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BALLANTYNE'S FIRE

Ballantyne's is a huge department store situated on the corner of Colombo and Cashel Streets in central Christchurch. On the afternoon of November the 18th, 1947, there were dozens of customers shopping on the ground floor and over 300 employees in the building. As the women who worked on the two floors above were leaving the cafetaria, they noticed a faint smell of smoke. But, as no one seemed very concerned about it, they returned to their various departments.

At approximately 3.30pm Percy Stringer, one of the salespeople, discovered a fire in the basement beneath the furniture store. The fire brigade was eventually called, but by the time they arrived, shortly after 3.48 pm, the fire already had a strong hold and was spreading rapidly.

Gradually, the workers in the upstairs departments received the message to evacuate the building. But for some it came too late.

The supervisor told the staff of the dressmaking department to turn off their machines and leave the building immediately. They made their way to the lounge, where they found smoke seeping through the floor like mist. They hurried to the stairwell with the flames close behind and finally reached Cashel Street, as parts of the building began to fall in.

The situation in the credit department was much the same. The workers were told by Kenneth Ballantyne, one of the directors of the company, to head for the fire escape. But when they tried to do so, they were beaten back by smoke and flames. They tried to reach the stairs but the fire blocked their way. The lights failed and they were trapped. Smoke and flames began to pour through the floor. Only two women survived. Nancy Nash and Lois Kennedy climbed onto a window sill and leapt to the verandah below.

Gradually the customers and most of the workers reached the streets where a large crowd had gathered to gaze in awe at the spectacle. Black smoke poured from the windows and roof of the building and billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Through the windows, flickering tongues of flame could be seen. The air was filled with the roar and crackle of the fire and the crash of windows exploding with the heat. Even so, cries of those trapped inside the building could be clearly heard above it all.

The firefighters did their best, and brave efforts were made to place ladders against the walls of the blazing building; but they were beaten back by the fierce heat and dense smoke. Several hoses played on the huge fire but they could do little more than stop the spread of the flames.

Suddenly there was a hush among the crowd. Kenneth Ballantyne appeared at one of the third floor windows and climbed out onto the ledge. For a time he perched on the parapet waving his handkerchief. The firefighters played their hoses on him to try to protect him from the heat of the flames, while desperate efforts were made to reach him with a ladder.

There was a groan from the crowd when it was seen that the ladder was too short. But shortly after, a wild cheer broke out when the firefighters finally reached him and helped him to the safety of the street below. He was probably the last person to leave the building alive.

The heat became so great that the firefighters were forced to move back from the blazing building. At one time the pressure of people behind pushed the crowd dangerously near the fire, and the firefighters had to use their hoses to drive them back for their own safety. A telegraph pole fell and the power lines snapped. There was a crackle and a flash of blue flame as the live wires squired on the pavement. The heat of the fire became so intense that great chunks of concrete peeled away from the front wall of the building and crashed onto the street below.

Gradually the fire began to burn itself out. The building had been reduced to a blackened shell, and for those who had been trapped inside it had become a crematorium. After two hours, the fire had died out sufficiently to allow firefighters to enter the smouldering ruins. A terrible scene met their eyes.

The employees of Ballantye's were asked to report to King Edward Barracks for a roll call. There were scenes of great emotion as people found that friends and relatives were missing, or that they had survived the disaster. It was finally established that forty one people had lost their lives in the tragedy.

A special commission of enquiry was held into the causes and effects of the Ballantyne's fire. The commission found that many more lives could have been saved if the fire brigade had been contacted earlier. There was no question about the courage of the firefighters, but it was felt that they lacked the leadership and experience needed to deal with such a massive fire. It was also concluded that if the company had a more efficient evacuation procedure and alarm system, more lives would have been saved.

Disasters like the Ballantyne's fire are largely remembered for their enormous cost, especially in terms of human suffering and loss of life. But such disasters have other consequences. Public enquiries and commissions are set up to investigate disasters of this type. They often result in the upgrading of safety regulations and standards. Sprinklers, alarm systems and strict safety precautions are some of the more positive results of disasters such as the Ballantyne's fire of 1947.

author: Kevin Boon