed. The fire apparently began in the back of the house. Mrs Weir woke up at 1.30 a.m. to find the ceiling of the bedroom blazing. Their daughter happened to be sleeping in the same room, and the occupants managed to get out by the front door. Had it been necessary to go to another room for the child Mr Weir considered that it would not have been possible- to get out of the building. The house was insured, but no i details of the insurance were availj able last night. With the object of ascertaining I the number of persons visiting the Canterbury Museum, the Canterbury College Board of Governors recently arranged that a record should be kept of the persons attending the museum on certam days. During the holiday period the attendance (apart from children) was 1084 on January 18, and 1162 on January 19. On March 19, 24, I and 26 the attendances were 470, 1496, and 530 respectively.