FIRE STARTS IN FACTORY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28801, 23 January 1959, Page 8

FIRE STARTS IN FACTORY

Blaze Checked By Foreman A possible serious fire in the builders' hardware factory of Plastic and Diecasting, Ltd., in Hazeldean road, Addington, was prevented last evening by the quick action of the night shift foreman, Mr T. J. McKay. When fire broke out in the roof , of the front part of the wooden building about 7 p.m., Mr McKay ' attacked the flames with chemical ' extinguishers, and when driven 1 back by the intense heat and smoke, played a factory fire hose on the flames as they began to ■ spread along the roof. I He was able to keep the fire in i check until three Units from the i Central and Sydenham fire 1 stations arrived. The firemen found thick clouds 1 of yellow smoke from burning 1 roofing material bursting through 1 the front part of the roof, interspersed with sheets of flame. One I lead of hose was taken in through 1 the front office of the factory, and ' firemen used ladders to get another lead of hose up on to the roof. The Are was under control in a few minutes. A big crowd quickly gathered to watch the fire-fighting. Apart from the burnt roof and some iron ripped off by the fire* men, the building was not damaged, although the front part of the factory and the offices were badly soused with water. Lighte Flicker An electrical fault may have been the cause of the fire, as the factory lights flickered abqut three minutes before the outbreak. The alarm was given by a cleaner working in the front of the factory. He ran to get Mr McKay, who was working in rear sections of the factory with the 15 other members of the night shift. Mr McKay ran up with an extinguisher, and found flames coming from the switchboard, and the roof already well alight. He used the contents of one extinguisher and half of a second extinguisher, before the heat and smoke drove him back. In the meantime, the cleaner rang the brigade. “When it got too hot to stick, I moved back and played the hose on the roof,” Mr McKay said. “I was able to confine the fire to one corner of the roof, : and stop it spreading." The electrical failure rendered all the factory machinery idle, and the employees spent the rest of the night in cleaning up the front part of the factory, and getting rid of the water. With the switchboard out of ; action, the whole factory, which employs a staff of 165, might be Idle for at least a day or two, said the fflanaging director (Mr R. H. Stewart) last evening.