BIG CITY FIRE

Evening Star, Issue 24282, 25 August 1942, Page 2

BIG CITY FIRE

VOGEL STREET BUILDINGS DAMAGED SERIOUS LOSSES SUSTAINED A fire in the city involving damage to tho extent of at least £12,000 occurred last night, when the upper portion of a building in A’ogel street, near lower High street, was gutted. The building was owned by Messrs E. Pidgcou and Co. Ltd., who purchased it about live years ago from Messrs Paterson and Ban- Ltd. Fine work by tho brigade kept the. flames from spreading to other premises, and tho fire was under control in a remarkably short space of time, tho first engine to return to tho station reaching there within an hour and a-quarter of tho receipt of the alarm. Members of tho Emergency Eire Service were called in to assist the brigade, and at one stage nearly 100 firemen were engaged. The alarm was received at the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station from the railway signal box at 0.10 p.m., but it was obvious to the men when they arrived on the scene that the fire had been in progress for sumo time, and the upper portion of the building was a mass of flames which had leapt through the roof. A SPLENDID SAVE.

The brigade approached the firo from both tho Vogel and Cumberland street frontages of tho building, first confining its attention to the task of preventing the spread of tho flames and then attacking the blaze from above. The supply of water was good, and at o)ie stage Superintendent F. C. Laidlaw had nine leads of hose in action. Tho result of their efforts was a splendid save, although some of the occupants of tho building, notably Air .1. A. Bradley, suffered serious losses. The second floor, upon which Mr Bradley was installed, was a sad sight this morning, largo stocks of material and many valuable and irreplaceable machines being totally destroyed. On the other hand, a largo stock of tyres on tho floor occupied by Messrs Pidgoon and Co. was practically undamaged, and this morning tho firm was loud in its praises of the work of tho brigade in driving back the fire from such a vulnerable and dangerous position. AVatcr, however, damaged some minor stock and goods in the floor below. The firm’s heaviest loss is in.the fact that most of tho building will now bo out of use and several valuable tenants consequently lost. Very serious losses were also suffered by Messrs'Williamson, Jeffery Ltd., who had used tho middle floor for storing imported paper, the greater portion of which has been destroyed by water. The efforts of the- brigade, however, had enabled a considerable .amount of this highly valuable stock to be saved. A large quantity of Army stores was in the basement, and most of these stood in 2ft of water, which had to bo removed iby pumping. PREMISES FLOODED.

One peculiar result of the fire was the flooding of the adjoining three-story building owned and occupied by Messrs Victor Nelson Ltd., cycle dealers. When the alarm was given an employee of this firm was on duty on the premises, and l ho opened a fireproof door connecting the building with that of Pidgcon and Co., to be confronted with a mass of flames. The brigade, which arrived a, few moments later, promptly used the doorway as a means of access to the seat of the fire. But, probably owing to the fact that the top floor of Nelson’s building was a few inches lower than that of Pldgeon’s, the water flowed bn to the former and down through the building, the result (being that scarcely a single item of stock escaped the deluge. The building, however, was not damaged. Water also found its way into the premises of Messrs Milne, Bremner Ltd., merchants, on the other side of Pidgeon’s building. So far as could be judged by n cursory survey of the buildings this morning) the fire originated somewhere near the Cumberland street corner of the building on the floor jointly occupied by air Bradley and Messrs .Victor Nelson Ltd. THOUGHTLESS ACTS. 'J'ho 'brigade’s movements were somewhat hampered by the usual congregation of thoughtless members of the public too close to the scene. Another annoyance was the constant use of the telephone made by equally thoughtless citizens, who kept the watchman at the Central Lire Brigade Station busy answering questions as to the locution and nature of the lire. ' . The view of the conflagration obtained from the bill suburbs was a highly spectacular one, the flames being seen leaping from the whole area of the doomed ujiper floor of the building and conveying the impression that a whole block was ablaze. INSURANCES. The insurance covers ascertainable this morning were as follows Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, £O,OOO on Pidgeou a mil Co. s buildings and .000 on the stock therein; Alliance Assurance Company, £2 500 on stock and plant of J. A. Bradley; National Insurance Company, £-i GOO* on contents of Victor Nelson’s n-emises, and smaller amounts on certain stocks held by other tenants in the •paq.oaj)« sSmpimq