The Old Mill Bromham
Wednesday 20th February 1974 2215

There had been a Wednesday night drill session with the retained firemen at the Fire Station. On my return home I settled down to watch the news at ten, it was not to be, we were called back, and the time was 2215
The call was to Bromham Mill a roof fire; the water tender ladder with Sub Officer Jock Booth in charge, water tender with Sub Officer Peter Hood, and land rover (L4P), with Fireman Salter all booked mobile at 2218. I was manning the water tender ladder we booked in attendance at 2224 with the water tender and L4P close behind, as we booked in the first message was sent “Building well alight.” A few seconds later Station Officer Gilchrist sent an assistance message, “make pumps four,” this was timed at 2225. Sub Officer Stan Cheveralls from Bedford station booked mobile with the water tender ladder and Leading Fireman Brown with the water tender at 2226 the were both on the fireground at 2232.

I was deployed with another fireman to work on the inside of the building on the first floor we were fighting a large roof fire there were wooden embers and dust falling all around. We were near an opening and the fire was by now venting through the roof. A rather over zealous part time fireman directed a jet from the outside onto us, now we were hot and soaked. We made good progress but we were in a dangerous position, we were both on the lookout for signs of imminent roof collapse. We had been working about 10 minuets when we were ordered to withdraw by Sub Officer Booth for safety reasons.

Divisional Officer Brian Hull booked in at 2228 then at 2237 sent an informative message; “An L shaped building approximately 70 feet by 70 feet of one and two storeys well alight.” at 2257 a further informative was sent; “ Fire surrounded eight jets in use.” The Chief Fire Officer had been informed and booked in at 2301.Then at 2326 the all important stop message was sent and water jets were reduced to two.
We made up our equipment, returned it to our appliance then made our way back to Kempston Fire Station arriving at 0055. There was much cleaning to be carried out and this took another hour and a half. It was a damp night and everything was filthy including us the firemen. I finally returned home at around 0300. However other crews were to be engaged all night, another Kempston relief crew left for the fireground at 0244. The incident was closed by Assistant Divisional Nichols at 1729 on Thursday 21st February

History

There has been a mill on the site of the currant Bromham Mill since before the doomsday survey in 1086. For centuries, the enormous wheel was turned only by the water of The River Great Ouse. In the 1920’s a steam engine was installed to provide extra power but by then, Water Mill technology had become obsolete. It has since been renovated and visitors can once again watch flour milling at close quarters. In the early years, the mill was a self-sufficient community. The river not only powered the machinery but was also full of eels and other wildlife. There was a blacksmith’s shop next door and pigs were reared on apples from the orchard and sweepings of grain, and flour. Traditionally, millers made gear teeth out of apple wood which was always available from the orchard. Today, the Mill once again grinds flour, much as it used to. Millers tell the same tall stories and the machinery creaks, groans and splashes away.

 

Split Decision
66 The Grove,
Bedford.
Tuesday 7th March 1989
Time 0043

It is not often that fire-fighters are called upon to rescue a person when the fire is directly below the victim, although it is something that we train for perhaps more than most. I am sure we have seen over the years perhaps cartoons of fire-fighters in all sorts of situations; two that come to mind is the young lady with her big toe stuck in the tap and the eager firemen climbing a ladder to rescue a lady in a flimsy nightdress.

This fire involved a difficult rescue and one which demanded a quick decision by those involved; me in particular. It was Tuesday 7th March 1989; the call was made by Shelagh Jenkins at 0043 to number 66 The Grove Bedford and the first pump arrived at 0047. My allocated task was Breathing Apparatus Entry Control Officer (B.A.E.C.O.) there are firm rules laid down as how to carry out this procedure and it is something every fireman has to be familiar with. But as with most situations in life occasionally the unexpected happens and the best laid plans and training are found wanting, this was one such occasion.

As we the pump from Kempston arrived at the fire ground the Bedford pump crew were getting rigged in breathing apparatus I took up my position just outside the front door and near to the garden gate. Within a minute of the first crews entering the house a lady came running up to me; “quick; quick round the back” “I have to stay hear”, she grabbed my arm; “come around the back now it’s important; this way.” Number 66 The Grove is part of a row of terraced houses with access to the rear by way of a very narrow passageway.
Against the rules, my instinct, and rather unwillingly I placed the breathing apparatus board on the wall and followed her through a small tunnel like passage through to the back of the house; there to my horror was a lady at a first floor window, the fire was directly underneath her in the kitchen and her room was getting smoke-logged. Immediately I raced back to the pump and slipped a short extension ladder; then shouted for assistance when returning.

Two Firemen joined me but due to the narrow passage and a wall to the left at the exit our ladder was not appropriate for this rescue.

Our situation was getting desperate; then I noticed a small wooden ladder at the foot of a wall, it looked in poor condition but it was a ladder, we placed it up to the window and a fireman from the Bedford crew went up and I followed him, L/fm. Copperwheat was at the foot. By now there was were two firemen in breathing apparatus behind her to help. Whilst all this was in progress another crew were busy rescuing a man in an adjoining flat. At the head of the ladder we were using the lady was gently passed out of the window to the waiting firemen Alex Michael. My concern at this time was would this rickety old ladder hold the three us, fortunately the lady concerned was a lightweight and the ladder held. We were unable to rescue this lady the way we had trained, it was more like pass the parcel; the important thing it worked. The lady was 79 years old May Blagden was in her nightdress and the other gentleman was a Mr. Neil Crossan aged 71 years of age.

As soon as she was safe I quickly returned to my duties as entry control officer and arrived back just in time as the breathing apparatus teams were exiting from the house. I returned their identification tallies and all was well. The stop message was sent at 0117. The lady who called the Fire Service and summoned me to the rear of the house was Mrs. Shelagh Jenkins who lived at number 64 The Grove. The couple were taken to Bedford Hospital (South Wing) for a check up and soon released. Mrs. Jenkins put them up for the remainder of the night; a good neighbour indeed. The last appliance returned to station at 0255, the radio messages sent that night are not available.

Mrs. Jenkins, later when speaking about the fire stated. “It looked like a horrific fire to me, downstairs was just a blazing inferno. “How the firemen managed to get them out O.K. I just don’t know.” Fire brigade spokesman Mike Murphy said, “All the men involved deserve praise”.

The title of this story is split decision, we all have to make them at sometime in our life some may be important and others less so; but just occasionally it may be a life or death decision. Was this incident one of those? We will never know, had things gone wrong for the rescue crews in inside the house we do not know what may have happened. Was I right to leave my post; what would the newspapers have made of three people on an old ladder if it had broken and the elderly lady been injured or worse still killed in the fall. As it happened everything turned out fine and I am pleased to let the reader decide on this one.

6 Faldo Road Bedford
Saturday 6th October 1979

This was a very serious fire with tragic loss of life, I do not remember this incident well therefore I am only able to recall it with the help of newspaper articles written at the time and records I have been able to recover from the archives. I have also been fortunate to obtain good information from Mr. Ian Bubbins and Mr. Martin Copperwheat who both had important roles in this story. It has never been my intention to recall events of fires which I did not attend. To my surprise when researching I find that I did eventually arrive at the fire and had a small task allocated.

The first call to the Control was received at 1333 and five repeat calls were made, this is often an indication of a serious fire, some callers stated that people were trapped in the fire. The hydraulic platform (Bedford) with Sub Officer Gordon Smith in charge and the water tender ladder (Kempston) with Sub Officer Colin Mackie in charge were both ordered on at 1333 and mobile at 1335 and 1337 respectively. Station Officer David Evans was informed at 1336 and booked mobile at 1338.

At number 4 Faldo Road Mr. Cliff Whitmore was sitting down to lunch when his son came in and told him the house at the back was on fire;

“I ran outside and found a crowd of about 20 people, some of them trying to open doors, I knew the children, they used to play with mine, I looked upstairs in the back bedroom window and saw the two youngest children and managed to talk them into jumping into my arms; the boy first and then the girl. I then went round to the front of the house and kicked the front door open,” but he was forced back by thick toxic smoke”.

The first appliance in attendance was Sub Officer Gordon Smith with the hydraulic platform at 1338; he immediately sent an assistance message “Ambulance required.” The water tender ladder booked in at 1340, Fm. Copperwheat and Fm. Bubbins immediately rigged in breathing apparatus and entered the first floor bedroom via an extension ladder, and two jets were got to work on the fire and one hose reel. It was extremely hot and due to the thick poisons smoke there was virtually no visibility.

At 1349 Station Officer Evans sent an informative message to Fire Control: “One female person rescued by fire service, removed to hospital by ambulance, second person being rescued by fire service, one child still missing.” Then at 1351 a further informative was sent: “A two story house severely damaged by fire, two B.A. sets, two jets, one hose reel in use.” One final informative from Station Officer Evans was sent at 1353: “Further female child removed to hospital by ambulance.”
The Stop message was sent at 1402, the details were as per the informative above and “All persons accounted for,” added.

Sub Officer Gordon Smith from Bedford station was the officer in charge of the first appliance to arrive said:
“When we arrived the place was going like a bomb, the ground floor and lounge were well alight and there was thick black smoke everywhere. We were told there were three children trapped inside, but we did not know where to look.”

Fm. Ian Bubbins told the inquest: “When we first went in it was completely smoke- logged, I searched under the bed, then across the bed and we started to go round the room. “At about this time somebody said the children would be in the other room, but we returned to the original room after a fruitless search and eventually found the two girls huddled together under a pile of clothes in an alcove by the bed.” The third sister was found by the window. “They seemed lifeless” said Fm. Bubbins.”

Station Officer David Evans told the inquest: “The fire appeared to have started in the downstairs lounge; the contents of the lounge were virtually destroyed, I could only identify the television set, remnants of some cushions and what appeared to be a sofa of synthetic material. A gas fire was badly damaged, and afterwards gas board engineers confirmed it had been on. Station Officer Evans was unable to determine any definite cause of the fire.

The Coroner Doctor John Harte said: “The true cause of the tragedy would remain a mystery; smoke and fumes would have quickly overcome the girls so they would not have known what was happening”. A verdict of misadventure was recorded. The coroner commended Mr. Whitmore and the firemen for their prompt action which saved three of the children. He added: “There is no evidence to suggest any gross neglect or anything which may have caused this fire.”

Mr and Mrs Pryce occupied No. 6 Faldo Road with their five children, Natasha age four years and Darren aged five, Marcia and Lorraine aged eight and seven and Deirdre age nine. Darren was the first to jump from the upstairs window followed by Natasha. Mr. Cliff Whitemore did a first class job when he managed to encourage these two young children to jump into his arms. Marcia died in the accident department at South Wing Hospital and her sister Lorraine died the following day in intensive care. At the time of the inquest Deirdre was poorly and remained in hospital care.

To my mind this was a very brave effort by firemen and members of the public, perhaps it is better understood by those who have experienced extreme heat and at the same time working hard and looking for people in distress. Knowing as well that speed is so important and the outcome will depend on the skill and the judgment of those involved in the rescue.

I remember attending the incident and looking over the house after the fire was out, but I was unable to recall being involved in fire fighting operations. Nearly thirty years later I have discovered why. I missed the first pump out from Kempston but as was often the case a spare crew was held back. I was eventually called, it fell to me to man the canteen van as those on the fire ground required refreshments, and we were always well received. We supplied tea and biscuits to all who came to the hatch including the police. That was how I got involved in the above incident.