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. TIMBER YARD ABLAZE
December 22nd 1911
Big Fire At Ardrossan
The biggest conflagration which Ardrossan has witnessed for many years occurred on Monday, when a portion of the timber yard of Messrs Wm. Christie & Co., Ltd., took fire.
The outbreak was first noticed shortly before one o'clock in the afternoon. Smoke was seen to be issuing from one of the huge piles of sleepers which occupy a large portion of the yard. A strong south-westerly breeze was blowing, and, although every effort was made to check the blaze, the wind quickly fanned the fire and in a very short time it was apparent that serious damage was inevitable. In less than half an hour the whole pile, about 80 feet high, was ablaze.
Strenuous efforts were then made to save the adjoining piles, but the sleepers are so heavy and the piles were so high that this was seen to be impracticable. The Harbour fire brigade was meanwhile working heroically, and ere long the municipal brigade was on the spot. The joint efforts of these bodies were, however, of little effect, and, the wind continuing to blow freshly, the fire spread from pile to pile.
About two o'clock the heat of the conflagration had become so intense that the G. & S-W. Railway between the town station and the harbour became unworkable, and in course of time the rails began to buckle and twist.
Urgent appeals for help had been sent to Kilmarnock and Glasgow, and the Kilmarnock motor engine and brigade responded promptly to the summons.
Early in the evening, unfortunately, the motor engine broke down, and this means of combating the fire was lost. To make matters worse, the Glasgow engine, which left the city in good time, got stuck in the mud at Montgreenan, so that only the local brigades were during the greater part of the time carrying on the conflict with the flames.
Excellent work was done by both. The town brigade, in particular, wrought magnificently, and through their efforts the fire was prevented from spreading in a northerly direction.
The Glasgow engine arrived about one o'clock on Tuesday morning by which time the worst of the blaze was over. The city firemen set to work immediately, and with their powerful pumps all danger of the fire spreading still further was removed. Until midday they poured water on the fire at the rate of 600 gallons a minute. By that time only a smouldering heap of embers remained of the great conflagration. At one time, owing to the fury of the blaze and the direction of the wind, fears were entertained that some of the buildings in the town might take fire, for pieces of burning timber and multitudes of sparks were blowing over the principal streets.
Valuable assistance was lent by the crew of the Messrs Christie's steamer, the SS Drumloist, under Captain Baillie, by the police, and by a number of private individuals.
After darkness set in the spectacle presented by the burning timber-yard was magnificent, and large crowds of people gathered at various points of vantage to view it.
The glare was visible at a great distance.
The people on the east side of Arran saw it distinctly, and the cause of the unusual illumination was easily surmised.
On the whole it was fortunate that the wind was south-westerly in direction, for had it blown from the east or from the north a much larger quantity of timber would have been consumed. As it was, the damage, including that to the railway, which suffered severely, is roughly estimated at a figure not much under ?10,000.
Owing to the heat and the destruction of the rails trains could not pass the scene of the fire, and passengers from the Arran boat had to be conveyed to the town station by wagonettes.
On Wednesday afternoon the debris was still smouldering over a large area, and it was deemed advisable again to call out the local brigades.
We are informed that when the Glasgow engine stuck through swerving into the roadside ditch and sinking to the axles in mud, the farmers in the neighbourhood did all in their power to lend assistance and to seek more. It was through the efforts of Mr Reid of Dvkeneuk? that a relief engine was brought from Glasgow about midnight, with the result that the fire engine was extricated and enabled to proceed on it's way..
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