CAR & ENGINE COLLIDE

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 June 1925, Page 5

CAR & ENGINE COLLIDE

FIREMEN KILLED AND INJURED

CH.CH. STREET TRAGEDY

(Per Press Association.)

CHRISTCHURCH, June 15.

A collision between a fire engine and a motor car, this evening, at the inter-section 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. The casualties were: — KILLED: < Station Officer J. 11. Noblett (single). INJURED: 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 the log and arm. Fireman P. J. Taylor (married), broken left' leg. Fireman C. Wilton (single) cut leg and bruised back/ Fireman W. -JI. Collett (single) abrasions on the arm and elbow. Fireman R. E. Downing (single) bad bruises to the knee and back.

The Fire Brigade received a call at 6.45 p.m. to a motor car on fire in Clyde Stret. The No. T Dennis engine went out, and, nearing Madras Street the Brigade encountered a car, driven by John B. Cade. The motor car smashed into the middle of the fire engine, which skidded, turned oyer to the left, and came to a stop agaihst the stonework of the bridge nearby. 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 tinder the engine when it was righted, and 'Station Officer Noblett was found ‘under the wrecked gear, terribly injured about the head, his helmet being crushed, and various parts of his body mutilated; He died a few monients later.'A little later one fireman crawled out of the river, he having been thrown right over the bridge, and into the stream. The injured men were taken to the Hospital. The driver of the car, Cade, had a miraculous escape. There was no one else 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 the front portion. The radiator was dented, the wheels badly wrenched, the 'dumbironi and headlights smashed, and the front part of the chassis twisted out of shape. As far as the damage to the fireengine is concerned, the left front wheel was smashed, and the chassis twisted out of alignment. The top portion of the 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 the debris. A City Council truck was requisitioned, and the broken engine removed. 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 have got!” 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 bettered, had ceased to function, but the sidelights were still on.

LADY FERGUSSON’S INTEREST.

CHRISTCHURCH, June 16.

Lady Fergusson, this morning, called at the hospital to inquire into the progress of the injured firemen. She also called at the Brigade Station to express her sympathy.

All the med- arc progressing favourably. ' '