CROWDS WATCH IN HORROR

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25345, 19 November 1947, Page 7

CROWDS WATCH IN HORROR

Spread of Fire Prevented NEARBY SHOPS IN DANGER There was none of the excitement that often attracts crowds to a big blaze. On all sides there were expressions of horror and concern for the occupants of the building rather than comment on the magnitude of the blaze. From the corner of Cashel and Colombo streets it was possible to watch all efforts to prevent the fire spreading, except the protection of adjoining. premises to the south and west. By 4 o’clock-the huge plume of brown smoke had attracted thousands of people into the neighbouring streets and business was brought to a standstill in shops and offices within two blocks fif the fire. At this stage crowds were surging down Cashel and Colombo streets to within 100 feet of the corner, but the heat alone was soon sufficient to drive them back halfway down the block. Those behind soon pushed them forward again. Until reinforcements of police and traffic ftispectors arrived, great work in controlling the crowds was done by Naval men and Royal Marines from H.M.N.Z.S. Bellona, which is visiting Lyttelton. A large number were on leave in the city, and some promptly moved in to assist firemen, while others fanned out to keep the crowd back. Army personnel helped later. Fire engines arriving in Cashel street from High street were continually impeded by crowds /on the street, and on at least two occasions people narrowly missed being run down.

By 4.15 the Colombo street side of the building was a blazing inferno and flames were leaping at least 100 feet above the building.' Firemen playing’hoses on that side worked in terrine heat, and received their only re, lief from men who secured armfuls of soft drinks from neighbouring shops and held bottles to their lips. Gratitude was expressed in earnest shouts. 'The eastern side of Cashel street was a maze of hoses, hydrants as far round as High street being tapped. * Spread to South Checked Firemen concentrating six leads on to the southern end of the building prevented the fire spreading in that direction. For nearly an hour it seemed that little headway was being made, but toward 5 o’clock the flames at that end began to subside quickly, and an engine with a high extension ladder withdrew to another part. Three other hoses working from Colombo street nearer the corner poured thousands of gallons of water into the building. It entered the windows and was simply lost in the blazing interior. The comparatively narrow windows in the upper storeys were difficult targets for tired men directing powerful jets. On the eastern side, the roar of the flames and hiss of water was punctuated only by the crash of falling iron ,and girders and explosive sounds as large plate-glass windows cracked or caved in. Power lines began to fall about 4 o’clock and fused with a brilliant flash. Employees in shops opposite Ballantyne’s on both streets were directed early to remove stock from the windows. There was then imminent danger of the flames leaping the street, and for at least half an hour there was still a danger of the heat breaking i windows and damaging, goods. Men continued for more than an hour to play hoses or throw buckets of water on the fronts of buildings opposite to reduce the heat and repel sparks'. Shopkeepers’ Precautions At one stage, it appeared as if the fire might spread westwards into the shop of John Bates and Company, crockery merchants, in Cashel street. Preparations were made to salvage the stock if necessary, and a pile of crates was stacked inside an open double door. However, the fire was checked before it reached the building. Shop windows were stripped of displays as a precautionary measure. Similar precautions were taken at the Ring House, jewellers, and the Georgette Millinery Salon, which were between Bates’s and Ballantyne’s. Jewellery from the Ring House was taken away. At the corner of Ballantyne’s entrance there was a small island window and while the building behind was crimson and gold with flames, this remained intact throughout the fire, and a poster of Santa Claus beamed out with a Christmas message until a sailor assisting the firemen, when a lead of hose was taken into the bay to extinguish flames in the corner of the building, broke the window. The principal feature of the display in the bay was a large .doll, which was rescued by a fireman.

People crowded vantage points all over the city. There were scores on the verandas of shops nearby, and rooftops of buildings further out also carried many people. The heat of the fire was felt nearly half a mile away, where people watched from upper storeys of residential buildings.

Camermen of the National Film Unit, who had visited Christchurch for the South Island championship show, were still in the city and they took many reels of motion pictures of the fire at its height.