Mysterious fire at Greengates.
The Bradford Fire Brigade turned out this afternoon to an outbreak at Walmer House, Greengates, the residence of Mr Beevers. Flames were discovered in different parts of the house, and these were ultimately overcome. A singular feature of the fire is that the flames found in different rooms were separate and distinct, and the assumption is that a fractured gas main just outside the premises was responsible for the outbreak, gas escaping into various parts of the house. The damage was considerable.
Bradford Daily Telegraph, 25th September 1909.
Fire Mystery.
Strange outbreaks at Eccleshill.
Supposed to be due to magnetic storm.
Views of experts.
Never in its history has the Bradford Fire Brigade been called out to deal with such a strange outbreak as that which occurred on Saturday at Walmer House, Greengates, the residence of Mr Mathers.
A “Telegraph” representative, who made inquiries there and in other quarters this morning would have found it hard to believe the story he was told had it not been so well supported by the evidence of eye-witnesses, highly experienced gentlemen, and a quantity of scorched and singed articles of household linen and furniture.
Early on Saturday morning one of the members of the household discovered that the curtains in one of the rooms were blazing. They were torn down and the flames beat out. As only trifling damage was done little trouble was taken to discover the cause, which was probably put down to a lighted match or some such agency. Almost immediately afterwards, however, another small fire was revealed in another part of the house. This was dealt with in a similar way, although the strange coincidence did not go unnoticed. Thenceforward, however, the house became the scene of a number of small outbreaks, and the occupants, becoming alarmed, telephoned for the fire brigade. The motor engine from Bradford arrived very quickly, being followed by the steamer from Idle. The firemen, under the direction of Chief Officer Scott, had a most perplexing task, for no sooner had they extinguished the outbreak in one part of the building than fire was located in another. At times the men had to divide their attentions between eight rooms at the front and the back, upstairs and downstairs. A good deal of furniture was removed from the house as a precautionary measure and eventually the flames ceased.
In considering the circumstances of the case there are several facts which render the outbreak extremely extraordinary. The flames, it would appear, were not of the usual character. They were of a bluish tint, similar to those which emanated from lighted spirits, and strange to relate, appeared to arrive from nowhere. One gentleman says, “they just flashed, blazed for a moment, and went away.” This momentary blaze, however, was sufficient to ignite the lighter articles in the room, such as curtains, bedclothes, and the like. Once these were burning it would have been an easy matter for the woodwork to have caught. It was, however, chiefly household linen and the like which suffered, the damage done in this way being considerable. All agree that there was no explosion at any time. This fact seems to dispense with the theory that the fire was due to an escape of gas, which belief, formed hastily on the spot, led Mr Scott to order the house to be continually watched by a fireman. Not an inch of plaster was removed from its place, not a pane of glass was broken. Moreover, the gas pipes and mains in the vicinity of the residence were thoroughly tested without the slightest flaw being discovered.
The house, in fact, has only been built a few years, all the fittings and the like being on the most modern plan.
Yesterday some of Mr Mather’s friends in various parts of the country began to guess at what is now looked upon as the only possible explanation – the great magnetic storm which raged unseen over England on Saturday. At first the theory was dismissed as fanciful, but now it is admitted, although such phenomena rarely occurs.
This morning three gentlemen of expert knowledge – Chief Officer Scott, of the Fire Brigade; Mr T. Roles, the Corporation’s chief electrical engineer; and an assistant – visited Walmer House, and had a long consultation with Mr Mathers. As a result of their talk they arrived at the conclusion that the Electrical Theory is the only one which can possibly be justified by the facts. The flames or flashes of light were such as can be obtained by an intensely powerful electric discharge. The house, which is fitted with very large and numerous windows, seems to have acted as a Leyden jar – familiar in all electrical laboratories – and collected and retained the current. Even if that were so the experts would like to know why it was that the flames travelled so mysteriously about the house, and why no other residences were attacked?
Situated half-way between the entrance to Ravenscliffe Golf Links and the Greengates tram terminus, Walmer house is not by any means isolated, many residences clustering round. One of Mr Mathers’ nearest neighbours is Mr Henry Holland, an ex-alderman of the City Council, whose residence was uninfluenced by the storm.
There is some talk of the electrical expert of Leeds University being called into consultation. In any case further investigations can hardly fail to elicit some very interesting facts.
Bradford Daily Telegraph, 27th September 1909.
Mysterious fires at Greengates.
Strange phenomena at Walmer House.
Thought to have been caused by the magnetic storm.
An air of mystery surrounds several outbreaks of fire which occurred on Saturday at Walmer House, Greengates, the residence of Mr W. H. Mather, son of the late Mrs Mather, who built Walmer House nearly three years ago. So strange have been the occurrences that it can safely be said that never before in its history has the Bradford Fire Brigade had outbreaks of the same nature to deal with. No definite explanation for the phenomena is, as yet, forthcoming, even from the experts who have given the matter their attention, and the whole story would be looked upon as a fairy tale, or as the usual ghost story, were it not for the evidence of eye-witnesses.
When seen by our reporter Mr Mather was averse to giving his own theory of the outbreaks, and his advice to Pressmen – and not a few called to see him – was “You had better get your information elsewhere.”
The story as told by others, is that about ten o’clock on Saturday morning the members of the household discovere dthat the curtains in one of the rooms were ablaze. The curtains were torn down and the flames beaten out. The damage was only trifling, and little trouble was taken to discover the cause. Some time afterwards, however, a second outbreak occurred in another part of the house. The fire brigade was summoned by telephone, and a steamer from Idle and an engine from the central station at Bradford soon arrived on the scene. Chief Officer Scott was in charge, and the men got to work under his direction, but they had a most perplexing task. No sooner had they extinguished the fire in one part of the house than a fresh outbreak was located in another part. At times the firemen had to divide their attention between eight rooms, at the front and back, upstairs and downstairs, in rooms so separated as to make it difficult to imagine that the different fires had a common origin. In one case the bedding would be ignited, in another curtains, and so forth. AS a precautionary measure a good deal of the furniture was removed from the house, and eventually the firemen overcame the whole of the mysterious bursts of flame.
There are many circumstances in connection with the occurrences which are extraordinarily uncommon. The flames, it is said, were of a bluish order, similar to those which emanate from lighted spirits. One eye witness says “They just flashed, blazed for a moment and then went away.” But though momentary the blaze was sufficient to ignite the lighter articles in the room, such as curtains and bedclothes.
It was thought at first that the fires might be due to some defect in the gas main near the house, as to all appearances the outbreaks arose from some inflammable gas in the atmosphere. But this theory was not established on Sunday, when a thorough examination of the gas mains was made. The pipes, in fact, were found to be in good order, and free from leakage.
The great cosmic electro-magnic disturbance which raged in England and the Continent on Saturday, and as the result of which there was a great derangement of the telegraphic system, is now looked upon as the only possible explanation for the extraordinary occurrence. At first the theory was dismissed as fanciful, but now it is admitted, although such phenomena are very rare.
On Monday morning three gentlemen of expert knowledge – Chief Officer Scott, of the Fire Brigade; Mr T. Roles, the Corporation’s chief electrical engineer; and an assistant – visited Walmer House, and had a long concultation with Mr Mather.
As a result of their talk they arrived at the conclusion that the electrical theory is the only one which can possibly be justified by the facts. The flames or flashes of light were such as can be obtained by an intensely powerful electric discharge. The house, which is fitted with very large and numerous windows, seems to have acted as a Leyden jar – familiar in all electrical laboratories – and collected and retained the current. Even if that were so the experts would like to know why it was the flames travelled so mysteriously about the house, and why no other residences were attacked?
It is worthy of note that all the articles which were ignited were situated in close proximity to something made of brass.
On Tuesday a number of articles were sent to Superintendent Scott in order that experiments might be made with them. The result of the experiments will be awaited with interest.
Shipley Times and Express, 1st October 1909.
Walmer house fires.
Cause still a mystery.
Although it is now nearly a week since Walmer House, Greengates, was the scene of the strange occurrences which were described in Monday’s “Telegraph” the Fire Brigade authorities, the electrical experts, and Mr Mather himself still confess their inability to fathom the mystery. Meanwhile our reporter has been collecting facts which may be of interest, and possibly of some service, to those who are giving the matter their consideration.
In the first place it is necessary to report that there has been a slight recurrence of the mysterious fires. On Tuesday, when a number of firemen were engaged in the procession which marked the opening ceremony of the Town Hall extension, a mattress, which since Saturday had been kept, together with other articles, in a furniture van in the garden at the back, was removed to the house, when it at once began to burn. The oubreak was not serious, and was soon subdued. The mattress was put into the room on the downstairs floor where many of Saturday’s phenomena were seen, and where the telephone is placed. This latter fact may be significant, for if the Leyden jar theory be correct, there is no reason why the fires should not recur until the whole of the electric charge has either escaped or been consumed. The fact that the magnetic storm had subsided would make little difference.
It is also pointed out that the curtains, bed ticks, mattresses and other articles which broke into flame on Saturday were all in close proximity to brass rods, iron bedsteads or some such metal substances, which would be good conductors of electricity. The fact that no lightning conductor was fitted to the house might tend to make the building more liable to retain any electrical charge it happened to collect.
The Leyden jar theory, which, although somewhat fanciful, is the only one which seems feasible enough for serious consideration, seems to need some elaboration. It must be explained that a Leyden jar is a glass vessel covered inside and outside with tinfoil, which on being charged, proves to be capable of retaining the electric current. The supposition is that at Walmer House the large and numerous windows took the part of the glass, the leaden roofs to the verandahs and bay windows formed the outside coating of metal, while the multitudinous pipes which lined the walls would act as the inside metal. This concatenation of facts might not have occurred in any of the neighbouring houses, hence the apparently inexplicable attack on this building alone. While no one of experience in Bradford seems to have known anything similar happen before, the assessor who visited the house from the insurance company, told an informant that some years ago a house at Hull was attacked in a manner which bore some resemblance to the Greengates affair. In that case the cause of the fire was never ascertained.
It must not be supposed, however, that other theories are being lost sight of. Some would fain attribute the phenomena to the presence of marsh gas or will-o’-the-wisps. But then there are no marshes, and no will-o’-the-wisps have ever been seen in the neighbourhood. The house stands high and dry on the side of a hill.
With a view to discovering if any chemical action has been playing pranks with the curtains and the like, samples have been sent to Chief Officer Scott, of the Fire Brigade, who has handed them over to Mr F.W. Richardson, the City Analyst, the result of whose investigations will be anxiously awaited.
Bradford Weekly Telegraph, 1st October 1909.
Mysterious Fires.
Outbreaks in every room in a house.
The inexplicable cause of a remarkable series of fires which have within the last few days taken place at Walmer House, Greengates, in the suburbs of Bradford, the residence of the family of Mrs Wathers, sister of Mr J.G. Garnett, one of the largest manufacturers in the district, has created curious interest and deep concern.
The flames were first discovered in one of the rooms of the house, which is quite a new one, by one of the household, and in quick succession outbreaks occurred in different parts of the building, until every room had its separate fire. Curtains, blinds, and bed clothing ignited, and people in the rooms had the weird experience of seeing a peculiar blue flame circling up from the floor to the ceiling.
The Bradford Fire Brigade were soon at work, but Chief-officer Scott and the firemen were completely bewildered by the frequency with which additional fires were reported. Chief-officer Scott, the electrical engineer to the Bradford Corporation, and a professor from the University of Leeds have all made a close examination of the premises, but confess themselves completely baffled as to the cause of the fires. It has, however, been ascertained that the house is built over a disused coalmine, and it has been seriously suggested by others that the recent magnetic storm had disturbed the gas in the old pit, and thereby originated the fires.
Northern Daily Telegraph, 2nd October 1909.