THRILLS AT CITY FIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1056, 21 August 1930, Page 1

THRILLS AT CITY FIRE

Workers Plunge From Windows ALMOST TRAPPED BY FLAMES Stories of Eye-Witnesses “IT was the closest thing I have ever seen or ever wish to 1 see.” This is how Mr. J. Brackenridge, a mechanic in Spragg's garage, described the escape of 50 terrified women and girls from Plummer’s Hat Factory, in Rutland Street, when it caught fire late yesterday afternoon. He was one of the first on the scene and with Mr. Alex Walters and Mr. George Anderson, stood at the bottom of the fire escape catching the girls as they fell to the footpath. “The girls behaved splendidly,” said Mr. Brackenridge. While they stood at the windows and on the fire escape, waiting their turn to clamber down to the street, flames were belching out of the windows and across Rutland Street.”

The fire completely destroyed the factory, which is an old three-storey building In Rutland Street between Spragg’s garage and Turnbull and Jones’s big bulk store. the valiant efforts of the City Fire Brigade, led by the Superintendent, Mr. W. L. Wilson, an immense conflagration was prevented, as both the garage and Turnbull and Jones's building contained a large quantity of inflammable material. BEGAN ON GROUND FLOOR Soon after four o'clock yesterday afternoon a burst of flame seemed to spread right through the factory, beginning on the street level in a room just inside the main door. In five minutes the whole building was ablaze and flames and dense quantities of black smoke were bursting and belching from the windows and-the roof. “It seems an exaggeration to say so, but the whole building was enveloped in five minutes,” said Mr. Brackenridge this morning. “The heat was terrific—we were scorched while standing below the fire escape.” He showed several broken blisters on his forehead, proof of the heat he had experienced while rescuing the girls. About 70 men, women and girls were at work in the building when the fire broke out with such amazing rapidity. Those in the two upper storeys were hemmed in by the flames which had started on the ground floor. In the rush to escape, about 20 girls received minor injuries. Several had to be attended by the district nurses from the St. John Ambulance and taken to their homes. They were Miss Myrtle Green, of Clarence Street, Devonport: Injuries to head and wrist. Mrs. Lindop, 6 Norwood Avenue, Mount Albert: Burns on face. Miss L. M. Sinclair, Cooper Street, Grey Lynn; Burns on face and hands.

Miss A. Bond, "The Abbey,” Queen Street: Burns on head and hands, and contusions. Miss D. Matheson, Puriri Street, New Lynn: Burns and cuts on hands and arms and injury to side. Miss D. Brown,- 8 Campbell Road, Royal Oak: Injury to leg. SODDEN PILES OF GOODS It is believed that the fire was caused by a fuse blowing out and causing a dust explosion. It is understood that au electrician was working earlier in the day in the building, which was full of highly inflammable material. This morning the charred and burned remains of huge quantities of material show how rapidly the flames must have spread. Rolls of ribbon of every hue were hanging in scorched masses, hat-shapes and hats themselves were in burned bundles, hat'linings and trimmings were in sodden piles everywhere. There was a particularly strong smell of some chemical throughout the building and several drums of it were on the ground floor. This must have added to the inferno yesterday afternoon. As soon as the fire broke out, Mr. W. Benjamin, the manager, immediately went through the building, warning the girls and women to leave the building quietly. ’Those in the rear portion of the building escaped by windows on to a sloping roof of Turnbull and Jones’s premises. Twenty men who were in the hatbloeking department scrambled through windows which led to safety on the first floor of Spragg's garage. More than half the girls were in-the front of the building, on the first floor, and for a time their position seemed desperate. Smoke and flames cut off their escape through the rear windows and to the ground floor down the stairs. They crowded to the windows leading to the fire escape, and jumped and fell 15 to 20 feet to the

footpath below. Messrs. Walters, An-’ derson and Brackenridge were the first on the scene and stood underneath, breaking the fall of the girls as they came down the fire escape or jumped to safety. Before the last girls had left, the flames were licking over the fire escape and some of them had to make their way to another window and leap into the street. BRICKS FALL TO STREET By this time the City Fire Brigade had arrived. Firemen held a sheet, into which the last of the girls jumped, but most of them had escaped before the brigade arrived. The whole thing occurred with extraordinary swiftness. Soon several leads of hose from the two fire engines were pouring streams of water into the building, which in ten minutes after the outbreak was a roaring furnace. In a quarter of an hour flames wero issuing from the roof of the factory in imense sheets and the dense smoke from burning felt and chemicals blotted out part of the building. Thousands of people had gathered in Rutland and Lome Streets, packing so closely to the firemen that at times they worked under difficulties. Just before 5 o’clock the brickwork on the top of the building crashed to the street. Three of the firemen, Messrs. Shanahan, Reid and Pownall, just had time to leap to safety as ihe red hot bricks fell to the pavement. The huge crowd uttered a yell and scattered to safer positions. A woman who was walking up Rutland Street said that she suddenly saw a sheet of flame burst from the windows of the factory across the street. A second later she heard the screams of the girls as they rushed for the fire escape. The woman Immediately rushed to the St. John Ambulance offices almost opposite and informed them of the fire. Four district nurses who had prepared to go on their rounds went across and attended to the girls who were suffering from injuries and shock. £IB,OOO DAMAGE The total damage is estimated at about £IB,OOO. The Plummer Hat Factory is a subsidiary of Macky, Logan, Caldwell, Ltd. Mr. C. B. Plummer, principal of the factory, states that little or none of the machinery will be of any use again. The fire had occurred at a most unfortunate time as the firm was starting on its busy season, and new goods which had arrived on August 10 on the Port Alma had all been unpacked. The business will be reorganised as soon as possible, but in the meantime a large number of people will be thrown out of work. Men from Spragg’s garage who went to the assistance of the girls, paid tributes to their bravery this morning. “We could not spare the time to get anything,” they said. “We were catching them as they fell off the fire escape as quickly as we could. They were just falling on us.” Miss Green, of Devonport, who was the most seriously hurt, fell heavily to the Street. She was attended today by Dr. C. M. Rout. ‘

INSURED FOR £23,000 BRITISH TRADERS HOLD POLICY The building 1 and contents of the Plummer Hat Company were covered by insurances totalling £23,000. This was made up as follows: £13,000 on the stock, fittings and machinery, £4,000 on the building and £6,000 on loss of profits. The policies were held by the British Traders Insurance Co. Ltd.