Following the disastrous fire which gutted their three-storey factory in the small hours of Saturday, Messrs. H. T. Mackness, Ltd., of Rushden, have found temporary jobs for their employees with other firms and are planning to resume shoe sock manufacture at the earliest possible moment.
Parts of the burnt-out factory shell in Beech Road have been pulled down during the week because they were unsafe. The worst Rushden fire for many years has left little of value from a well-known and prosperous family business, but an office has been set up in a house adjoining the ruin and many offers of help in restoring the business been received there.
The younger directors, Messrs. Geoffrey and Dennis Mackness, who as their factory burned carried furniture out of neighbouring cottages, have had to cope with the aftermath without the aid of their uncle Mr. Herbert Mackness, who was taken ill during the weekend.
Fountains of Sparks
From 2.30 a.m. on Saturday, when Mrs. Tye, senior, saw the fire from her bungalow nearby, until the dawn broke, it was impossible for anybody to enter the factory. Spreading diagonally from the ground floor corner, the blaze sent fountains of sparks high into the air, and the glow could be seen from Wellingborough.
Soon after three o’clock it was decided to evacuate two cottages built into the factory, and the household possessions of Mr. Fred Garley and his sister-in-law and Mr. Len Hustwait and family were stacked at a safe distance. Some furniture from the residence of Mrs. M. Mackness on the other side of the factory was also taken out.
After the alarm had been given by Mr. Leslie Tye, a postman, firemen attended from Rushden, Irthlingborough, Wellingborough and Kettering. Helped by the stillness of the air, they confined the fire to the factory, which was in close proximity to property in Higham Road.
The absence of an adequate hydrant close at hand was the subject of comment by Station Officer A. P. Timpson, of the Rushden Fire Station. A counter-statement issued by Higham Ferrers and Rushden Water Board on Tuesday said
No Complaint
“No complaints have been received from the fire authorities about any lack of water supply in the area. The hydrant in Beech Road is on a three-inch branch pipe which could not be expected to provide a supply of water to fight a major fire. So far as is known, the eight-inch main in Higham Road provided an adequate supply of water when the fire hydrant on that main was brought into use.”
|
