Luton Foundry Fire

Portable range from Diamond Foundry catalogue, 1920s [Z452/1]

Wednesday 20th September 1916: In the early hours of this morning Luton suffered a devastating fire at the Diamond Foundry, the premises of the Davis Gas Stove Co. Ltd, the second major fire in Bedfordshire within a week. Buildings covering an area of about two acres were burnt to the ground, destroying about half the works, with damage amounting to many thousands of pounds. It is thought that the fire begin at the centre of the range of buildings nearest to the town, in either the gas testing shop or the large stores. The night watchman saw nothing on his round at 2.30am, but by soon after 3.00am it was apparent that the fire had caught hold.

The members of the works fire brigade are equipped with automatic bells in their bedrooms, and these together with the big works bell soon spread the alarm. Although the works brigade soon had water trained on the fire it had too great a hold. Unfortunately the Fire Station were already dealing with a small fire in Lansdowne Road. A motor engine was dispatched to the Foundry with all possible speed, but by this time the whole range of buildings were a mass of flame, with strong winds threatening to spread the fire. “I have hardly seen anything like it,” said Second Officer Andrew, “we simply had to fight our way through sparks”. Thanks to the large amount of water poured onto the site the fire was prevented from spreading to houses in Dallow Road and Clifton Road.

Large amounts of wood in the buildings fuelled the flames, and many of the roofs fell in. The greatest danger came from the petrol and benzene store between the burning buildings and the adjacent houses. The firemen won the fight to keep the flames from reaching this area and the petrol store was saved. Second Officer Andrew said “By dint of cussed hard work we managed to stop the fire extending to the whole works, but, as it was, thousands of pounds damage has been done. The thing that surprises me is that there is any Diamond Foundry left!”  The Fire Brigade are still in attendance and smoke continues to rise from the smouldering debris.

The owner Mr. Davis paid tribute to the fire brigades and told the press: “It is difficult as yet to know the results of the salvage. The stores are gutted, and the fitting shops are down. Yes, we are fully insured. If the wind had been blowing more to the south the fire would certainly have carried the whole works. We were lucky to save a big warehouse, in which lie tons and tons of material”. He anticipates that most of the men will be able to continue to work in the remaining part of the foundry, but that around 200 women are likely to lose their jobs until they are able to rebuild.

Source: Luton News, 21st September 1916

Fire at Wrest Park Hospital

Members of Wrest Park Fire Brigade c.1910 [Z50/142/785]

Friday 15th September 1916: Fire broke out yesterday evening in the mansion at Wrest Park, which has been in use as a hospital for wounded soldiers for the last two years. . The weekly fire drill which has been the rule at the hospital proved its worth and thanks to the prompt actions of the nursing staff who evacuated the patients coolly and efficiently there were no casualties.

Tea had been over for about an hour and a half and many of the patients were playing games of tennis, billiards and bowls when the fire broke out at around six o’clock. There were also many patients in bad as sixty more soldiers had arrived only a few days ago. These “cot cases” were in the wards formed from the original dining rooms and libraries running through the centre of the house. The fire started in the chimney of a bedroom next to the roof. The chimney is connected with the main boiler which is believed to have been defective. Sparks ignited the old timbers, causing the blaze to run along the inside of the roof towards the centre dome.

After the alarm was raised the evacuation of the patients took about ten minutes. The estate fire brigade arrived promptly and had at their disposal four 5,000 gallon tanks of rainwater, placed at each corner of the building for firefighting purposes. Ambulances from Woburn Abbey hospital and Ampthill Camp joined those from Wrest in taking the wounded to other hospitals. A detachment of 60 or 70 men from the Haynes Park camp arrived and joined in the efforts to remove furniture from the building, which continued until the early hours. Fire brigades from Ampthill, Shefford, Luton, Hitchin, Letchworth, Bedford, Holloway (London) and Kings Walden arrived to help with the firefighting after a district call was issued, bringing three motor engines, five steamers, and two manual engines. The risks run by the firemen are illustrated by this comment from Second Officer Andrews of the Luton Brigade: “One of our men, Fireman Giddings, had a rough time, and a narrow escape from suffocation. Whilst we were at work on the roof we were driving towards us, but we managed to get him clear in time. You see, the fire was running under the roof where there was a lot of thick lead sheeting, and it could not be seen until the smoke had enveloped us. No, we were not wearing smoke masks.”

Nine rooms on the east side, five at the front, and four to the left of the stairs were affected by the fire, with five or six of these completely gutted. The roof fell in, and part of the lead and zinc dome melted. Where possible the rooms had been stripped of furniture and ornaments, but the carpets could not be saved and considerable water damage was done to most parts of the building. Today Wrest is a scene of confusion, with furniture, bedding, paintings, statues and other articles lying all over the place. Marquees and tents have been set up to store the more valuable books and articles. Fortunately family heirlooms and the most valuable paintings were stored in a strong room which was well away from the fire.

Source: Luton News, 21st September 1916

Fire Alarm at Wardown Hospital

Fire engine outside Luton Town Hall after Peace Riots, 1919 [Z1306/75/10/23/20]

Thursday 22nd June 1916: There was much excitement at Wardown Hospital last night when a fire drill was held to test the speed at which the hospital could be evacuated. The nurses have been receiving instruction from the Luton Fire Brigade for some weeks, but were unaware until after the event that the report of a fire in the hospital annexe was a test. They passed with flying colours, managing to evacuate twenty five patients from their beds in two wards in only one minute, getting the men and their bedding out on to the lawn. The Fire Brigade arrived with a motor engine just four minutes after the alarm was raised. They then carried out an imaginary rescue using lines from the first floor, and demonstrated how water could be drawn from the lake to put out any fire.

Source: Luton News, 22nd June 1916

Fire at Aspley Guise

George Herbert Fowler [Z50/141/65]

Tuesday 25th April 1916: The Aspley Fire Brigade was called out early yesterday morning under the command of Dr. G. Herbert Fowler[1]. The woodwork of the roof of Railway Crossing Lodge was on fire, but the work of the Fire Brigade was so effective that little damage was done. It is though that the fire was started by a spark from a passing railway engine.

In other news from Aspley Guise, St. Botolph’s Church said farewell on Sunday to its organist, Mr. Fred Gilby, who leaves today to join the Field Artillery. In his absence Miss Lily M . Wodhams, L.L.C.M., of Woburn Sands, has been appointed as temporary replacement organist.

Source: Bedfordshire Times, 28th April 1916

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[1] Dr George Herbert Fowler was a member of Bedfordshire County Council and the founder of the Bedfordshire Record Office (now Bedfordshire Archives Service, the authors of this blog)

Train on Fire at Tempsford

Steam goods train, 1914 [Z50/9/874]

Wednesday 2nd February 1916: As a southbound goods train on the Great Northern Railway passed Tempsford Station this morning it was seen to be on fire. The driver sounded the whistle several times to catch the attention of the guard and stopped the train as soon as possible. The guard saved the train by quickly dividing it into three parts and confining the fire to just two wagons. One of these was carrying bales of peat and the flames hot up to a great height. The Tempsford Fire Brigade, under the command of Captain Sims, were soon on the scene with their manual engine. A continuous stream of water from the fire engine and the nearby brook brought the fire under control. The contents of the wagons were taken out and thrown down the embankment, and one wagon was found to be very badly burnt. This was taken back to Tempsford goods yard and the rest of the train was able to continue its journey.

Source: Bedfordshire Times, 4th February 1916

Fire at Military Stores

Castle Street, Luton c.1905 [Z1306/75/10/8/1]

Monday 31st January 1916: A fire broke out in the early hours this morning at 99 Castle Street, Luton. The premises were in use as stores for the 2/4th Leicesters who are billeted in the town. At 2.50am some of the goods in the yard were seen ablaze. Thanks to the prompt action of three policemen who threw the burning items out into the street and put the fire out with buckets of water, there was very little damage and no need to call the fire brigade.

Source: Luton News, 3rd February 1916

Hat Factory Fire at Luton

Fire engine outside Luton Town Hall after Peace Riots, 1919 [Z1306/75/10/23/20]

Tuesday 20th July 1915: Mr F. C. Bailey’s hat factory at 33 Williamson Street, Luton has been gutted by fire. The fire was discovered soon after 10 p.m. when a cabman standing by his cab saw flames leaping from the rear of the premises. He ran to a policeman on duty in Wellington Street to report the fire and a large crowd gathered. The fire brigade arrived promptly but the fire spread rapidly. It was obvious that the fire must have been burning for some time before it was spotted and it had taken a firm hold on the goods inside. The building was full of plait, velvets, ribbons, trimming material, and expensive hat sewing machinery, all of which were consumed by the flames. The old woodwork burnt like tinder and the firemen had great difficulty getting the fire under control. It could only be fought from the rear and hoses had to be run from Manchester Street and Williamson Street through the mission hall next to the factory. The brigade did splendid work keeping the fire within the one building. Messrs A. and P. Higgins’ factory next door suffered from the smoke, heat, and water, but was untouched by the flames although it is only separated from the burnt out property by a wood partition. Sadly a Persian cat known to those at the factory as “Tiddles” was unable to escape the flames.

Inspector Janes and his police officers did an excellent job maintaining order among the large crowd.  Mr. F. C. Bailey himself was among them but could only look on helplessly. Damage to the building (owned by Mr. W. G. Holyoak) and contents is estimated at well over £2,000. Fortunately both are insured. The cause of the fire is not known. It was thought at first that it started in the velvet machine room, but although close to the burned out rooms this was found intact.

Source: Luton News 22nd July 1915

Horses Burnt to Death at Luton

Fire engine outside Luton Town Hall after Peace Riots, 1919 [Z1306/75/10/23/20]

Wednesday 19th May 1915: The Luton Fire Brigade were called out this afternoon to a fire in a military stables occupied by the 4th Home Counties Brigade Ammunition Column. The stable, opposite the Steam Laundry in Dunstable Road, was well alight when the motor fire engine arrived. When the fire broke out in the forage stores there were twenty horses in the stable; two of these were burnt to death. The rest had been rescued by the time the Fire Brigade arrived, but unfortunately two other horses had suffered such severe burns that they had to be destroyed. Four more were badly burned.

Source: Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette 25th May 1915