Leader (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 27 November 1897
THE FIRE DESCRIBED BY A FIREMAN.
191 FIREMEN PRESENT, AND MORE WANTED
AN EXPERT PREDICTION VERIFIED.
An "alarm and rush" occurred at the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station at 2.20 a.m. on Sunday, on a telephone call being received from No. 2 station, Little Bourke-street, announcing a fire in the lower part of Elizabeth-street.
The man on duty in the lookout tower was asked if he could descry any confirmatory appearances. He replied in the negative, but, one minute later, telephoned down that he saw luminous looking smoke. Superintendent Stein was aroused. It was reported to him that the No. 2 station brigade was under way from Little Bourke-street, with a steam engine and hose carts, and that two hose carts had just been despatched from the head station. Mr. Stein promptly ordered out two steamers and more hose carts to follow, and telephoned to Carlton, Prahran, South Melbourne and North Melbourne fire stations to send on their steam engines and hose carts. Then, before leaving for the fire himself with the head quarters brigade, he ordered up the Hoddle-street station staff to take charge at head quarters, and await orders.
Having been called in advance of the others by a street alarm near the outbreak, the Little Bourke-street Brigade, under Superintendent O'Brien, was able to reach the scene first. Mr. O'Brien found the whole of the ground floor of Messrs. Craig, Williamson and Thomas's five-story drapery emporium enveloped in flames. The great lower windows resembled the mouths of vast furnaces, whilst Elizabeth-street in the vicinity was luridly illuminated.
Hurrying out of the Duke of Rothsay Hotel, adjoining the burning building on the northern side, rushed a frightened troop of inmates — at least a dozen persons, male and female, in all stages of undress, hauling clothes and properties of various descriptions with them. Other dismayed people in their night clothes were throwing up their window sashes in the houses opposite, or standing in confused trepidation in their shop doorways. In the hushed early morning the roar and crackle of the fire as it spread upward enchained attention. The spectacle was so awe inspiring that details were almost overlooked; hence the encampment of the Duke of Rothsay household under a verandah in Elizabeth-street, on the safe side of the Flinders-lane intersection, where a lady of the party subsequently fainted, became only a matter of interest to the police. Superintendent O'Brien's progress towards Flinders-street, which for strategic purposes he was anxious to reach, was momentarily blocked by the scorching heat thrown out from Craig, Williamson and Thomas's. Even the well-disciplined horses drawing his fire-fighting plant shied at it, and only when goaded on did they almost leap past the searing flames to a more tolerable situation.
When Superintendent Stein arrived a few moments afterwards with the head quarters brigade, Mr. O'Brien and his men, Mr. Stein says, had two strong streams of water playing on the burning frontage. The chief officer at once saw that the blaze was not appreciably affected by this outpouring. The fire was now leaping out of every window from the bottom to the top of Craig, Williamson and Thomas's premises, and the question was how to save the neighboring properties. A high wind, which Mr. Stein describes as "half a gale," was blowing at the time from the north-west, bearing tongues of flame and thick showers of burning debris over the roofs of the buildings in the whole block between Elizabeth and Swanston streets and Flinders-lane and Flinders-street, and the heat, which had checked Mr. O'Brien's horses effectually prevented access being obtained to roofs of premises on the same side of Elizabeth-street as Craig's, where the firemen sought to gain vantage points to pour in water. When the experiment of getting on the roofs alongside Craig's was made by means of a Shand-Mason ladder it was simply disastrous. The ladder was taken out for safety well into the centre of Elizabeth-street. It had to be raised to a great height, piecemeal, length being added to length in the air, and fixed together by means of iron tumblers. A seasoned fire man, having the skill of a salamander and the nerve of a steeplejack, was entrusted with the task, and went at it, but by the time he had got up 45-feet he had to descend before the consuming fire, for the top section of the ladder had actually ignited, and the fireman's face was blistered with the heat, although, be it remembered, the ladder was not less than 30 feet away from the flames. Ultimately, the Shand-Mason ladder was put together in a more remote situation, but it was then too late to use it with effect from Elizabeth-street.
Seeing, as he said, that the brigades were "in for a big job," the chief officer telephoned for the Hoddle-street contingent to come forward, and directed the head quarters fire station to "call in all available help." Before long there had assembled on the ground no fewer than 10 steam fire engines, 2 ladder carriages, 1 salvage van, and 191 firemen out of the total of 300 in the metropolis. Distributed as they had to be over the entire burning block, Mr. Stein said this large force was insignificant. "You could scarcely see the men," he added. In Mr. Stein's opinion the brigades got to the fire in good time. The water supply was fair, but, as the flames spread, so many hydrants had to be put upon it that ultimately the pressure became poor. When it was seen there was no chance of getting on to the roofs to tackle the conflagration in Craig's, 7 or 8 men in charge of a sub-officer were put into the next building southward, Mr. Jas. Wise's auction mart. They could not make good their footing there, however, owing to these premises having also caught alight and become a flaming kiln. Once evacuated by the firemen, the fire burnt-out all the interior of Wise's, and bursting through the roof took hold of the fourth story of Fink's-buildings, the massive pile of business chambers standing at the corner of Flinders-street. Amidst the frequent and fearful crash of beams and party walls, roofing and flooring, in Craig's and Wise's, the interiors of which were now in a white heat, the order was given to break in the door of Fink's-buildings, and a party was directed to run upstairs and bring into play the salvage appliances which Mr. Stein knew to be on the premises. This small band rapidly ascended three or four flights of steps in the great well staircase, amidst a rain of flaming brands of wood, slates, bricks and iron from over head; whilst the atmosphere became momentarily more intolerable. When two men had been disabled by the falling debris and it became evident there was no chance of getting the salvage mechanism belonging to the place adjusted, retirement became imperative. One of the disabled men escaped with only severe bruises upon his shoulder and down one side, the paralytic effect of which he was soon able to overcome. The other, a fireman named Mackay, had not only his arm badly hurt but was injured on the head to such an extent that it was necessary for him to be sent out of action and despatched to the hospital.
Fink's-buildings, which had not contributed much to the spectacular grandeur of the scene hitherto, sent forth spouts of brilliant light from row after row of its numerous windows as the fire rapidly crept downwards and mounted upwards, after the ground floor doors had been burst open. The nine-story altitude of the place, once rendered roofless by the devouring element, was converted into a vast flue, and it became impossible to save any portion of its contents. Mr. Stein, therefore, determined to abandon Fink's, and instructed his forces accordingly.
In the meantime, portion of a back wall of Craig's and part of the north wall of that building had fallen. The former had filled up a right of way at the rear, and the latter, coming plump on to the roof of the Duke of Rothsay Hotel, wrecked the rear portion of that edifice with one emphatic blow. Its roof, being shivered, fell with the descending wall upon the upper floor. That gave way, and the whole mass tumbled into the billiard room and so on. Hence, the landlord, sorrowfully taking stock of things, later on, found the billiard table very much injured and involved in a heterogeneous litter, out of place, in the back bar on the ground floor. Nevertheless, when destruction in this form swooped upon the Duke of Rothsay, it seemed to save its remains from assault by fire; for the rest of the hostelry, with Gresham-buildings and the warehouses at the corner of Elizabeth-street and Flinders-lane, known as "The Golden Lobster," were not attacked.
The wind carried burning debris over the roofs, eastwards, to the right, centre and left. Mr. Stein received reports at this time, about 3. o'clock, that buildings along the whole line of Flinders-street had ignited; including the Mutual Store, whilst several Flinders-lane warehouses were also fiercely burning. Affairs had now reached a very serious pitch: A redistribution of his forces had to be made then and there. Superintendent Catt was accordingly detailed to take charge of the fire as it developed in Flinders-lane, assisted by Superintendent Haydon and a large detachment of men. Superintendent O'Brien was directed to concentrate the force under his charge upon the salvage of Sargood, Butler, Nicol and Ewen's warehouse; whilst Superintendent Stein reserved to himself the task of delivering the Mutual Store. The premises contiguous to Fink's-buildings, occupied by the Palmer Tire Company, were now fiercely burning from the pavement to the parapet, and the smell of the consuming India rubber goods, which were largely stocked therein, were added to the already sufficiently pungent and all pervading smoke. Moreover, the Coal Creek Company's premises, adjoining, were likewise ablaze. The wind now veered perplexingly and carrying the fire, which was of many lines, according to what it had to feed upon, in various contrary directions.
The devastation which was wrought through these meteoric splendors was not confined to the warehouses in the area described. Flinders-street station was ignited by them not less than four times, but the departmental employees being vigilant and alert quenched the flames wherever they established a hold, greatly to the chief fire officer's relief.
Messrs. Crawford, King and Co.'s warehouse was comprehensively burning, and doomed to destruction about 3.30 a.m., so Mr. O'Brien's men were withdrawn from dealing with it, and Mr. Stein went to the relief of the Mutual Store. The front door of Messrs. Sargood's premises was then broken open. Entry was made therein by some of Mr. O'Brien's men and. Mr. Lilley, an officer in the .defence forces. They were confronted with.a state of affairs similar to what was encountered by the party of firemen who broke into Fink's-buildings. A vortex of flame was formed apparently in a staircase well on to which the door opened, and with this they were powerless to cope. They saw enough to convince them that Sargood's was irretrievably lost and returned to Mr. O'Brien, with that information. A few minutes later, Lincoln and Stuart's ware-house was reported to be in a similar state. Mr. O'Brien then determined to concentrate his efforts in preventing the further spread of the fire eastwards.
The Mutual Store, hedged by a wall of flame on the other side of Degraves-street, where Crawford, King and Co.'s premises were burning, threatened at the back by the blazing warehouses occupied by Messrs. Brooks, McGlashan and McHarg, .and L. Stevenson and Co., and bombarded from overhead by fire brands thrown from the towering height of Fink's-buildings, was in a very alarming plight. Enveloped in dense resinous smoke, its precincts became almost insupportable. When Superintendent Stein entered the building the roof was alight in several places. Knowing the store was specially . designed to resist fire, he had strong hopes of saving it. Cisterns had been provided on the roof. At certain parts of the premises there were sprinklers which water could be turned to deluge the establishment. There was also a fire main running through the place with hydrants and hose attached, by using which all the floors could be dealt with as necessity might suggest. Mr. Stein directed his staff to man these appliances. They did, and were disgusted to find there was no water available. Meanwhile the fire on the roof was spreading; the lift shaft had also ignited, and a storage room at the back was in flames. Fortunately a water supply was got a little later, and the Mutual Store, by great exertions was saved. All the same, the lift doors were consumed, some of the windows were burnt out, two packing rooms were severely damaged by fire, several holes were burnt in the roof, and much of the stock was more or less ruined by water and smoke. The shareholders are sure to sustain considerable loss by the conflagration, in Mr. Stein's opinion.
When the fire had gutted Sargood's and Lincoln; and Stuart's warehouses, portion of the walls of the latter did for the Port Phillip Club Hotel what Craig, Williamson's walls had done for the Duke of Roth-say, namely, fell and wrecked a great portion of the rear premises. Of course, the numerous inmates had been apprised of their danger in ample time, and had all cleared out to places of safety. Superintendent O'Brien, from the remaining portion of the roof of the Port Phillip Club Hotel, was able with his men to do effective work in extinguishment. At that point, indeed, he definitely stopped the progress of the fire further along Flinders-street, to the immeasurable relief of the proprietor of Young and Jackson's Hotel and the occupants of the few remaining buildings. Mr. Stein was surprised, on emerging from the .Mutual Store, to find Sargood's and Lincoln and Stuart's absolutely gone, as their destruction, as he supposed, could not have occupied much, over half an hour. Finding Mr. O'Brien was able to cope with the conflagration in Flinders-street and approving of his work, the chief officer ordered his own contingent around into Flinders-lane to supplement the efforts of Superintendents Catt and Haydon. Earlier in the morning he had recognised that fighting the fire from this confined thoroughfare in the teeth of the wind was hedged with unusual difficulty and danger. As Mr. Stein said, "walls were crashing down in all directions within the block, and in terribly frequent succession. It was impossible, with any regard to the lives of the firemen, to order them into'any of the small rights-of-way to tackle the flames. The manner in which they are now choked with charred building materials sufficiently proves my contention." Hence the brigades-men had to direct their main efforts to limiting the area of the conflagration rather than seeking to master the fire of any particular premises which it had seized upon. Good work was done in quenching an outbreak on the northern side of Flinders-lane, within Robert Reid and Co.'s warehouse. The fire was prevented from spreading westward from Detmold's empty premises, and after warehouse after warehouse had been gutted east of that building, Superintendent Stein finally made a stand against it at Monahan's-buildings in Swanston-street, at the intersection of the lane. "That stand," Mr. Stein remarked, "was not unattended with risk. I got three lines of hose and about 10 men in the building next to Monahan's, towards Elizabeth-street, and co-operating with them, I had more men, with three more lines of hose, on the top of Monahan's-buildings. By means of the water this force were able to concentrate on the advancing fire and I found we were checking it. In another few moments I was convinced the men inside would be able to master it altogether, when just as I was about congratulating myself at that point, a huge crack appeared in the frontage. It looked as if the entire front of the place next to Monahan's-building would immediately fall out, bringing down heaps of bricks, iron work and burning wood on the men inside. Instantly I had to order them to come out. They had not seen the crack, and, as they were doing very well, they did not understand the order. There was hesitation about obeying it, during which I was in a state of the utmost anxiety. But at length they came out into the Lane and understood the risk they had escaped. This was about 5.15 a.m. At 5 a.m. we had the fire well under control, and the Swanston-street frontage was saved as well as the two corners of the block near Princes-bridge and at the Elizabeth-street end of Flinders-lane."
Mr. Stein added that no damage worth mentioning was done to the buildings in Swanston-street. At the rear of McLeans grocery store, where a small fire had occurred on Friday, some tarpaulins with which the brigade had covered the roof were destroyed and slight injury was inflicted by water.
The brigades had a mishap with one of the steam engines. Owing to the man in charge being fully engaged otherwise, his attention was not paid to supplying it with water, and one of the tubes was burnt out and consequently the fire had to be withdrawn from the engine, but by that time its services were not required. The police, he said, worked splendidly under Inspector Curran. They gave him every needful assistance. Civilians were also helpful. So early in the morning there were but few about and he was glad of the co-operation of every man he could get hold of. The services of Mr. Lillie, of the Defence department, was most welcome. Mr. Lillie made himself into a sort of aide-de-camp and carried the chief fire superintendent's orders all around block for him when no one else could be spared for the purpose. Mr. Lillie also worked like a Trojan in even dangerous places, and his military training rendered him more serviceable than three ordinary people."
As to the capabilities of the metropolitan fire organisation to deal with a conflagration of the magnitude of Sunday morning's visitation, Mr. Stein says: — "We have a fire brigade service here as strong as the people of Melbourne will pay for. For all ordinary purposes it is effective, but when a very large fire occurs it is difficult for us to deal with it. My appliances, such as they are, were of the best. There was plenty of (??) in very good repair, but I was sadly hampered for men. After Chicago was burnt down, it provided itself with a fire organisation that costs £300,000 a year to maintain - Melbourne's fire service only costs £27,000 a year. I don't think Melbourne would be justified in expending so much as Chicago to make itself safe, but it would be advantageous if it spent more on the fire service than it does at present. When the Mutual Store was burnt down some years ago, without wishing to be personal or to pick out any particular risk to reflect upon, I said I thought we were exceedingly fortunate in limiting that fire to the store, adding that if a fire had broken out at Craig, Williamson's, the whole block would have, in my opinion, have been burnt down. I afterwards heard that Mr. Craig was much annoyed about this speech. But the sequel shows I was correct. Craig's was, in my eyes, a large hole, with thin pieces of brickwork back and front. It was right in the centre of the Elizabeth-street block frontage, and acted like a drafted furnace. There was no "fireman's fire break' to fight the flames from and save the rest of the block when once a fire in Craig's got properly going."
