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1961 The Great Fire

 
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TonyS
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Joined: 17 Jan 2006
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Location: Worcestershire

PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:43 am    Post subject: 1961 The Great Fire Reply with quote



1961 Tuesday February 26th. The great fire, which gutted the premises of Rochdale Motor Panels in Hudson Street, Rochdale.
Most people look at this photo because of the Olympic bodyshells, but now look at the fire engine in the background.





This is a photo from the other end of the street with the front of the fire engine in view.





This appliance, one of the tallest British turntable ladders, was delivered to Rochdale County Borough Fire Brigade in March 1957
and passed to the Greater Manchester Fire Service in April, 1974.
It spent all it's working life in Rochdale until being withdrawn from operational service in 1976.
The 125ft(37Metre) all steel 5-section ladder was supplied by Carl Metz of Germany and built onto the Dennis F.21 chassis powered by a Rolls-Royce B.80 8-cylinder petrol engine,
developing 150BHP through a 4-speed crash gearbox. A 500 galls/min(2250 litres/min) centrifugal pump is also fitted.
The vehicle has been completely restored to it's 1957 condition by Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum Society.


Reprinted from the ROCHDALE OBSERVER, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25 1961 Issue 9,341

THE GREAT HUDSON STREET FIRE

Scores of people watched 50 firemen from Rochdale, Oldham, Bury, Heywood and Littleborough fight a spectacular fire in Hudson Street on Tuesday night, the 21st, at the premises of Rochdale Motor Panel and Engineering Limited.
Within minutes of the outbreak being spotted, the whole of the three-story premises was a raging inferno, and as a full compliment of the Rochdale Borough Fire Brigade made their way to the fire, they could see the glow in the sky as flames shot 40ft in the air above the roof.
"We could see we were in for a tough job as we raced to the scene" said one fire officer on Tuesday night. "Flames were shooting through the roof and the first and second floors were well alight". Outside help was called and machines from Oldham, Bury, Heywood and Littleborough were soon on the spot.
In less than an hour the outbreak was brought under control, but extensive damage was caused to the building, the roof, the second and first floors being severely damaged by fire, whilst the ground floor suffered from heat and water damage.
The premises are owned by Mr Frank Butterworth of 7 Woodfield Avenue, Rochdale, and Mr Harry Smith of 665 Oldham Road, Rochdale, who, with nine employees, are engaged in manufacturing fibreglass car bodies.
One of their specialities is the body named 'Rochdale' which is well known throughout the country by racing drivers and sports car enthusiasts. Another speciality is the 'Olympic' which is gaining a reputation overseas and for which the firm have received many orders from abroad.
The fire was first spotted just after 7.30pm by Mrs Binns of 14 Peel Street, who noticed a red glow in the works. She ran to the home of her daughter, Mrs Margaret Grant, who lives next door but one to the building at 10 Hudson Street and is employed in a clerical capacity. Mrs Grant then ran to a shop on Spot land Road and telephoned for the Fire Brigade from there.
Most of the nearby residents were unaware of what was happening. Mrs Wild of 12 Hudson Street, whose house is divided from the works by a narrow passage, was watching 'Emergency Ward 10' on her TV set when someone knocked on the door. It was a policeman who advised her to leave, as there was a possibility that the flames might cross the gap and a small amount of debris was falling into the yard.
"I didn't hear anything" she told an 'Observer' reporter, "but I noticed funny noises coming from my TV".
Mr Charles Stocks of 8 Hudson Street, who had settled down for a quiet evening with his radio, also answered a knock on the door. Outside were a number of firemen who politely asked: "Can we run our hose-pipes through your house?
Mr Stocks then saw that the works were on fire and he readily agreed. The hoses were run through the living room and kitchen and out at the back door so the fire could be tackled from the rear.
The hosepipes used were of a special type, lined with rubber and waterproofed to prevent water damage, and after an hours use, Mr Stocks carpet was still quite dry.
On Wednesday morning, Fire Brigade officials told Mr Stocks that if he wished, his carpet would be cleaned and that any mess that had been caused would also be cleared up.

At the height of the outbreak, firemen entered the building and dragged clear several fibreglass car bodies. They were then told that in a storeroom near the office were four oxygen cylinders which were in danger of exploding. These were quickly removed, and although the flames had not got to them the cylinders were quite hot.
Mr Butterworth on Wednesday paid tribute to the work of the firemen saying: "They were wonderful. Everything that could be salvaged was salvaged and I was amazed at their courage in entering the building with the flames licking round them". Mr Butterworth, who had been working overtime, and had left the premises only half an hour before the fire was discovered, returned to the scene. He too went into the offices and managed to recover the firm’s records and other papers.
Mr Harry Smith, who along with his partner Mr Butterworth, stood watching the blaze, sadly remarked: "There goes ten years work in ten minutes".
On Wednesday morning it was learned that although the moulds for the car bodies had been destroyed, all was not lost, for amongst the fibreglass bodies recovered were a couple of 'Olympic' models. The firm will now be able to make a new mould using one of these as a prototype.
"We want to get fresh premises as quickly as possible. We have a lot of orders to fulfil both for home and abroad and want to get cracking at once" said Mr Butterworth.
In the meantime, the employees were busy in the wrecked building clearing up and salvaging what parts they could and Mrs Grant was carrying on office duties from her own home.
It afterwards appeared that the fire started in a corner of the workshop on the first floor and spread quickly, travelling up an open staircase to the upper floors and igniting a 50-gallon container of liquid resin.
Two 'virgin' bodyshells were rescued by the firemen whilst they struggle to control the inferno. Although the factory in Hudson Street was absolutely gutted, Rochdale Motor Panels quickly found temporary premises in Duke Street where new Olympic moulds were made. The following year, they finally moved to Littledale Street.

If anyone knows about the fire or Rochdale Motor Panels in Hudson Street and Littledale Street, Rochdale
or has owned a Rochdale car in the 1950,s or 60,s or 70,s please contact us on rochdale-olympic@fsmail.net
_________________
Rochdale Olympic History Archive


Last edited by TonyS on Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:50 pm; edited 3 times in total
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