GREAT FIRE SPECTACLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20868, 9 May 1931, Page 2 (Supplement)

GREAT FIRE SPECTACLE.

BUILDING FULL OF RUBBER.

FLAMES FANNED BY GALE.

FIREMEN'S FIFTY HOURS' TASK

For over 50 hours firemen battled recently with one of the biggest and most spectacular fires ever known in London. It broke out in a warehouse at Butler's Wharf, Tower Bridge, in the congested heart of London's danger zone. Fanned by a giilo, the flames rapidly seized the seven-storey building, which was filled with stocks of tea and rubber. 11l a short time it was a furnaco.

The flames shot high in the air, walls crashed to the ground, and flaming fragments dropped in showers in the congested danger area, carrying the fire peril far and wide.

Handicapped by the intense cold, which froze the water, and the dense black fumes from the burning rubber, firemen perched precariously on cranes and escapes and poured cascades of water into the blaze.

" I saw a puff of smoke come from the top floor of the building. It was immediately followed by a small ' pop,' and then a loud explosion. In two minutes (he roof was a mass of flames." This was an eye-witness' description of the outbreak. In a little while it had become the biggest and most menacing fire known in London fur many years.

For nearly three days firemen fought the blaze. Although they had fire-en-gines from every station in London, watertowers, and fire-floats, they could not subdue the blaze, which broke out time and again in different parts of the building. It took all their efforts to confine the flames to the great warehouse where the fire started. Burning Rubber Fumes. The firemen were handicapped by the dense fumes from the burning rubber and showers of flaming tea-leaves, which, driven hither and thither by the wind, enveloped them in clouds of swirling, fiery particles. The water, which froze into icicles on the walls and formed sheets of ice on the roads, added peril to their task, already rendered dangerous by collapsing walls and falling roofs. Tjie blaze could be seen for miles, and policemen who had been on night duly were called from bed to hold back the crowds of spectators. So dense was the smoko that the sun was completely blotted out, and lights had to be switched on in buildings a mile away. The gas supply over a wide area was cut off in order to prevent explosions, and traffic was disorganised. Several firemen were overcome by the fumes, and a rescue squad, equipped with smoke helmets, stood by to render help. The back of the wharf was connected by iron bridges with premises on the other side of tlio road, and from these firemen poured thousands of gallons of water into tlio middle of, the blaze. Foot of Water in Streets. Escapes were run up, and on these men stood swaying perilously in the gale, which also whipped the flames into fury. Every street in the neighbourhood was soon covered with a twisted mass of hosepipes. Water a foot deep swirled in tlio roads, and householders boarded up their doors to prevent their homes being flooded.

Dozens of firemen commandeered the steamer Teal, which was moored at the wharf. The masts and funnels were used as water-towers. . wharf cranes were used for that purpose. Fire floats wero unable to get near the flames owing to low tide. With the advent of high water the Teal was moved to midstream and two fire launches made fast to the wharf. «. Fire chiefs toured the area in motorcars, shouting orders through microphones. They patrolled the whole of tho river frontage watching for further outbreaks from the flaming fragments which fell over a wide area.

Floors collapsed with thunder-like crashes, and enormous tongues of flame leaped high in the air. On tho river side of tho building was a large crane used for conveying cargo to and from the vessels anchored alongside. As tho flames licked around it, its foundations became loosened, and the great iron structure, made red-hot by the fierce lianies, crashed down on the wharf. Firemen's Clothing Frozen Stiff. The firemen had been warned of the danger beforehand, and everyone was kept clear when tho fall of the crane was imminent. Later, a wall, which it had been hoped would restrict the fire to one section of the buildings, collapsed unexpectedly, and in a few minutes another huge stock of merchandise had been involved.

Time and again, when it appeared that tho fire was under control, the flames suddenly shot up with renewed intensity. After a time tho front of the building was covered with a fantastic curtain of ice.

The clothing of tho firemen was frozen stiff, and they were a})lo to work only in short shifts. Various devices had to be adopted to avoid touching tho nozzles of tho hoses, which were so cold that ihey might have taken the skin off tho hands of tho firemen.