Party Building Is Damaged By Fire

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32117, 13 October 1969, Page 1

Party Building Is Damaged By Fire

Forty firemen, and nine units fought a blaze which gutted two-thirds of the first floor of the two-storey National Party building at 78 Lichfield Street, Christchurch, in the early hours of yesterday. Damage to the building and contents is estimated at more than $40,000.

When the first firemen arrived a huge pall of dense black smoke was rising high in the air and flames were bursting through three front windows and two side windows on the first floor.

More than 2400 gallons of water a minute were poured on the blaze from nine hoses and the monitor a largecapacity hose mounted on top of the turn-table Udder.

Firemen wearing breathing apparatus stopped the flames from reaching the hall at the rear of the first floor but it was damaged by heat, smoke and water.

The lounge, committee room, dining-room and kitchen were burnt out. Among the furniture and fittings destroyed were tables, chairs, carpets, a refrigerator, a large stove, erockery and glasses. The ground floor and base-

ment of the building is occupied by tenants. Reg Philpott, Ltd, electrical wholesaler, was the heaviest loser among these. The firm has an office and warehouse at the front of the ground floor below where the fire broke out Its loss has been estimated at $7OOO. This damage was caused to stock by heat and water.

The fire started at the front of the building on the first floor and spread rapidly towards the rear; It had apparently been burning for some time before it was discovered. The cause of the fire is not known but it might have originated from a discarded cigarette butt. A social function was held in the National Party rooms on the first floor on Saturday i evening by an outside organisation. Everything was in order when the building was secured at 1 a.m. Records Saved All the records of the Canterbury and Westland division of the National Party were saved as the flames were prevented from reaching the office on a split-level floor at the rear of the building. Some damage was caused by heat, smoke and water. This morning the office of the party will be transferred to the first floor of the building formerly occupied by Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd, In Cathedral Square. Arrangements had already been made to set up an election .headquarters in this building. “Terrific Blow” "This has been a terrific blow to our arrangements on the eve of the opening of the election campaign, especially as the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) will open the campaign in Christchurch on November 3,” said Mr H. Cordery, chairman of the Canterbury and Westland division of the party. The building, which has a concrete front, brick walls and an iron roof is owned by Party Centre Incorporated and is insured. Most of the first floor and roof will have to be rebuilt The first alarm was received at the watchroom of the Central Fire Station at 5.38 a.m. from a street fire alarm and a number of 111 telephone calls were received soon after.

Second Alarm Three units were sent from the Central Station, one of which was directed to Lichfield Street by radio after it had attended a minor fire. The units arrived on. the scene at 5.40 a.m. and immediately a second alarm call was sent Emergency bells were rung in the Central and suburban stations. Additional units from the Woolston, Sydenham, St Albans, and Sockburn stations raced to the scene. A unit from the Harewood Station was sent to the Central Station to stand by. All nine units were in position 12 minutes after the second alarm call was sent out and the fire was completely surrounded by 6.3 a.m. A radio message stating that the blaze was under control was received at the Central Station watchroom at 6.28 a.m.

Firemen remained at the building until late yesterday afternoon pumping out the basement with an electric pump powered by a Municipal Electricity Department portable generator and removing water from the floors with a large commercial vacuum cleaner.

Stock Covered f .

Firemen did a wonderful job by covering stock with tarpaulins and moving stock out of reach of water on the floor, Mr Philpott said yesterday. They rigged a salvage hopper to catch most of the water which poured through a hole in the ceiling. Water had been inches deep on the floor and had damaged radio and other types of batteries and had got into household electrical equipment

The damage could have been much greater as stock valued about $20,000 was stored in the warehouse. Damage estimated about $2OOO was done to the office of R. W. Midgley Trading Company, Ltd, importers, agents and manufacturers’ representatives, which is also in the front of the building on the ground floor. Papers were saturated by water which also got into office equipment The brigade had done a marvellous job in stopping the flames getting to the ground floor, said Mr Midgley. Valuable Book Her firm had got off very lightly, said Mrs J. K. Rendal, an employee of Avon Fine Prints, Ltd, a tenant at the rear of the ground floor. There was some damage by water in the office. None of the copies of the book, “Captain Cook’s Artists in the Pacific,” which costs $l5O, were damaged as they had not arrived from the printers in Hastings. They were to have arrived last week. Only 2000 copies of the black

leather-bound book have been printed and the plates are to be destroyed. ' Toys belonging to Tri-ang Pedigree (N.Z.), Ltd, wholesaler, which occupies one of the basements, were damaged by water.

Other tenants in the building are Donaghy’s Rope and Twine Company, Ltd, P. A. Fear and Company, Ltd, Overseas Commodities, Ltd, Allied International Records, Ltd, and Galvins Men’s Wear, which has a storeroom in one of the basements. All these firms suffered some damage. Windows in the Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Association building on the eastern side of the Nation Centre Building, were cracked by heat. Lichfield Street, between Colombo Street and Manchester Street was closed to traffic during the fire. About 40 persons watched the blaze.

The fire fighting was directed by the Chief Fire Officer (Mr F. A. Hardy).