Ballantynes Fire, Christchurch 1947 Ballantynes began trading in Christchurch in 1872, and has remained on site on Cashel Street since this date as a shopping destination in the city. [8] Some showrooms on the ground floor were evacuated by sales employees taking their own initiative, but staff in some of the other showrooms on the ground floor were ordered by management to 'carry on' or 'stand by'. They spent about 10 minutes searching for the seat of the fire but were unable to locate it. Photo: Supplied. Urgent changes were recommended to building regulations and fire safety requirements to prevent similar disasters.[2]. The fire started just before 11 a.m. at a home on Ballantyne Drive, just east of Portobello Boulevard in Orléans. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. At first the firemen thought it was just a cellar fire. The fire at the Ballantynes Department store in Christchurch on 18 November 1947 was the worst fire in New Zealand’s history. 3:31 p.m on the 18th of November, 1947. [12], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}43°32′00″S 172°38′10″E / 43.533414°S 172.636220°E / -43.533414; 172.636220, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "41 die in Ballantyne's fire | NZHistory, New Zealand history online", "Fires and fire services—Fires in the 1940s", "Ballantynes' fire – Report of the Royal Commission Summary", "Ballantynes' fire – Report of the Royal Commission: Staff Response", "Ballantynes department store inferno survivor reveals failures and omissions in NZ's worst fire tragedy", "NZ Archives listing for Commission of Enquiry papers", "Ablaze: TV Movie about the Ballantynes fire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ballantyne%27s_fire&oldid=973854069, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Articles needing additional references from November 2011, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with style issues from December 2019, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 19 August 2020, at 16:24. The cause of the fire was never established. About 250 customers and the retail staff on the ground floor were moved outside, but there was no move to clear the upper floors of the staff who had just returned to work after their tea break. [2] The commission noted that the 30 minutes between the first call to the fire brigade and point of flashover would have been enough time to evacuate everyone in the building without injury. At 3:31pm on 18 November, 1947, one of the salesmen employed in the store was to… The women who had stayed in the office died in the fire. The fires finally burnt out completely by 8:00pm. Tardiness is the enemy of some, but it once saved Miss New Zealand from a horrific death. We think the use of soft fibre board in Ballantynes was a breach of the by-law forbidding its use, and the breach was not cured by the consent given. The Ballantyne's Department Store’s fire of 18 November 1947, in Christchurch, was the worst fire in New Zealand history, killing 41 people. Staff in other areas of the building complex were not even made aware of the fire as there was no fire alarm. No definite cause of the fire could be found, but the report of the commission pointed to two factors that had made the situation much more serious. Ballantyne Crest: A demi griffin, in the dexter paw a sword erect all proper. Directed by Joshua Frizzell. This building has endured two of NZ's worst disasters: the fire and the Christchurch earthquake. They did not realise that people were trapped on the upper floors of the building. They were able to rescue Kenneth Ballantyne when he broke a window and climbed out onto the parapet of the building. A dramatisation of the fire, Ablaze, was directed by Josh Frizzell and screened by TVNZ in 2019. This delayed the attempt to rescue the trapped workers. The senior fire officer ordered a Brigade Call, although that order was only received by the fire station at 4:00 pm. 41 people died in total and the fire it is still considered one of New Zealand's worst disasters . On 18 November 1947 a fire broke out in the store and many workers became trapped on the upper floors. Another woman jumped from a third floor window, hitting the veranda and then landing on the road. Firefighters and Police were able to gain entry to the ground floor about 6 pm, where they found a number of bodies near the exits and others hanging from beams. The other seven died after they collapsed from smoke inhalation. The showrooms, fitting rooms, art gallery and sumptuous tearooms catered to the elite of Canterbury. Around the outside of the building was a veranda which made it difficult for the fire fighters to put up their ladders. Even the arriving fire brigade crews did not realise at once that there were still people on the upper floors of the building complex. She then slewed upside down and then fell head first to the pavement in Cashel Street. 3:31 p.m on the 18th of November, 1947. Klaxons that had been installed during the Second World War and the Vigilant sprinkler fire alarm in one building had not been maintained and both were eventually removed. It was the largest funeral in Christchurch’s history. Some parts of the building had no access to fire escapes. Ballantyne's fire. The store management seemed to have not taken the risk of the fire seriously enough. On 18 November 1947 Ballantyne's, a Christchurch department store that was a local institution, was razed by one of the worst fires in New Zealand's history. Longtime Christchurch resident Don Clark was nearby on the day and said everyone was connected to someone affected. Map and Info Map and Info 40 people unfortunatly perished while one pregnant woman … The last bodies were not carried out of the building until 21 November. When the first fire appliance arrived about two minutes later at the Lichfield Street entrance the firefighters saw no sign of fire there. Funeral for the Ballantynes Fire Victims at Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Christchurch. The first telephone call to the fire brigade was logged at 3:46 pm, though the phone operator simply stated that she was told to inform them there was a cellar fire at Ballantyne's. The centre of the complex began to collapse soon after. [10], A commission[11] later determined that the fire response had been inadequate and the building had not met fire regulations, though it had passed its last inspection four years earlier. These fact cards are related to the events that unfolded in 1947 when the fire broke out at the Ballantyne's department store in Christchurch, New Zealand. These consisted of 25 bins, two typewriters, several adding machines and a number of boxes of records. The staff had no access to a formal fire evacuation plan. Violet Cody, another credit worker, leapt from another window in Pratt's Building whereupon she landed on another slate verandah. The firefighter making the call had to first push through the crowd to get to a pharmacy and then had to wait for the overloaded telephone exchange lines to clear before he could make the call. If you want to find out more about this tragic event, Christchurch City Libraries has a resource that features transcripts of articles from newspapers and other sources about the fire. The fire has also resonated with New Zealand fiction writers. Some heads of departments made the decision themselves to evacuate their staff from the upper floors of the building. The rambling nature of the building meant that once started a fire could travel quickly through the store. 41 people died; 39 employees and two auditors,[1] who found themselves trapped by the fire, or were overcome by smoke while evacuating the store complex without a fire alarm or evacuation plan. There were manually operated fire doors that could be closed across the openings between buildings. Ballantynes’ Fire factsheet – An easy to read summary of this disaster. Workers on the multiple top floor attempted to denote their location to firefighters by banging at windows before being killed by heat, fire or smoke. Another call was made to be certain. [citation needed] Recommendations were made for changes in fire prevention and firefighting for all of New Zealand. Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the Ballantynes Department Store fire. The commission found that there had not been enough well-trained officers at the scene of the fire, and that the attempts to rescue the trapped workers had suffered from a lack of co-ordination and leadership. An historical romance based on the Ballantynes Department Store Fire in 1947 that killed 41 people, most of them store employees trapped in controversial circumstances. It is on a fire disaster that happened in 1947. The brigade initially thought that the fire was contained to the cellar. The brigade initially thought that the fire was contained to the cellar. Please ensure that you have JavaScript enabled in your browser. For further information see the book The Ballantyne Fire Disasterby Gordon G Walker (GG Walker, … These fact cards are related to the events that unfolded in 1947 when the fire broke out at the Ballantyne's department store in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Ballantynes building was a maze, four storeys high in some places, and many parts had no access to a fire escape. He told the woman to call the fire brigade and tell the owners. Oct 2, 2019 - Explore Amelia Ward's board "Ballantynes Fire (RIP Isobel)" on Pinterest. On Tuesday, 18 November 1947, a fire engulfed Ballantynes department store in central Christchurch, New Zealand. The decision was made not to bring a turntable ladder to the scene of the fire as a cellar fire was not usually regarded as serious. Ballantynes, symbol of an or­derly, correct life, suddenly burst into flame. His was the last rescue. On November 18, 1947, as a fire took hold in the basement of Ballantynes department store in Christchurch, 500 employees kept working and hundreds of shoppers roamed through the showrooms or chatted over tea and cakes in the cafe. [7] The company claimed after the fire that around 250 to 300 customers were inside the building when smoke was first seen coming from a cellar, many of whom were not inside the showrooms but inside the elaborate neoclassical tearooms on an upper floor, having afternoon tea while listening to a string trio. When the fire began in a basement about 3.30 p.m., 250–300 people were shopping at Ballantyne’s, which had a staff of 458. Forty-one people died and the resulting Royal Commission recommended urgent changes to the building regulations and fire prevention and firefighting throughout the country. The complex was situated where the present building stands at the intersection of Cashel and Colombo Streets. The store's interior partitions had untreated soft wood-fibre linings that had been permitted by the Christchurch City Council contrary to its own bylaws. The fire soon became out of control with the loss of 41 lives. At 3:31pm on 18 November, 1947, one of the salesmen employed in the store was told by a woman employee that smoke was coming up the stairs. In 1947 more than 300 people were employed in the department store of J. Ballantyne & Co, situated on the corner of Colombo Street and Cashel Street in the centre of Christchurch. 41 people lost their lives, 39 staff and 2 of the company's auditors from the partnership of Stewart Beckett. Half an hour after the fire was approximately discovered, the heat and smoke went into flashover, erupting across the cojoined first-floors of the Congreve's, Goodman's, and Pratt's buildings. They didn't bring a ladder. In 1947 more than 300 people were employed in the department store of J. Ballantyne & Co, situated on the corner of Colombo Street and Cashel Street in the centre of Christchurch. When the fire began in a basement about 3.30 p.m., 250–300 people were shopping at Ballantyne’s, which had a staff of 458. Sailors of the ships Bellona and Arbytus (Royal New Zealand Navy) help to attack the flames [1947], CCL PhotoCD 15, IMG0038More staff left the building just as the centre of the department store exploded in flames, blowing out two large windows. At the time of the fire Ballantynes employed 458 people, over 300 of whom were women. As soon as things got hot for them, they left on their own behest. The staff member who saw smoke coming from a stairwell asked a colleague to call the fire … On 18 November 1947 Ballantynes was razed by one of the worst fires in New Zealand’s history. The cause of the fire was never established. Smoke and flames masking Dunstable House, part of the department store of J Ballantynes and Company on Colombo Street, Christchurch, during the fire that destroyed the building. Of the 41 who died, 38 were staff, two were external auditors and one was from the Retail Salesmanship College. Due to the quantity of clothes made on the premises, the buildings were classified as factory buildings, which helped them to pass a Labour Department inspection in 1943. This report presents information regarding the Ballantynes Department Store Fire Disaster, which occurred at Christchurch, New Zealand, on the 18th November 1947. Ballantynes is a well-known department store in Christchurch. The staff in the dress-making section on the second floor escaped after taking the stairs and leaving the building just as the upper parts of the store began to collapse. The store itself was made up of seven smaller buildings linked together, and was four storeys high in some places. 1947 The Ballantynes Fire, 18 November The Ballantynes fire was a tragic event in the history of New Zealand and for Christchurch and Ballantynes in particular. The quality of the photograph seems to date it after the Ballantyne's fire. Deborah Challinor’s novel Fire is a historical romance based on the Ballantynes Fire, but set instead in Auckland 1953. The commission recommended changes in fire prevention and firefighting throughout New Zealand. The fire officer in charge soon realised the severity of the fire and sent a fireman to make a brigade call that would bring out all the fire appliances in Christchurch, but the call was delayed by overloaded telephone lines. After the fire, Ballantynes continued to trade from its undamaged building in Lichfield Street. They didn't bring a ladder. The group moved to another area but were driven back by the smoke. At least 680 people were in Ballantynes at the time of the fire - … November 18, 1947. The building was unsafe, and did not meet city building regulations, although it had been inspected and passed four years earlier. Just after 3:30 pm, smoke from the fire was first noticed coming up the cellar stairs. Date 18 Nov 1947 Ref PAColl-8163-27 Description. Find items in libraries near you. From its humble beginnings the Ballantynes business expanded until, by 1947, it occupied 80 m of street front in Cashel Street, 50 m in Colombo Street and another 21 m in Lichfield Street. 41 people lost their lives, 39 staff and 2 of the company's auditors from the partnership of Stewart Beckett. All four people who lived in the home had safely evacuated before firefighters arrived. Ballantyne the Brave, a biography of the juvenile fiction writer, Robert Michael Ballantyne; Ballantyne's fire, a disastrous fire in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1947; The Ballantyne Novels, a series of four novels published between 1980 and 1984 by Wilbur Smith; Ballantyne syndrome, a rare disorder affecting pregnant women; Henry Ballantyne and Sons Ltd., Woollen … [7] Many staff only knew the layout of their own workrooms and were unaware of alternative egress routes.[6]. Sixty-eight years ago on November 18, 1947 Christchurch's Ballantynes department store was razed by fire. Inasmuch as no requisition was served on Messrs. Ballantynes bv the fire brigade, it cannot be said that there was a breach of the Christchurch Fire Board Fire Escapes By-law, 1930. Someone contacted the phone operator and stated that the fire brigade be called. This speaks to the significance of the fire due to its rarity. She died soon after from her injuries. They then moved into Colombo Street where they saw smoke coming out of an enclosed alleyway. The latter was considered equally unlikely as Keith Smith, the employee who was last working in the cellar, had left at about 3:30 pm for his afterno… Ballantynes Fire Tuesday, November 18, 1947. This call was received at the fire station at 3:46pm. If you want to find out more about this tragic event, Christchurch City Libraries has a resource that features transcripts of articles from newspapers and other sources about the fire. Find out…, Local history: organisations & businesses, digitised resources about the Ballantynes' Fire, Ballantynes fire memorial photos at NZ History.net, Christchurch City Libraries' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Forty-one of his staff perished. Events In History. Ballantynes Fire Luke Sherry St Andrews College Overview Info On the 18th of November 1947 Ballantynes Department store in Christchurch erupted in flames. This building has endured two of NZ's worst disasters: the fire and the Christchurch earthquake. A DigitalNZ Story by Donna Robertson. The business was owned and managed by two brothers and who were of the Ballantyne family. CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND. It has been noted that office employees were not evacuated as policy required that insured equipment be stored away in a fireproof strong room first. A commission of inquiry into the disaster opened in Christchurch two months later. K41 is the code used when there are fatalities at an incident responded to by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Ballantyne's fire was the fire that changed many rules and regulations in not only the building of commercial buildings but how services responded to such events. [6], Fire protection was provided by manual fire extinguishers, although staff were not formally trained in their use. The sequence of delays, errors, and fatal mistakes made by management during the next 25 minutes have been portrayed most memorably in the novel Gardens of Fire by historian and novelist Stevan Eldred-Grigg, who based the book on detailed research and interviews with survivors. None of the victims were identifiable apart from Violet Cody. The latter was considered equally unlikely as Keith Smith, the employee who was last working in the cellar, had left at about 3:30 pm for his afternoon tea break. Yet a dignified Italianate facade concealed dangerous secrets. In mid-afternoon, when the fire began, an estimated 250–300 people were shopping at Ballantynes, which had a staff of 458. The fire in Christchurch’s prestigious department store was the deadliest in New Zealand’s history. See more ideas about Fire, Christchurch, Christchurch new zealand. The bodies of the 41 victims were buried at Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Bromley, after a civic funeral. [Kevin Boon] Home. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: or Search WorldCat. When some minutes later the fire brigade had still not arrived, the salesman began to get concerned. At this point he climbed out onto a window ledge as the fire engulfed the floor behind him and was the last person to be rescued by firefighters from Pratt's Building at 4:10 pm. If you are still seeing this message and JavaScript is enabled in your browser then please either contact the library or fill in our technical support form and we will try to fix the problem. Only the supervisor and one of the department staff made it safely to the fire escape and down. Image collection: Ballantynes’ Fire. Most of the upper floors were staff work areas, including the dress-making department, and the credit and accounting department. [2] The Ballantyne Memorial Rose Garden was built at Ruru Lawn Cemetery. A DigitalNZ Story by Donna Robertson. Search. By now over 200 firefighters using 20 appliances were fighting the blaze, but they were unable to make any headway against the fire. Outside the firemen struggled to fight the flames in vain. The smoke was coming from the cellar of Congreve’s Building which was beneath the furnishing department, but there were no flames and no sound of burning. The fire brigade at the time was understaffed, and the two most senior officers were not on duty. The fire in Christchurch’s prestigious department store was the deadliest in New Zealand’s history. ; Ballantynes’ Fire resource –Transcripts of articles from newspapers and other sources regarding the Ballantynes’ Fire. The fire was put out by 8 pm leaving the building as a gutted shell. The department store blaze remains the deadliest fire in New Zealand history, claiming the lives of 41 people. Two women decided to try the fire escape again, but could not get to it because the roof of the office began to fall in. She said each year a wreath is laid at the Ballantyne's fire memorial in the Ruru Lawn Cemetery in Bromley. You can search the catalogue for more photographs.. Ballantynes’ Fire factsheet – An easy to read summary of this disaster. Well renowned for its quality merchandise and exceptional service, Ballantynes is the place to go for leading fashion, beauty and homewares brands. With Hannah Marshall, Daniel Watterson, Mark Mitchinson, Jared Turner. It remains the deadliest fire in New Zealand history.[2][3]. Over time superheated gas and fire began working into the floors above. The fire at the Ballantynes Department store in Christchurch on 18 November 1947 was the worst fire in New Zealand’s history. The bodies of the 41 victims were buried at Ruru Lawn Cemetery, Bromley, after a civic funeral. Twinkl » New Zealand » Years 4 - 6 » Topics/Themes » Festivals, Celebrations and Events This is a sample of photographs of the Ballantynes’ Fire disaster of 18 November 1947. [4] The business was managed as a series of partnerships involving Ballantyne family members until formed as the company J. Ballantyne & Co. in 1920. Ballantynes’ Fire resource –Transcripts of articles from newspapers and other sources regarding the Ballantynes’ Fire. A civic mass funeral was held on 23 November at Ruru Lawn Cemetery in Bromley, the largest funeral in Christchurch’s history. Two other appliances had made their way to Ballantynes via Cashel Street and set up as the search commenced. The women climbed out the window and jumped, landing on a first-floor veranda. The 1947 fire at Ballantynes’ Department Store, Christchurch is the worst fire in New Zealand history, killing 41 people. Ballantynes fire, Christchurch. There were no emergency alarms to alert staff, and no way of automatically contacting the fire brigade. In the meantime it took a further 10 minutes for the firefighters to find the source of the fire. [5] This prime corner site covered about an acre that contained seven conjoined buildings, six of which had three or more hardwood floors that were interconnected on multiple levels by large passageways between the buildings to allow staff and customers to move freely about the store. Christchurch writer Stevan Eldred-Grigg’s 1993 book Gardens of Fire is … Upstairs the owners, Kenneth and Roger Ballantyne, had been told about the fire, but there was some uncertainty whether the call to the fire brigade had been made. Some staff returned to their work areas after their tea-break while others evacuated the building. Forty one coffins are laid out with flowers. [Chapter Break] Fire was first seen in the form of a red pillar which shot from a cellar up a stair­well and roared with terri­fying speed through the eastern end of the central storey. Photo / Christchurch Star Archive. On 18 November 1947 Ballantyne's, a Christchurch department store that was a local institution, was razed by one of the worst fires in New Zealand's history. The quality of the photograph seems to date it after the Ballantyne's fire. Many of these workers worked on the upper floors in various back-office departments. 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