FIRE ENGINE MEETS DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 219, 16 June 1925, Page 9

FIRE ENGINE MEETS DISASTER

STRUCK BY MOTOR CAR AND OVERTURNED ONE FIREMAN KILLED, SIX INJURED Bt Telegraph-—Press Association. ) Christchurch, June 15. A collision between a fire engine and a motor-car this evening at the intersection of Madras Street and Oxford Terrace resulted in one fireman being killed almost instantaneously and six other firemen being injured more or less seriously, while the driver of the motor-car had his right leg slightly injured. Details of the casualties are:— _ KILLED \ Station Officer J. H. Noblett (single). >• INJURED I Foreman T. B. Robb, officer In charge of the engine. !■ (Married). Severe cuts on the forehead and ’ right eye. Mechanic W. Low (single), bruises to a leg and arm. Fireman P. J. Taylor (married), broken left leg. "Fireman C. Wilton (single), cut on leg and bruised 1 back Fireman W. H. Collett (single), abrasions on arm and • elbow. Fireman R. E. Downing (single), bad bruises on knee and back.

The brigade received a call at 6.45 to a motor-car on fire in Clyde Street. A Dennis engine went out, and when nearing the Madras Street bridge encountered a car driven by John B. Cade. The car smashed into the middle of the engine, which skidded, turned over to the left and came to a stop against the stonework of the bridge. The top hamper of the engine, carrying the hose and apparatus, was broken off, and the car slewed right round. The men crawled out from under the engine when it was righted, and Noblett was found under the wrecked gear terribly injured about the head, his helmet being crushed, and various parts of his body being mutilated, he died a few moments later. A ’ little later a fireman crawled out of the river, having being thrown right over the bridge and into the stream The injured men were taken to the hospital. A Miraculous Escape. The driver of the car, Cade, had a miraculous escape. There was no one with him at the time, and he was proceeding into the city preparatory to going to Kaikoura in the morning. His car was considerably damaged about thp front portion. The radiator was dented, the wheels badly wrenched, the dumb iron and headlights smashed, and the front part of the chassis twisted out of shape. As far as damage to the fire engine is concerned, the left front wheel was smashed, and the' chassis twisted out of alignment. The top .portion, carrying apparatus, was wrenched off when the machine turned over, and yards of hose and gear were strewn about the pavement.

The view down Madras Street was cut off by the Baptist Church, and the crash was quite unavoidable. The siren gave the impression that the engine was a good distance off, whereas it was just entering the intersection when the motor-car reached the corner, the actual impact taking place in the middle of the road.

After the injured men had been taken away two other units arrived from the fire station, under the charge of Superintendent Warner, and gathered up tire debris. A City Council truck was requisitioned, and the broken engine was removed. J

Asked by a reporter after the injured had been removed what happened to the blazing motor-car in Clyde Street, Superintendent Warner remarked grimly: "I don’t know; this is as far as we got.”

Weird Spectacle.

The scene after the accident was a strange one. Rain was pouring down in torrents at the time, and the wrecked engine, with its' red woodwork _ and brightly polished brass fittings, twisted and torn, presented a weird spectacle. Its lights were still burning, and they gave the scene a still more peculiar aspect. The case with the motor-car was the same. The headlights, badly battered, had ceased to function, but the sidelights were still on. The accident is probably the most serious one in its effects that has been experienced in Christchurch for a long time, for it is seldom that a fire engine has met with such a disaster. The last incident of the sort occurred in Dunedin when an engine turned out to a false alarm some years ago and capsized on turning a corner, one fireman being killed. A similar accident occurred in a North Island town more recently, a man being killed, and it is strange that on each occasion, including the tragedy of to-night, the call which necessitated the brigade turning out was a more or less trivial one.