GASWORKS BLAZE

Hokitika Guardian, 20 April 1931, Page 2

GASWORKS BLAZE

AT CHRISTCHURCH

OIL PLANT LOST. (By Telegraph— Per Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, April 18. \ ( r reat creosote oil fire that rivalled in*spectacular effect the disastrous petrol blaze that occurred m Carlyle St in 1929, started with dramatic suddenness at’7.ls a.m. to-day at the Christchurch Gas Company’s works m Moothouse Avenue, and developed into a blazing mass just above underground tanks containing about 20,000 gallons of oil extracted'from coal. After strenuous work, it was confined to the tar bv-products plant. The fire suddenly spread with a gre-at roar, and -engulfed the entire plant used for the extraction, of oils. Billows of flame shot 150 feet into t,he air when new groups of drum?; were ignited, and a heavy tail of smoke was shaped, by a light north easterly breeze, into a huge cloud extending to;

miles south-west. The flames, after roaring: for nearly two hours, were conquered / foot by foot by ashes being heaped, on them from an electric elevator at the lower end. which six men worked feverishly with shovels. A huge crowd watched t<bie fir-e and traffic was held up for two 1)0017. in the adjoining streets. The management says tha j £, the fire means a sct'ious loss to tihc £Ja s Company. , The flames quickly engul esl the entire plant used for the extraction of oils and hundreds of drums exploded, throwing iron barrels into the stieet. The full strength' of the fiho brigade fought for two hours to prevent the flames reaching the underground tanks ( tontnining 20.000 gallons of oil. The gas retorts, etc., were undamaged. The damage amounts to thousands of pounds. The cause of the outbreak is unknown.

Hundreds of gallons of creosote oil burned fiercely in a tank some fiftv feet by • twelve feet, and tlte explosion of drums of oil nearly tlirew several if the iron barrels high into the air and out on to Waltham Road, a distance of thirty or forty yards. Most of the residents of the city were warned of the presence ef tlie fire by the heavy cloud of : smoke, hut those in the central portion of the city heard : also, several explosions at intervals during the first half hour of D'e outbreak.

The outstanding feature of: the fight, however, was the work of three employees, Messrs Alec and Joe "Wilson, and Fred Graham. All of thorn worked desperately, with almost complete disregard of their own safety. Early in the blaze a gasmeter took fire and was feeding gas to the fire. Seeing the risk, Ated Wilson rushed straight into the flames, ntid while .the firemen played a hose on him, turned off tin* jneter, His face was scorched by the heat but he came out °f it otherwise unharmed. A similar feat was la tor nerfonned by Joe Wilson and Bred Graham. who also escaped with nothing worse than drenched clothing. ANOTHER BLAZE. £3OOO WORTH OF PETROL. CHRISTCHURCH, April 19. There was a fire in Dalget.v and Company’s petrol dump at Hornby this morning. It destroyed 720 drums of petrol valued at- £.0.000. The blaze was a most spectacular on-> aud the 'noise made by the drums a* thev hurst could he heard in the citv.

It is suspected that this fire was deliberately started. Tlie loss is covered by insurance.