DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN CHRISTCHURCH DRAWS BIG CROWD

Grey River Argus, 25 February 1949, Page 4

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN CHRISTCHURCH DRAWS BIG CROWD

Six Firms Suffer Losses in Tuam Street I. Bo Cromb’s Building is Gutted

CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 24.

Damage amounting to several thousand pounds was done by a fire which gutted a large singlestoreyed brick building at 34, Tuam Street, about 6.30 this evening. The building was owned by Mr I. B. Cromb- It was valued at about £5OOO.

It was occupied by six different companies, some of which lost much valued equipment. The alarm was given by a young girl in the White Swan Hotel, the adjoining property, who saw the fire from a wundow, and she raced along the street to an alarm box. Five units of the Central Fire Brigade were quickly on the scene. Leads were run in on each side of the building, which was filled with smoke, but the fire had a good hold, and was burning strongly through partitions dividing each factory, and in the roof. Leads were thrust through windows, and a steady stream of water was directed on to the seat of the fire by a fireman on the top of a TillingStevens ladder, which had been raised in the street. Leads were also taken through the front door. The firemen could not discover where the fire originated, though it is thought that it began near the front of the building. Guests at the hotel said that the fire seemed to start at the front with a terrific flash and to then spread rapidly through the building. There was oil stored ' near the front of the building. It did not explode, though the tins were scorched by the heat. , As the streams of water took effect, the firemen were able to clamber through the windows and direct the hoses where the fire was burning most fiercely. Shortly after. 7 o’clock it was under control, but firemen remained on duty all night. The occupiers of the building were: I. B. Cromb; Paykel Bros., oil merchants; Modern Equipment Ltd.; Paramount Industries Ltd.; Paramount Cabinets Ltd.; Robert McGloin, woodworker; and the Arrow Electric Plating Company. Mr Cromb’s office was not severely damaged, and the firemen concentrated oh preventing the oil from exploding. Most-of the other stocks were destroyed, but much of the equipment in the electro-plating section was saved. The fire burnt very fiercely in the premises occupied by Paramount Cabinets, and many radios and much radio equipment were destroyed. Valuable machinery in the woodwork shop was destroyed, and furniture and timber were also lost. The fire stopped before it reached the rear of the building, which is occupied by the electro-plating company. There were heavy clouds of smoke over the city, which attracted thousands to the fire, and soon after the brigade arrived the street outside the building was packed. Police and traffic inspectors had a difficult job in keeping the public back on the footpaths, and ropes finally were slung along the street to confine the crowds. It is not known how the fire started. Some of the occupiers did not leave the building until 6 o’clock. When they locked up everything was normal. The building was insured by Mr Cromb and the majority of occupiers had the equipment insured.