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FIRE IN GRENFELL
STREET.
DAMAGE ABOUT £70,000.
MAIN BUILDING SAVED.
Damage estimated at £10,000 was done
by the fire which broke out on the pre-
mises of Holden & Frost, Limited, and
Holden's Motor Body Builders, Limited,
in Grenfell-street, early on October
24. At the same time a splendid save
was effected, as the flames were prevented
from spreading into the wholesale saddlery
factory and warehouse, and into the paint-
ing room for motor cars, in which depart-
ments there was stock and material worth
between £40,000 and £45,000, apart from
the value of the buildings. Moreover, the
fire was in dangerous proximity to the
rear of the immense emporium of Geo. P.
Harris, Scarfe & Co., whose night watch-
men, first noticed the outbreak and in-
stantly summoned the Fire Brigade. It
seemed for a space of nearly two hours that
the whole block was in peril. The section
of Messrs. Holden & Co.'s premises un-
harmed are those fronting Grenfell-
street. They comprise a large three-
storeyed building. The portion dam-
aged is a new three-storeyed ad-
dition, constructed of brick, at the
northern end, to which access could
be gained through the main warehouse, or
by means of a right-of-way, about 40 yards
long, leading in from Grenfell-street.
On the ground floor the contents, includ-
ing eight motor cars, were not damaged
in any way. On the first floor was situated
the panel-beaters' shop and storeroom.
Here the contents were only damaged by
water. The second and third floor depart-
ments, however, were gutted, and the
solid outer wall was cracked by the
heat. Fierce flames swept through
the trimming section and destroyed
everything, including several new
motor cars, and a large quantity
of costly sewing machines and electric
motors. One small contrivance, called a
legging-making machine, was installed only
last week at a cost of £250. All the ma-
chines show signs of having been red-hot
and will have to be scrapped as useless.
The jarrah flooring of this department
had stood the test exceedingly well, al-
though the woodwork frames of some of
the machines resting upon it had been
reduced to charcoal. A great deal of fine
leather and other expensive upholstering
material was burned. Great damage was
done on the third floor, where the motor-
body building room was situated. It is
supposed that the fire originated in this
portion. The flames certainly appeared to
have raged most fiercely and for the
longest period in the room just over the
trimming department. The flooring and
roof were both penetrated and none of the
contents were left intact. A curious
circumstance was that the elevator and
liftwell on the northern end of the fire-
swept departments suffered no damage,
although the flames were seen branching
out through the windows and underneath
the floors. It was fortunate for the firm
that the lift was not destroyed, as it was
questionable whether the insurance policies
would have covered it, because it was not
included in various details of the premises
specifically mentioned. The saving in re-
gard to it represented, therefore, about
£1,000.
Five motor cars were burned to a cinder,
and 28 others escaped destruction. Some
of those in the departments gutted were
owned by Motors Limited and others by
Cheney Limited, and were on the premises
for the bodies to be built on to the chassis,
and for upholstering. The flames were
prevented on each floor from spreading to
the other parts of the establishment by
double fireproof doors, each weighing
nearly a ton.
The alarm was given to the Fire Brigade
at 1.48 a.m., and appliances from Wake-
field-street arrived in two minutes.
Auxiliaries from the suburban stations
were called in, and gave valuable assist-
ance. The work was directed by Superin-
tendent J. E. Dickey. Hoses were laid
from Rundle and Grenfell streets, but the
seat of the fire was found to be very diffi-
cult of access. It was got well under
control, in about two hours. The Fire
Brigade was confronted with a trying prob-
lem, but tackled it with a will. Hav-
ing regard to the premises as a whole, and
the hold which the flames had got, few
finer "saves" have been accomplished.
Mr. H. J. Holden (governing director of
the firm) stated that the damage done
amounted to about £10,000, and was
covered by insurance with the Phoenix
Company. The cause of the fire was a
mystery, as in the part of the establish-
ment where it occurred there was no heat-
ing apparatus or machinery that would
cause an outbreak. Neither was there any
grease or material that would give rise to
the possibility of spontaneous combustion.
All the men were off the premises
at 5.15. There was no petrol in the
motor cars in the building. The whole of
the electric light switches were off at the
meter, and had to be turned on by the
brigade at 2 a.m., so there was no possi-
bility of the fusing of electric wire
having occurred. In the painting
room, into which the flames were
prevented from penetrating, were 20
valuable motors.
$