What happened at Smithfield Market, London?

On 23 January 1958 a fire began at the Smithfield Market in London. The market hall was ablaze and fire fighters from all over London worked together to extinguish it.

Not too long into the operation two service men were lost and overcome by smoke fumes. Firefighters were also hampered by a lack of employee knowledge and locked doors.

The firefighters worked long into the night with the building now lost to the flames, which were venting up through the building which was acting as a chimney.

It’s reported that 4,000 gallons of water per minute were expelled onto the blaze.

How did the Smithfield Market fire start?

The source of ignition is unknown however the fire was difficult to locate. Thick smoke had filled the basement and some two and a half acres of more than 90 complex compartments.

The firefighters took shifts for five hours to locate the fire beneath the market hall - a cold storage plant insulated and lined throughout with matchboarding wood, wool and bituminous (a soft coal-like substance - almost tar) which had become deeply contaminated and impregnated with animal fat through years of service and lack of maintenance.

What can the industry learn from the Smithfield Market fire?

There were many errors made on the day which have helped inform procedures to ensure the risk for loss of life is reduced. The event practises at the time were not as organised as they are today - some observations on disorganised practises include;

• No control over activities
• No guidelines for the approach
• Insufficient size of teams in breathing apparatus and no low-pressure warning devices/gauges
• No site plans
• No local fire service knowledge of the site
   

Later that year fire brigades were issued with trial procedures: FSC 37/1958 recommended:

• Tallies for BA sets
• Stage one and Stage two control procedures
• Duties of a control operator
• Procedures to be followed by crews
• Main control procedure
• Low cylinder pressure warning device 
• Distress signalling device