Chief’s hunch saves firemen as burned ceiling collapses
Fire department spokesmen estimated damage to the 101-year-old former Salvation Army Citadel on Clarence Street could reach $200,000.
By Bill Lindsay
of The Free Press
Fire investigators today were probing a downtown London block for the cause of a Boxing Day fire which slightly injured several firemen, closed several businesses and caused an estimated $200,000 damage.
A hunch by Platoon Chief Len Everett has been credited with saving his men from a collapsing floor.
The fire is believed to have started at the rear of the second floor of a three-storey building at 394 Clarence St. The building houses a Lewiscraft hobby crafts store and Mamma Maggie’s Speak Easy, a restaurant.
Both were closed today as a result of smoke and water damage, in addition to structural damage. An unused theatre was described by fire department officials as “pretty well finished.”
Several firemen suffered minor injuries in the fire which was reported about 11 p.m. Chief Everett was home on crutches today with a leg injury after he called about six other firemen to safety “seconds” before a ceiling collapsed where they were standing.
“He (Everett) didn’t make it out in time,” said Platoon Chief Ernie Fleetwood.
Everett said “it was just a feeling” he had that there might have been enough water poured into the fire-weakened structure to cause the third-storey floor to give way, spurring him to tell the others “to get the hell out” seconds before the floor collapsed.
“The Lord was with us,” Everett said.
“We would have lost about six men if it wasn’t for what Len did,” added Fleetwood.
Firemen had the blaze in the former Salvation Army Citadel building under control by midnight, but remained at the scene for several more hours. The building was erected in 1878.
A police constable said the fire was spotted by a cruiser patrol shortly after 11 p.m. and that about 120 patrons of Fryfogle’s tavern, which is in the same block, were asked to leave as a safety precaution.
Several hundred persons winding up the Christmas holiday at the movies or in bars watched as firemen smashed third-storey windows in an attempt to reach the fire. Flames could be seen licking out from a window at the rear of the building.
A man told police he was a former keyholder of the property and explained to fire officials the layout of the building’s interior. The man, who refused to identify himself to a reporter, said later his explanation had helped firemen to gain quick access to the premises.
