THE NOTTINGHAM EVENING POST
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1959
HOSIERY FACTORY GUTTED IN 15 MINUTES
Mystery of fire within 10 hours of inspection
£250,000 DAMAGE
TEN HOURS AFTER FIREMEN HAD INVESTIGATED A CALL TO A NOTTINGHAM FACTORY AND FOUND NOTHING SUSPICIOUS, THE BUILDING WAS GUTTED TODAY BY A BLAZE WHICH CAUSED
£250,000 OF DAMAGE IN 15 MINUTES.
The premises were those of Corbett and Davies, hosiery makers, of Plantagenet-street. The blaze started at 10.20 a.m. and enveloped the four storey building.
The midnight alarm had been given by Mr. John Thomas Hollingworth, who keeps a newsagent’s shop at 56 Sabina-street. No trace of a fire could be found. Mr Hollingworth said he smelled smoke while taking his dog for a walk. He met a police sergeant, and after trying to trace the smell they called the fire brigade. The firemen searched the factory for three hours.
Today, 350 employees were evacuated without injury before the blaze took a firm grip. Also taken to safety were occupants of shops and houses facing the factory. The factory workers - most of them girls – credited their swift exit to a new drill which was held by the firm last month.
Ten fire appliances and three turntable ladders, ,manned by nearly 60 firemen, were quickly on the scene, but the factory rapidly became a raging inferno with flames leaping 100 feet high and smoke billowing across the St. Ann’s Well road area of the city.
Traffic diverted
Thousands of people lined adjoining streets and were showered with falling ash from the fire and the spray from the dozens of fire houses. The police diverted traffic in St. Ann’s Well road to give fire appliances priority as emergency calls for assistance went out to neighbouring brigades.
The chief worry for the firemen was the fate of abridge joining two blocks of the factory, the knitting and production sections with the outerwear premises.
Bridge destroyed
The bridge was eventually destroyed by the blaze but the outerwear factory was saved. “If that had gone too, we could have added another £200,000 to the cost of the fire, “said Ald. J. F. Littlefair, deputy Lord Mayor of Nottingham, who is a director of the firm.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1959
HOSIERY FACTORY GUTTED IN 15 MINUTES
Mystery of fire within 10 hours of inspection
£250,000 DAMAGE
TEN HOURS AFTER FIREMEN HAD INVESTIGATED A CALL TO A NOTTINGHAM FACTORY AND FOUND NOTHING SUSPICIOUS, THE BUILDING WAS GUTTED TODAY BY A BLAZE WHICH CAUSED
£250,000 OF DAMAGE IN 15 MINUTES.
The premises were those of Corbett and Davies, hosiery makers, of Plantagenet-street. The blaze started at 10.20 a.m. and enveloped the four storey building.
The midnight alarm had been given by Mr. John Thomas Hollingworth, who keeps a newsagent’s shop at 56 Sabina-street. No trace of a fire could be found. Mr Hollingworth said he smelled smoke while taking his dog for a walk. He met a police sergeant, and after trying to trace the smell they called the fire brigade. The firemen searched the factory for three hours.
Today, 350 employees were evacuated without injury before the blaze took a firm grip. Also taken to safety were occupants of shops and houses facing the factory. The factory workers - most of them girls – credited their swift exit to a new drill which was held by the firm last month.
Ten fire appliances and three turntable ladders, ,manned by nearly 60 firemen, were quickly on the scene, but the factory rapidly became a raging inferno with flames leaping 100 feet high and smoke billowing across the St. Ann’s Well road area of the city.
Traffic diverted
Thousands of people lined adjoining streets and were showered with falling ash from the fire and the spray from the dozens of fire houses. The police diverted traffic in St. Ann’s Well road to give fire appliances priority as emergency calls for assistance went out to neighbouring brigades.
The chief worry for the firemen was the fate of abridge joining two blocks of the factory, the knitting and production sections with the outerwear premises.
Bridge destroyed
The bridge was eventually destroyed by the blaze but the outerwear factory was saved. “If that had gone too, we could have added another £200,000 to the cost of the fire, “said Ald. J. F. Littlefair, deputy Lord Mayor of Nottingham, who is a director of the firm.
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https://stannswellroad.weebly.com
facebook group:
www.facebook.com/groups/StAnnsWellRdPreDemolition1970