NRC Publications Archive Archives des publications du CNRC
Report on conflagration in Lanark, Ontario 15 June 1959 Galbreath, M.; Burnett, C. G.
For the publisher’s version, please access the DOI link below./ Pour consulter la version de l’éditeur, utilisez le lien DOI ci-dessous.
Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur: https://doi.org/10.4224/40001335 Fire Study (National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building Research), 1962-05
NRC Publications Archive Record / Notice des Archives des publications du CNRC : https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=1bf17d9e-39af-4d62-82cf-6470cadbe548 https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=1bf17d9e-39af-4d62-82cf-6470cadbe548
Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/copyright READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.
L’accès à ce site Web et l’utilisation de son contenu sont assujettis aux conditions présentées dans le site https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits LISEZ CES CONDITIONS ATTENTIVEMENT AVANT D’UTILISER CE SITE WEB.
Questions? Contact the NRC Publications Archive team at [email protected]. If you wish to email the authors directly, please see the first page of the publication for their contact information.
Vous avez des questions? Nous pouvons vous aider. Pour communiquer directement avec un auteur, consultez la première page de la revue dans laquelle son article a été publié afin de trouver ses coordonnées. Si vous n’arrivez pas à les repérer, communiquez avec nous à [email protected]. I"', ~~~~;:?"?72
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH
REPOW! ON COMFLAGRATION IN LANARK, ONTARIO 15 JUNE 1959 by M. Galbreath and C. G. Burnett
Fire Study No. 8 of the Division of Building Research
OTTAWA May 1962 AERIAL PHOTOGRAW TAKEN DURING PROGRESS OF ERE. VIEW FROM EAST. REPORlP ON CONFLAGRATION IN LANARK, ONTARIO 15 JUNE 1959
M. Galbreath and C. G. Burnett
The conflagration which occurred on 15 June 1959 in Lanark, Ontario, destroyed approximately 33 buildings representing almost the entire business centre of this village of 950 people. !J%e fire started in the Campbell Sash and Door Factory at the corner of Owen and George Streets shortly after noon and spread rapidly down the main street in a southerly direction. It was brought under control at about 3:45 p.m.. after involving both sides of the street for one and a half blocks and having started a large number of smaller fires throughout the village. !the Town Hall, Fire Department Headquarters, Telephone Ekchange , Hotel, stores and apartments were among the buildings lost. The Dominion Fire Commissionls report on Fire Losses in Canada gives $738,420 as the estimated total loss. The term ltconflagration" is defined by the National Fire Protection Association (1) as descriptive of "sweeping fires that spread beyond control to destroy cities or large areas of built-up property." The destruction of considerable numbers of various types of buildings, spread of fire across streets or open spaces from the area of origin to involve other areas, beyond the capacity of available fire-fighting facilities are the criteria that distinguish a conflagration from a large-loss fire. Conflagrations have occurred from earliest times in the history of cities; the Great Fire of London is one of the better hown. The NFPA has made a study of conflagrations (1) and has listed the principal causes by frequency of occurrence. The five most frequent causes attributed by the NFPA during the period 1925 to 1950 are as follovss: 1. Wind velocity in excess of 30 mph, 2. Inadequate water distribution system, 3. Lack of exposure protection, 4. Wood shingle roofs, 5. Inadequate public protection. All of these factors were present to some degree at the con- flagration at Lanark. Some recent conflagrations in Canada are listed below with the principal causes noted in each case (1). 7 August,1937 - Cornwall, Ontario. IChirty-one business buildings destroyed. Causes - wood shingle roofs, high wind, congestion of occupancy. June 1 48 - St. Victor de Tring, Quebec, Forty #-?+-uil ings. Causes - No public protection, delay in discovery, lamexposure protection, high wind, wood shingle roofs, inadequate water distribution system, 6 Ma 1950 - Rimouski, Quebec. 319 dwellings, 20 stores, hryweather, high winds, inadequate water supply. 9 Thy, 11950 - Cabano, Quebec. 118 dwellings, 33 business buildings. Causes - high winds, dry weather, insuffioient public protection.
L4'nARK VIZLhGX The village of Lanark was first established in 1820 as part of a plan of military strategy designed to strengthen the lines of comuiiication along the Rideau River and to provide a reserve of experienced soldiers (2). Many of the settlers were men who had been discharged after service in the Napoleonic Wars. Other settlements during the same period were made at Perth, Richmond, Almonte, Carleton Place and Snithb Palls. The first settlers came from Scotland, the cost of their passage being a loan by the British Government. These included many weavers; consequently one of the principal industries of the village -today is the knitting mill which was undamaged in the fire. A woolen mill formerly existed on George Street but this was burned down in a fire in 1916, and the company moved to Perth. Prior to 15 Jwe there had been little change in the village since the beginning of the century. A survey made in 1900 and revised in 1908 shows most of the buildings as they existed at the time of the fire. (Fig. 1 is based on this survey. ) With a few exceptions, the buildings in the village date back to 1900 or thereabouts. Three of the older buildings on George Street were of log construction, the Town Hall and some neighbouring buildings were of solid masonry (Figs. 2a, 2b) and the remainder were of wood-frame construction with wood sidings, imitation brick shingles, or brick veneer. !The roofs were covered with wood, metal or asphalt shingles. !The metal or asphalt shingles in some cases were laid over existing wood shingles. All the buildings on George Street were built close to the sidewalk; a number of them had wooden porches at the entrances. Many of the existing dwellings have been converted to stores by replacihg part of the front wall with a store front (Pig. 3). On both sides of George Street and through- out the village there were many very large old trees. These may be seen in the aerial photograph taken during the fire by a news photographer (frontispiece). The trees were very thick and densely cdvered with leaves. Fire protection in Lanark is provided by a volunteer brigade numbering 27 members and a chief. The fire-fighting equipment consisting of two commercial mobile pumping units carrying hose is housed in a masonry building located on the east side of Clarence Street adjoining the Town Hall. Residents of the village are warned of a fire by the sounding of a siren located at the fire station.
CAUSE OF !PHI3 FIRE AND CONTRIBWION OP PI= FIGHTERS At approximately 12:20 p.m:, a resident of the village discovered the fire burning in a one-story wood-frame building located at George and Owen Streets and used as a woodworking plant. Machinery in the plant had been closed down, and the employees had left for lunch at noon. The fire seemed to have made considerable headway in a pile of wood shavings and was extending to the interior of the building. He sounded the alarm to call the volunteer brigade. By the time the fire fighters had assembled and returned to' the factory, the fire had broken through the roof and the adjacent florist's shop was on fire. The fire chief said that when he was called out by the alarm the house facing his on George Street was on fire. This was the building on the south side of George Street near the place where the conflagration was brought under control (Fig. 4). At the arrival of the fire-fighting equipment, an attempt was made to extinguish the fire with the supply of water carried with the apparatus; this attack soon had to be discontinued and the apparatus moved to the river to start pumping water into large hose lines,as the fire had attacked the roof of the building. Live embers were being carried by the strong winds to the opposite end of the village igniting a number of wood shingled roofs, causing considerable concern to the residents who were attempting to extinguish the fires with water from their wells. The fire began to spread very rapidly from the building of origin in an easterly and southerly direction to ignite wood and masonry buildings in its path for a distance of approximately one-half mile. A mutual aid system is arranged with the various township fire departments, and with the occurrence of this fire, assistanoe was requested by telemone from the township fire coordinator at Smiths Falls 50 miles away, and the Town of Perth, 12 miles from Lanark. As the fire progressed, the telephone exchange and communications were destroyed leaving the village isolated. It became necessary to use the car radio facilities of the Ontario Provincial Police to request other assistance to control the fire. Lanark's fire-fighting apparatus, consisting of one 500-gal pump, one 420-gal pump and one portable pump, were now drawing water from the Clyde River that flows through the east end of the village, and relaying it to the fire whioh now had involved a number ,of buildings on the north side of George Street between Owen and Clarence Streets where an attempt was made to check the fire. The strong north winds which had carried the fire in an easterly direction now began to change direction and the fire was carried across George Street to attack buildings on the south side where it con- tinued to spread. It was estimated that within one-half hour from the start of the fire, many of the buildings bounded by Owen and Clarence. on Georne Street. whioh com~risedthe business section, 'were eitEer ignit&d or in the line of fire, and fires were occurring in various parts of the village from flying embers. The Perth fire brigade with a pumping unit and equipment were the first to arrive on the scene at approximately 1:00 p.m. On approaching the village it was reported that live embers were flying in all directions and the main fire seemed to be centred in the business district on George Street, with a number of wood-frame buildings ignited from flying embers on the south side of the Clyde River in the vicinity of Mill Street. In an attempt to control the fires in this area, pumping operations were carried out from the bridge crossing the Clyde River, and hose lines were laid to the various buildings which had been ignited by flying embers and were threatening to spread the fire. The action of the Perth brigade- no doubt was a factor in the control of this fire. Fire brigades with men and equipment continued to arrive at intervals throughout the afternoon from Smiths Falls, Bathurst, Carleton Place, Almonte, Arnprior Civil Defence College and Brockville. The City of Ottawa, while not a participant in the mutual aid arrangement, was requested for assistance and despatched a pumping unit wtth men and equipment. By 3:45 p.m., the wind began to die down and the fire was brought under control half-way down the block between Clarence and Hillier Streets (Fig. 5). Apparatus from the various municipalities was gradually released after 6:00 p.m. The Perth brigade remained on duty until 7: 00 a .m. , 16 June, and the Lanark Village brigade worked throughout the day to extinguish smouldering fires. A high wind variously reported as being from 30 to 55 mph rose during the morning and continued throughout most of the afternoon. A press photographer and his pilot who flew over the village at the height of the fire estimated the speed at about 30 mph; this is approximately the wind speed recorded at mngston and Ullaloe during the day (Appendix A). The direction of the wind at Kingston and Killaloe was generally from the northwest and this agrees with the observed path of travel of the fire through the village of Lanark. The weather was close to normal for the time of year. Reports of the weather stations in the vicinity of Lanark show from 1 to 13 in. of rain in the five days before the fire. Light rain began to fall in Lanark later in the afternoon when the fire was being brought under control.
EXTENT OF THE FIRE Figure 1, prepared from survey maps and checked against an aerial photograph taken before the fire and observation on the ground, shows the types of roof covering, the extent of the conflagration and the observed incidents of ignition of buildings by flying brands. The fire completely destroyed all the buildings within an area approximately 1100 ft long and 600 ft wide. Beyond this area many smaller fires started but they were put out by fire fighters and householders. These incidents are shown on the plan by arrows pointing to the locations where ignition by flying brands occurred. The damage varied from superficial damage of roof shingles, to the complete destruction of tvro sheds behind the Knitting Mill. With the exception of the incidents otherwise noted on the plan, all ignition in this peripheral area occurred on roofs. me information on roof coverings of those buildings still standing shows the situation following the fire. Where the buildings were completely destroyed the information was obtained from local residents. On the day following the fire a large number of large cinders were observed on both sides of the river. One piece weighed 50 gm and it is estimated that in its original state it would have been approximately 8 by 5 by 1 in. The piece was completely reduced to charcoal. It was noticed that brands lying on the grass had not ignited the grass although there had been a comparatively dry period before the fire. The brands had ignited wood shingle roofs, and in two instances vertical wood surfaces. In one case a brand had lodged behind a metal vent stack on an unpainted wood outhouse and it may also have been in contact with a log which was leaning against the pipe. The vertical boarding showed signs of burning. In the second case a brand had lodged behind a louvred wood shutter on the second-story window and ignited the shutter (Fig. 6). The owner pulled off the shutter before any further damage was done. It was reported that dry leaves had collected behind the shutter providing tinder to assist in establishing the fire. Small fires were also reported as having occurred in the lumber yard across the river and on the roof of the Anglican church. These were extinguished, however, before much damage was done. A report by J. H. McGuire (3) sets out desirable separations between buildings based on the intensity of radiation. If these tables are applied, the separations would be approximately 67 ft between the Sash and Door Factory and the building to the east, and 40 ft to the building on the south. In fact there was a distance of 18 ft to the east and 14 ft to the south between the Sash and Door Factory and the adjoining buildings, providing little or no protection. By the time the fire had involved a number of buildings it had grown to such a size that neither separations nor the efforts of the fire fighters could eon- trol it. The large trees' undoubtedly helpad to preserve some of the houses along the north side of George Street. The leaves of the trees on the exposed side had turned brown in the heat and the shadow of the trees could be observed on the face of the buildings as an undamaged area that contrasted with the scorched paint and the asphalt wall shingles from which brick-like granules had melted off. The fire completely burned out the centre of Lanark (Fig. 7) and it is impossible to state with any certainty how the fire spread from building to building in each individual case. Around the central area, however, and down wind of the conflagration it was observed that there was a peripheral area of buildings not destroyed by fire but which showed signs of ignition by flying brands. It can be assumed that these had been extinguished by the fire fighters before the fire could take a hold of the building. In the peripheral area that had been subjected to a prolonged shower of flying brands, some of the roofs were of wood shingles, the remainder were of asphalt or metal. In this area, the ignition of roofs had taken place only on wood shingle roofs; most of the wood roofs were affected. A number of asphalt shingle roofs in the same area and subject to the same conditions showed no sign of ignition.
CONCLUDING RENARXS Although it is not possible to assign to any one factor the development of the initial fire to the extent of the conflagration that took place in Lanark, a number of contributory causes can be suggested: 1. The start of the fire in the woodworking plant where there was'a large supply of combustible material, 2. The high wind which carried burning fragments over a large area of the village, 3. The absence of a piped water supply which made it necessary for the firemen to lay hoses from the river, 4. The presence of wood shingle roofs which can be assumed to have contributed to the sporadic out- break of fire throughout the village reported by observers, 5. me close spacing between buildings, the majority of which were of combustible construction.
REFERENCES (1) Conflagration in America Since 1900. National Fire Protection Association, 60 Batterymarch Street, Boston 10, Mass. (2) Haydon, Andrew. Pioneer Sketches in the District of Bathurst. Ryerson Press, Toronto,1925. (3) McGuire, 3. H. Spatial Separations of Buildings. Technical Note No. 187, Division of Building Research, National Research Council, Ottawa. IGNITIOM RY RADIdTtON IWWTION OF WINDOW SHUJTER
-SASH 61 DOOR
LEGEM PUBLIC PARK
MEJdL ROOF Cl ASPHALT SHllVGLE ROOF GRAVEL B ISPHALT FLAT ROOF WOOD 5H/MGLE ROOF 0 BUILDINGS COMPLETELY ESTROYED BY FlRE U BUILDINGS PARTIALLY DESTROYFD U BUILDINGS UNDAMAGED OR PARTLr OLIMdGEQ FIGURE I 4 INCIDENTS OF IGNITICW 8Y FL YIMG BRANDS BUSINESS CENTRE OF LANARK ROTHWELL ONTARIO Ian o laa ?so lnn a INCIDENTS OF IGNIT/O# BY !?ADtArro# snWMlLL SHOWING h,' EFFECT OF CONFLAGRATION ,f5th JUNE 1959 III,~I i I i 1 SCALE IN FEET
-/GNITION OF '9 939 SAWDUST HE I-; ; / .:.., ,' !,i.- 4
Figure 2(a) View of Town Hall before fire. (Photograph by Capital Press Service)
Figure 2(b) Remains of Town Hall and Fire Station. Figure 3 Typical dwelling converted to store.
Figure 4 Fire was halted at this house on east side of George Street. Figure 5 5B and $1.00 Store where fire was halted on west side of George Street.
Figure 6 House on Mill Street where flying brand ignited shutter on upper-floor window. Note signs of burning beside window sill.
CLIMATIC DATA FOR STATIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN ONTARIO IN !I?HE VICINITY OF LANARK, ONTARIO
(Prepared by the Meteorological Branch, Department of Transport)
PRECIPITATION IN IWHES
12 13 14 15 0.07 1.00 0.47 Barrett Chute 1.50 0.04 0.27 Carleton Place 0.98 TR 0.48 Dalhousie Lake 0.56 0.10 Port Elmsley 0.66 0.10 0.30 Rideau Ferry 0,46 0,08 0.32 A - 2
HOURLY WIND VALUES
nngston Killaloe Hours June 15 June 16 June 15 June 16
1 NW 6 NW 10 NW 9 NW 12 2 NIV8 Nm 8 NW 10 NW 12 3 NW 8 NW 8 NW 10 NW 11 4 NW 8 NW 6 Nw 14 NW 10 5 NW 10 NW 6 NW 14 NW 8 6 NW 10 NW 4 NW 12 NW 8 7 NVV 8 5 NPI 14 N 8 8 NW 12 N 10 17 N 9 9 NW 22 NE 18 ITW 16 10 mvll 18 N 10 MN 17 N 5 11 NW 16 NE 10 NW 20 NE 8 12 NW 16 NE 12 NW 18 NE 10
1 13 NW 16 NE 11 DW 18 Ill3 9 14 mW 16 NE 9 NW 20 NE 12 NW 1 15 1 16 NE 14 NW 17 NE 10
16 I NW 14 NE 18 NCV 15 NE 10 I 17 NW 16 NE 16 NV? 18 NE 9 18 N 30 NE 16 NV 16 NE 5 19 N 20 NE 12 N 8 E 3 20 NW 10 NE 10 Nw 10 N 2 21 NW 10 NE 10 NW 13 N 3 22 N!V 12 NE 7 Nvrr 13 NE 5 23 NrR 10 N 4 NW 12 NE 5 24 Ntv 10 NE 10 NW 12 NE 7 Total 322 244 343 Mean Hourly Speed 13 10 14
Maximum NE 18 NW 20 Velocity N 30 - A-3
ANNUAL MAXIMUM WINDS AT RILLALOE 1939-1958
E (record incomplete )