Flame Red Cotton
A fire at a cotton mill. Whenever you read about the history of English cotton mills, you're going to be reading about a fire at some point. The mixture of cotton fibres, wooden floors, hot machinery and oil was a firestorm waiting to happen. When Dewhursts first built their mill in Skipton it burned down almost immediately. Luckily for those that were employed there, the mill was rebuilt and put back into operation as quickly as possible. But the company learned from it and measures were put in place to prevent another disaster.
A report appeared in the Cotton Factory Times newspaper in February 1910. A fire had broken out at Dewhursts' Belle Vue Mill in Skipton on a Saturday evening. But this time, it wasn't a disaster. A watchman was on site, and he spotted the smoke and then the burning cotton. The report tells us:
"He immediately summoned the fire brigade belonging to the mill, and by their efforts the flames were extinguished...the damage, which is entirely covered by insurance, is estimated at £30."
The reason given for the fire was that a spark from a machine had landed on some cotton in the mixing room. This was where the fibres were blended together to form a more consistent quality. The fire took 45 minutes to extinguish.
That the mill had its own dedicated fire brigade speaks volumes on the risk to the business. Just two years previous to this incident, another ESCC mill in Skipton had burned down. Rickards Mill was lost in 1908, putting 300 people out of work - many of whom had to move to Bradford to find alternative employment.
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