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7. General description of the damage to the building and its contents :-
75% of roof collapsed 25% severely damaged by fire
80% of walls severly damaged by fire
95% of contents destroyed by fire 5% severly damaged
8. If there were any buildings exposed to the risk of fire, whether these were affected and to what extent.
Item 5 Building 2
Neighbouring Engineering Works some 90' 0" to the South was affected by flying brands. One square foot of fiberglass roof light being destroyed by fire.
9. Serious casualties, or rescues:- Nil.
10. Brief notes on any unusual features in :-
1 growth of fire
2 extent of damage
3 behaviour of the structure
4 behaviour of the contents
Very rapid spread of fire took place being assisted by a number of caravans in various stages of construction and the soft fibre insulation board roof and wall lining.
12. Brief history of events.
These premises are used for the manufacture of the larger type of caravan used for residential purposes. The building involved was the main production area where the assembly of caravans was carried out, including the woodworking section, timber stores and a first floor drawing office in which were stored plans for current models and a new design being prepared for the Ideal Home Exhibition.
This prototype mobile home was being made at the south east end of the building and was destroyed by fire, as were the plans.
Work on the production line had ceased at approximately 16.30 hours and 10 employees stayed to work on the new model, these leaving between 18.30 and 19.00 hours.
A night watchman is employed, an I.T.R. patrol clock system is installed and part of the watchman’s duty between patrols is to sweep up in the main production area.
Patrols had been made at 18.00, 19.00, 20.00 and 21.00 hours when everything appeared to be in order. At approximately 21.00 hours two painters who had been working in the sprayshop, which was a separate building, entered the production building to clock off, spoke to the night watchman and went home. The time clock is situated adjacent to clock point No. 6.
After completing his 21.00 hours patrol which takes approximately half an hour, the watchman carried on with his sweeping up duties at the southern end of the production area. He states that at 22.01 hours he looked at his wrist watch and went to clock point No.1, situated in the first floor drawing office, to commence his patrol. He then went to points No’s. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, leaving the building via the doors at the end og the production line. (see plan)
At the beginning of his patrol, and again when leaving this building he was very close to the point where the fire is believed to have originated. It is estimated that he left the building at approximately 22.08 hours when everything appeared to be in order.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to verify these times because on opening the watchman’s patrol clock it was found that the paper recording tape was torn and twisted. The ink tape was nearly dry and was not recording correctly. The clock mechanism was not working, and having last been round on Friday 3rd February, having a duration of approximately three days, it is doubtful if it was working at the time of the fire.
After leaving this building, the watchman clocked in at other points and when returning to this area having crossed the open trench carrying the sprinkler main, he noticed the fire glowing through the roof lights and window near the end of the production line. It is estimated that this was at approximately 22.15 hours. He attempted to call the Fire Brigade from an adjacent building but failed to contact the G.P.O. exchange.
The first call received at 22.18 hours was from the occupier of a bungalow situated approximately 300 yards to the north of the building and at that time the fire was through the roof. Within three minutes four calls were received from people up to 1¾ miles distant seeing the glow in the sky.
It will be seen from these times that the initial outbreak was extremely rapid and when the first attendance arrived, practically the whole of this building was already involved.
An investigation into the cause of the fire has been carried out by the Fire Brigade, County Constabulary and Insurance Loss Adjusters but to date, no cause of fire has been established or a satisfactory answer given to the extremely rapid spread. The cause has been returned as "doubtful".
A sprinkler system was being installed, internal pipework and heads being in situ. The private 6" main was being laid into the building and it was expected that the system would have been operative within two weeks of the fire occurring.
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