Mr Guthrey Praises Work Of Firemen

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31305, 27 February 1967, Page 1

Mr Guthrey Praises Work Of Firemen

Christchurch firemen, at some risk to their lives, had done a magnificent job of preventing the spread of the flames from his premises to the adjoining Carlyle street property of Imperial which contained inflammable material, said Mr A. R. Guthrey, managing director of Guthreys Freightways, Ltd., last evening.

About £50,000 worth of damage was done to the storage shed and furniture store of Guthreys Freightways, Ltd., by the fire which gutted the premises in the early hours of Saturday. The cause of the blaze is not known.

Destroyed by the fire were about 20 new tractors being held in storage for Todd Motors, Ltd., a five-ton crane, two mobile cranes, a utility vehicle and a car, all owned by Guthreys Freightways, Ltd. Also lost in the fire were 16 paintings, valued about £BO each, by the Christchurch artist Philip Trustum. The paintings represented a year’s work. They were to be displayed at Gallery A in Sydney. Mr Trustum will leave for Australia on Tuesday for a year’s study on a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant A quantity of furniture which was being shipped overseas for persons who had left New Zealand, was destroyed. About 1.30 a.m. there were two explosions within a short time of one another which sent flames high in the air and hurled hot metal and flaming timber over a wide area. CLIENTS’ GOODS Slightly more than £25.000 worth of the damage was done to goods belonging to clients of Guthreys Freightways. Ltd. They were covered by insurance as was the firm. Mr Guthrey said the old building was due for replacement but the insurance would not go anywhere near covering the cost of a new building. The firm had also lost revenue from the goods which were stored there but this was nothing compared with the loss of clients who had personal effects and items of sentimental value destroyed. Eight firemen were injured ‘ fighting the blaze. Most were 1 affected by chlorine gas which escaped from two large cylin- ! ders belonging to Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. ' These were in an open store at the side of the premises. One fireman was admitted • to Princess Margaret Hospii tai. He is Raymond Arthur • Shar, who suffered concus- > sion when he was knocked un- ; conscious by one of the explosions. i The fire was discovered by . Mr C. Jacobs, a nightwatch- : man. He heard a crackling I sound, looked out the window . and saw a small amount of I flame. He immediately tele- ; phoned the fire brigade. By ■ the time he had finished making the call the flames had

spread. At the time Mr Jacobs was ringing the brigade an alarm was sent by the firm’s automatic system. Mr Jacobs made a check of the premises about 9 p.m. and everything was in order then. Shortly before midnight a security patrol employee examined the building and there was no sign of fire.

Mr Guthrey said that Mr Jacobs had done a fine job in saving a number of the firm’s vehicles.

The force of the explosion shattered all the windows in the company’s new administrations building across the street. Burning embers and hot fragments of iron were thrown into the building and minor damage was done to carpets and woodwork. The premises destroyed were about 60 years old and covered an area of about 6000 square feet. The building was constructed of wood and corrugated iron and originally belonged to the cartage firm of J. M. Heywood and Company, Ltd. A team of workmen and tradesmen completed salvage at the week-end and Mr Guthrey said the firm would be in business as usual at 8 a.m. today. All the broken windows in the administration building have been replaced. Mr Guthrey said members of the staff arrived on Saturday willing to do any work which was required. The firm’s annual picnic was held at the Kaituna Domain

yesterday and there was a record attendance.

Mr Guthrey said he wished to thank all those who had assisted in fighting the fire, salvaging goods, the police for controlling the crowd, and all those who had helped in any way.