The Chief Omcer reports Fires and Special Calls and Emergency Ambulance Calls.
August proved to be the busiest month in the history of the Brigade.
160 fire calls and special calls were received; this established a record, exceeding the previous highest monthly total (in June, 1934) by 39 calls, The Emergency Ambulances responded to 762 calls, which was also a record, being 45 calls In excess of the previous highest monthly total.
The damage and value of properly at risk at fires which the Brigade attended within the Settlement and the Special-Rated Area were timatea at Within the Settlement $1,408,300 In Special-Rated Area 158,750
Total $1,567,050 isk:
Within the Settlement $25,271,180 In Special-Rated Oven "3,285,000
Total—$28,550,150
On August 3, a typhoon, which reached a speed of 82 miles un hour, was directly responsible for no less than 19 fires and special calls and 27 ambulance calls. These came in with such frequency that almost all the Brigade personnel and appliances hhadl to be used to cope with them.
'The climax to a very. strontions day, throughout which every mem= ber' of the star had worked feverishly, took the form of a serious fire in the Ting Kong Native Bank Godown located at 704 North Soochow Road, to which the Brigade wag called at itts, 21.1 Sections from Hongkew Fire Sta tion responded and found that the fre had gained a very strong hold on a large B-slorlod godown approximately half-a-million cubic feet capacity and of very old construction, the second and third floors being well alight with the ames already through the roof. Fanned by the typhoon raging at the time and aided by the interior construction of the godown, which was of wood, and the inflammability of the contents, comprising mostly silk cocoons, the fre spread very rapidly and in fa short time the whole building was well alight. Assisted by a Pump from Central Fire Station, the detachment succeeded in confining the fire to this godown, "another godown adjoining on. the west side, of approximately 200,000 cubic feot capacity, being saved, dlospite the fact that the two Hodowng were separated only by a So-called firewall, through "which the floor-joists and roof-purlins wore inter-connected; but it was only after a most desperate struggle Jasting more than five hours that this was accomplished, From August 13, when the Sino Japanese hostilities commenced, the Brigade experienced the most hazardous and arduous period in its history, the entire resources of the Department and the endurance of the permanent foreign and Chinese staff, og well as that of the Volunteer Reserve, which was mobilized at the upset tind augmented on the 15th by a Special Ambulance and Transport Section of 25 Volunteer members, being taxed to the very limit, 'AL Firs, 1031 on the 14th, the Brigade turned out to Nanking Road and The Bund, where two aerial bombs had strtiek the Palace and Cathay Hotels, andi this was followed a few minutes ier by a call to an oven reater:
wstrophe at the junction of Vu Ya. point also two aerial bombs had dropped.
Fire engines responded in each cage and, as soon ay the serious lure 6f ite alls was known, every available ambulance, "lorry one vehicle of every description, inelud= Ing additional" fre" engines, were rushed to the scenes.
At Nanking Road a large number of dead and Injured persons were found to be lying in the street, and afler the living were rushed to' var~ ous hospitals in. ull available con voyances, a number of injured er-sons, as well as the bodies of "ead. were extricated from the debris The casualties totalled 729 dead (including 8 foreigners) and 861 wounded (including 8 foreigners).
The scene at the junction of Vu Ya Ching Road and Avenue Edward Vil almost indescribable. Two aerial Bombs had been dropped on the. French Concession side of this normally busy intersection which, at the tine of the catastrophe, was crowded with refugees, and the first section of the Brigade to arrive from Sinza Station found the area covered with hundreds of dead and wounded, with mutilated and dismembered Bodies scattered in all directions. Motor vehicles, about 20 in number, had-been set alight and were blazing the roadway, while broken over head electric cables added to the terrible scene of destruction.
Fires "were extinguished and everybody present worked feverishly" to remove the injured to hospitals.
Large numbers of the occupants of the buildings in the immediate vicinity of the explosions were found either to be dead or wounded, and the work of rescuing these was carried out as soon as possible.
"The casualties totalled 1,012 dead Gineluding 4 foreigners) and 1,007 wounded "(including 4 foreigners).
'AN Hrs, 1258 on August 23, the Brigade was called to another alastrophe, a. shell having struck a balcony' on the front' of the Sincere Ca, building on Nanking Road at second floor level; when Central machines arrived they sound [hundreds of dead and injured at, and in the vicinity of, the intersect tion "of Nanking and) Chekiang Roads. All efforts were made {0 rescue the injured and remove them hospital, every available am-Dulanee, lorry, ear, ete, being rushed to the scene for this purpose.
'The Police and Brigade were ably assisted by. the S.V.C, the French Fire Brigade and a large number of willing volunteers, including Boy Scouls and workers' and transport from the Red Cross and other So-doties, with the result that the [stupendous task of removing the jured to hospital, clearing the scene of dead and mutilated bodies, extinguishing three minor outbreaks fire within the Sincere Ca. bulld-{ng and the Isolation of broken overhead lectrie wires, was accomplished in Tess than an hour.
"This explosion caused the death of 215 (including 3 foreigners) and, in addition, $58 were wounded.
During the month the Brigade tended 50 fires and 17 special calls directly attributed to the local con-Mict, of which number 44 fires and four special calls were to points within the Hongkew, Wayside and Yangtszepoo areas.
Numerous extensive fires broke out in Wayside and. Yangtszepoo round about August 20, but constant heavy shelling and fighting in those areas made it impossible for the Brigade to attend.
Apart from the very large number of patients conveyed by the Emerg-feeney Ambulances and other Brigade Vehicles at the three catastrophes des cribed herein, of which it has been impossible tomake any record, Brigade Ambulances conveyed 495 patients, Whose injuries.were a direct result of the local conflict, such as bullet, shell. bomb and shrapnel wounds, ete. In addition to the calls recorded here-fu, the Emergency and Hospital Branches of the Brigade Ambulance Service carried out the evacuation, to Positions removed from the scene of hostilities, of the patients and staff of the Foo Ming, Blocding Heart, St. Luke's, Police, General and Sacred Heart Hospital
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.