that the fire originated in the rear yard of house No. 998, ground floor, where a very large quantity of box-wood, straw baskets, matting and other highly inflammable commodities were stacked up above the level of the cockloft which was situated in front of the window. Investigations carried out proved that it was not possible to ascertain how these highly combustible articles became ignited. It required 13 fire jets to combat the fire and bring it under control. The majority of these water jets were brought into opera- tion from the fire engines and the fire-boat pumping from the sea. The reasons for the heavy loss of life could be attributed to the late discovery of the fire and the late call which was received by the Fire Brigade. The flimsy wooden internal construction of the build- ing, the lack of alternative means of egress, the obstruction caused by structures erected along the second floor verandah, and the abnormally large number of tenants residing on each floor which in- cluded a number of young children were contributory factors.
3. Apart from the fires mentioned above, there were 18 other outbreaks of fire in squatter areas in the Colony. This was less than in previous years.
On
4. There was one aircraft crash fire during the year. 20th May, 1956, at 14.38 hours, a R.A.F. Harvard two-seater training craft No. F.T. 100 crashed into the hillside at Aplichau, where three wooden dwellings were damaged by fire from the burning petrol of the craft. The body of the pilot was located on the first floor verandah of No. 63, San Si Street.
5. The Fire Brigade was called out to 19 fires on ships. The only serious one occurred on the 29th October, 1956, when a fire broke out on the S.S. "Ala", a cargo ship of 5,295 dead weight tons, about 50 miles outside the Colony's harbour limits. The fire boat "Alexander Grantham" responded to the call with a Marine Department officer and the Chief Officer, Fire Brigade, on board. Before the arrival of the fire-boat, an American naval vessel had taken off the ship's crew and was standing by and rendering assistance with their fire appliances. The "Alexander Grantham" steamed into position and began to
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