Fire guards made to order

Press, 8 May 1985, Page 42

Fire guards made to order

One of the strangest jobs that Mr Bryan Coulter ever had to do was to wire up a skeleton.

Mr Coulter describes hand wire work as a “dying” trade, but even so, re-wiring a skeleton was certainly an unusual task. The skeleton had fallen apart and was languishing on a work bench, bones scattered around, when a

customer walked in the door. “She didn’t know whether to run, or what,” says Mr Coulter, who still obviously relishes the memory of the look on the woman’s face. Mr Coulter has been in the wire-work trade for about 30 years, beginning even before he left school by working at the family wire works. When the family business, which had been operating for about 80 years, closed down, Mr Coulter opened his own business about 10 years ago. Among the many products now made at Coulter’s Wire Works in Coleridge Street, Sydenham, are fire

guards which are made to order. Made by hand, they come in any shape or size, to fit around pot belly stoves, chip heaters, log burners and open fires.

The Coutler fire guards are made from a heavygauge wire in a diamondshaped pattern. This ensures that the guards do not go out of shape and the diamond mesh prevents young children from clinging on to the guard. Available in black, gold and brown colours, there are also guards for electric heaters and smoke detectors. The firm produces many stainless steel baskets for sterilising equipment for

hospitals and laboratories; rubbish bins for councils, and raffle baskets. The firm fulfils orders from throughout the Canterbury region and further afield and exports to Australia. It produces about 300 fire guards each year.

There are two full-time and one part-time workers at the wire works.

As a third-generation hand wire worker, Mr Coulter has tackled many different products, including fences and springs, but he says the basic skills have not changed much in his lifetime.

The development of better tools and materials have made the job easier, but it remains hard work, especially tough on hands. “Now we’ve got automatic cutters and benders but the skills needed are just the same,” says Mr Coulter.

He says that hand wire work is a dying trade and there are few craftsmen who still produce handmade goods of the quality that his firm does.