Two
master brummie
A lot of incorrect information has been published about the Halfords Fire - The following information is taken from the official reports.
Halfords.
Fire occurred Saturday 12th March 1955.
Frontage of Halfords 330 feet. X 180 feet - 27,000 square feet in area.
Building expressly built for Halfords 1929/30.
(Noted at the time that it would be possible to increase the building by 2 Floors at some time in the future).
Owners were of the Building were Birmingham Corporation Estates.
Fire Prevention was the responsibility of Birmingham Public Works Dept.
No Sprinklers,
No Fire Alarms,
No Night Watchmen.
Storage.
The Paint Department contained 13,000 Gallons of Flammable Enamel Paint.
(This is Equivalent to One and a Half large Petrol Tankers)!
57,000 Tyres
32% of the contents were Flammable. (All densely stacked).
Building Construction.
Steel Framed Building. (Unprotected)
Timber & Asphalted Roof.
4 Floors and Basement.
Oil Fired Heating System.
Floors were timber – extensively partitioned into smaller Offices and Stores by light boarding. (No Fire Resistance on Internal Partitions)
4 unprotected lift shafts and stair wells with a central open courtyard.
Inside was a “Helter Skelter” to move goods downwards to the lower floor Dispatch Area.
Lower floors had either heavy Metal Rollers shutters or were rented to other Companies.
Building Expansion.
It was decided to extend the building by 2 Floors.
(From 4 floors to 6 floors).
Scaffolding was erected around building – only tied into building on the 4th Floor by wooden plugs into the building (Standard practice for the time). Some Aluminium Scaffolding was used.
No scaffolding Boards were in use on the lower 4 Floors.
Saturday Morning Timeline.
0530 hours Saturday Morning – Police Constable and Police Sergeant walked past Halfords – Nothing noted!
0600 hours – Woman Cleaner noticed small quantities of smoke from the Roller Shutters on the Corner of Lancaster St and Brick Kiln St (Furthest point from Fire Station).
0605 – She reported the seeing Smoke to the Fire Station
3 Pumps and Turntable Ladder were mobilised within minutes.
Officer In Charge of First attendance - Station Officer George Merrell (He later to became Chief Fire Officer of Birmingham Fire Brigade).
Access.
A few wisps of smoke were noted from 1st Floor Window.
Attempted access from scaffolding - Could feel heat from the exterior walls.
Access was attempted on the Lancaster St side and then Corporation St side.
Pumps were increased rapidly in number.
2 Men in Breathing Apparatus attempted to gained access through first floor window on Corporation St – very little smoke but fierce draft.
Opened a door on 2nd Floor – met with a wall of white heat. Water Jet made no impression. Forced to make a retreat.
Windows started to shatter on upper floors.
Flashover.
Flashover occurred at 0720 Hours – just as the Breathing Apparatus wearers were leaving building due to the heat.
Within minutes flames were issuing from all 3 sides of the Building.
Pumps were increased to 20 then 30, Within Minutes.
(Note - There was a High Wind from the North East).
(The Scaffolding started to creak then started to peel away from Building)
0900 hours – Collapse of Scaffolding.
Water.
In the first 3 Hours Estimated that 600,000 Gallons of Water (2.25 Million Litres) were used.
Fire Crew Reliefs
Continued for 12 Days – Then Closed.
Every Pump in Birmingham was at the fire – Plus crews from West Bromwich and Smethwick, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Walsall.
Cost of Fire
Initial Fire reports losses as £1M – equates to £35M today.
Later reports give losses as £3m – £100m today.
Quote from - Station Officer George Merrell - Officer in Charge of the first Attendance – “It was lost before we got there”.
Halfords.
Fire occurred Saturday 12th March 1955.
Frontage of Halfords 330 feet. X 180 feet - 27,000 square feet in area.
Building expressly built for Halfords 1929/30.
(Noted at the time that it would be possible to increase the building by 2 Floors at some time in the future).
Owners were of the Building were Birmingham Corporation Estates.
Fire Prevention was the responsibility of Birmingham Public Works Dept.
No Sprinklers,
No Fire Alarms,
No Night Watchmen.
Storage.
The Paint Department contained 13,000 Gallons of Flammable Enamel Paint.
(This is Equivalent to One and a Half large Petrol Tankers)!
57,000 Tyres
32% of the contents were Flammable. (All densely stacked).
Building Construction.
Steel Framed Building. (Unprotected)
Timber & Asphalted Roof.
4 Floors and Basement.
Oil Fired Heating System.
Floors were timber – extensively partitioned into smaller Offices and Stores by light boarding. (No Fire Resistance on Internal Partitions)
4 unprotected lift shafts and stair wells with a central open courtyard.
Inside was a “Helter Skelter” to move goods downwards to the lower floor Dispatch Area.
Lower floors had either heavy Metal Rollers shutters or were rented to other Companies.
Building Expansion.
It was decided to extend the building by 2 Floors.
(From 4 floors to 6 floors).
Scaffolding was erected around building – only tied into building on the 4th Floor by wooden plugs into the building (Standard practice for the time). Some Aluminium Scaffolding was used.
No scaffolding Boards were in use on the lower 4 Floors.
Saturday Morning Timeline.
0530 hours Saturday Morning – Police Constable and Police Sergeant walked past Halfords – Nothing noted!
0600 hours – Woman Cleaner noticed small quantities of smoke from the Roller Shutters on the Corner of Lancaster St and Brick Kiln St (Furthest point from Fire Station).
0605 – She reported the seeing Smoke to the Fire Station
3 Pumps and Turntable Ladder were mobilised within minutes.
Officer In Charge of First attendance - Station Officer George Merrell (He later to became Chief Fire Officer of Birmingham Fire Brigade).
Access.
A few wisps of smoke were noted from 1st Floor Window.
Attempted access from scaffolding - Could feel heat from the exterior walls.
Access was attempted on the Lancaster St side and then Corporation St side.
Pumps were increased rapidly in number.
2 Men in Breathing Apparatus attempted to gained access through first floor window on Corporation St – very little smoke but fierce draft.
Opened a door on 2nd Floor – met with a wall of white heat. Water Jet made no impression. Forced to make a retreat.
Windows started to shatter on upper floors.
Flashover.
Flashover occurred at 0720 Hours – just as the Breathing Apparatus wearers were leaving building due to the heat.
Within minutes flames were issuing from all 3 sides of the Building.
Pumps were increased to 20 then 30, Within Minutes.
(Note - There was a High Wind from the North East).
(The Scaffolding started to creak then started to peel away from Building)
0900 hours – Collapse of Scaffolding.
Water.
In the first 3 Hours Estimated that 600,000 Gallons of Water (2.25 Million Litres) were used.
Fire Crew Reliefs
Continued for 12 Days – Then Closed.
Every Pump in Birmingham was at the fire – Plus crews from West Bromwich and Smethwick, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Walsall.
Cost of Fire
Initial Fire reports losses as £1M – equates to £35M today.
Later reports give losses as £3m – £100m today.
Quote from - Station Officer George Merrell - Officer in Charge of the first Attendance – “It was lost before we got there”.
