British Moulded Hose Factory Fire: I Was There

Gordon Butcher

On seeing Ron Evans’s photographs of the fire, Gordon Butcher wrote his memories of the day, as a member of the AFS.

The day of the fire

On the day of the fire I was twenty years old, a member of the Watford Fire Station ‘Auxiliary Fire Service’ (AFS), but was working as an apprentice chef in a French restaurant in St James Street, Piiccadilly, London. My employers recieved a telephone call from the Hertfordshire Fire Brigade (HFB) Fire Control, at Hertford, asking whether I could be released from my work to attend a major fire at British Moulded Hose in Watford, this was agreed, and I left my workplace, (on my trusty BSA C15 motorcycle), and proceeded at top speed up the Edgware Road (A5), towards Watford Fire Station.

On cresting Shoot up Hill (between Kilburn and Cricklewood) I saw an enourmous plume of black smoke in the far distance, and I new at this stage that this was a ‘BIG ONE’. I arrived at Watford Fire Station approximately 35 minutes after leaving work (there was a lot less traffic on the roads in those days, and speed limits were not so strictly enforced, also THERE WERE NO SPEED CAMERAS IN WATFORD, as there are these days). At Watford Fire Station I formed a 3 man crew, and we drove our ‘Green Goddess’ to Bushey Mill Lane, and reported to the Incident Fire Control Point, where we were detailed to proceed to the River Colne bridge and set our ‘Green Goddess’ as a base pump to pump water from the river, up to the fire ground. With the aid of additional 4 intermediate pumps (fire engines), this water relay was succcesfully set-up in about 25 minutes.

Felt the heat coming through the roof

Following this I was then detailed to go onto the roof of the building with a hose, as part of a firefighting team, with a number of other ‘Full Time’ firemen, including Gerry Brooker (the only name I remember, and with whom I served as a ‘Full Time/Professional Fireman for 25 or more years). After a short time we could feel the heat coming through the flat roof of the building (at this time the fire was ‘Bottled-up’ inside, with smoke being released from the lower windows). All of a sudden, we heard and felt a loud crack, and the flat roof started to open-up beneath our feet. We immediately decided to take advice from ‘The Manual of Firemanship’ and took the appropritate steps, BLOODY GREAT STEPS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

Made our escape

We all made our escape to ground floor level, just before the roof split completely and vented the fire. In the circumstances, A VERY LUCKY ESCAPE !!! Along with my other 2 AFS collegues, we remained at the fire until about 10 o/c that evening, at which time we were transported back to Watford Fire Station, and went ‘Off Duty’, very tired, dirty (skokey), but pleased that we had done our bit to assist at what was probably the largest fire in Watford since the Second World War!!! (At the height of the fire a message was sent to Fire Control-‘Make Pumps 20-Turntable Ladder (TL) required. HFB not owning a TL, one was sent from Luton County Borough Fire Brigade, as it was in those days. In addition Pumps came from all over Hertfordshire, as well as from the Middlesex Fire Brigade As it still was in those days).

This page was added on 16/04/2013.

Comments about this page

  • Interesting Gordon,
    At that date I was on duty as a whole time fireman based at Watford. I was also on the first attendance at the fire. This comprised, Water Tender from Garston, Water Tender and Pump Escape from Watford
    We did have Auxiliary Firemen around that date, They were basically volunteer civilians who came into Watford Fire Station in Whippendell Road, once a week for basic training by the on duty Leading Fireman. These personnel, where the not fully trained in the same way as retained or wholetime Fireman. The AFS function was a national plan to enable raising a large number of personnel in event of nuclear attack. In that event wholetime and retained fireman would have become officers.
    The principle of the AFS was originally used in world war 2; when mobile fire columns where organised to provide high levels of fire fighting capacity. All vehicles were 4×4, with high and low gear ratios, much as the original land rover defenders. The columns included multiple green goddesses, hose laying and pipe laying lorries, bridge building and bikini units (self-propelled inflatable rafts), motorcycle dispatch rider and LR defenders for use of the Column Officers and as wireless cars.
    Richard Baker (MIFireE)

    By Richard Baker (22/05/2023)

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