On This Day, 3 February 1917

Birmingham Mail

Saturday 3 February 1917

BUSY BIRMINGHAM BRIGADE

NINE CALLS IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

The Birmingham Fire Brigade continue to have a busy time. Nine calls were received during twenty-four hours ended this morning, bringing the total since 1st January to 147. Yesterday afternoon the Moseley Road men attended Darwin Street Picture House, where they found there had been an outbreak in the manager’s office following, it was stated, a slight explosion upon the lighting of a gas fire. Buckets of water had sufficed to deal with the trouble, but the manager and operator were suffering from burns. Happily these were not of a serious character, and the damage to the office and contents was not severe.

A fire which broke out at 9.12 last evening at the premises of P. H. Pearce, painter and decorator, Lichfield Road, Aston, engaged the efforts of the Lingard Street and Aston contingents and three machines. Upon arrival the men found a building of the two storeys, a paint shop, carpenters’ shop, and stores, on fire. A jet was got to work from the main, and after fifty minutes the fire was sufficiently extinguished to leave an officer and two men in charge. The damage was somewhat severe.

A boy lighting a fire with a match was responsible for a dwelling-house fire at 48, Goodrick Street. Among other calls was one to a motor lorry belonging to Ansells Brewery, which took fire in Saltley Road, the engine having become overheated.

A call last evening to the premises of John Melvin and Son., Dalton Street, showed that the contents of an office had taken fire through a fall of soot on to the carpet.

The coming into contact of a curtain with a lighted candle caused a bedroom fire in Bromsgrove Street. Two other dwelling-house fires, in Porchester Street and Auckland Road respectively, arose through timber being too near the flue.