Telling the stories of firefighters on the scene at market blaze
Fifty years ago, an inferno almost destroyed Leeds’ Kirkgate Market. Laura Reid hears about a new project telling the stories of firefighters who were on the scene.
NORMAN Field walked through the door after a long shift. “You look tired love,” his wife Eva observed. “Have you been at the fire?” "Yeah,” he replied. “It’s been a hard job.” "Is my shop still there?” she asked – and Norman knew instantly where she meant. They’d regularly pay a visit to a market haberdashery, collecting buttons and cotton so that Eva could make toys for their grandchildren. “No, sorry love, it’s burnt down,” he told her. She was distraught. He knew she would be.
Norman, now 83, was one of dozens of firefighters who 50 years ago arrived at Leeds’ Kirkgate Market to a blazing inferno. The fire, on December 13, 1975, was one of the city’s biggest ever disasters, taking hold shortly after the market had closed following a busy day of trading in the run-up to Christmas.
Flames spread quickly throughout the halls of what was once Europe’s largest covered market, destroying businesses and ruining livelihoods. Stallholders and cleaners who were still inside fled for their lives – and remarkably, no one died in in the incident.
But the fire did more damage to the place than bombing raids had done during the Second World War – and two-thirds of the building was destroyed. Traders, as well as locals like Eva, found themselves mourning businesses that had served Leeds communities for generations.
"It was a huge fire,” remembers Norman, who was a leading fireman at Bramley station. “All we could do was do our best. Really the whole thing had gone up in flames by the time we got there. It was alight, the whole market was on fire.”
Norman is one of three firefighters whose memories of the incident have been noted as part of a heritage project to collect and share stories about the working history of fire service members in Leeds, particularly those who were once based at the old Gipton station.
Shane Ewen, a Professor in History at Leeds Beckett University, has been working with arts charity Space2 and the East
Leeds Fire Heritage Group on the project, which most recently has seen recollections of the Kirkgate Market fire shared in a story map drawing on archival research and oral testimony.
Shane, who has been a historian of the fire and rescue service for more than 20 years, led interviews with the firefighters, focusing on the day leading up to the fire, the challenging working conditions, and the aftermath, including how they and their families felt about its impact.
He says: “I read the news coverage of the fire from back in 1975 and it’s fantastic with lots of interviews with market traders, local councillors, the mayor at the time, and senior officers in the emergency services.
"But there was no quotes from the rankand-file firefighters and I thought it would be interesting to find out what it was like to go into this blazing inferno and save this iconic historical building at the core of Leeds city centre…I wanted to know about what it was like to work at the fire but also what its (impact) meant for their daily lives.”
Firefighter Trevor Leighton had just been promoted to a Sub Officer at Leeds station and was only an hour into his first shift in charge of his watch when the fire station alarm began sounding and he and his crewmates were called to the market.
“As we were driving there, one of the lads said ‘oh we go regular to the market on a Saturday, don’t worry about it’,” he recalls. “But when we got into town, (the fire) was really going.”
A flashover occurred just minutes after Trevor and his crew got to work and they had to temporarily evacuate. Firefighters from across West Yorkshire were called to the blaze and worked through the night to try to bring the flames under control, facing difficult conditions and dense smoke.
"It was really hot,” says 78-year-old Trevor. “The flames took hold too quick. We did the best we could...It was sad for the whole community. People were coming into town (the next morning) and couldn’t believe what was left (of the market).”
"I think we’ll all agree that we never seen a fire like it since,” adds Alan Ward, another firefighter who was there on the night. “There have obviously been fires, but it was the biggest thing that we’d seen.”
The fire lit up the evening sky, visible to many from miles around, with columns of smoke wafting through the air. At Bramley fire station, Norman could see it before the crew got the call to help.
“We knew we’d be going somewhere because I was sat down in the office doing some paperwork and one of the lads said come upstairs and have a look at this,” he remembers. “From our kitchen window at the fire station, you could see across the city and we could see this huge fire. We didn’t know what it was or where it was but then a few minutes later the message came to go down to the market.”
It is estimated that the fire caused around £7 million worth of damage, largely to the roof and much of the building’s structure. The 1904 hall remained untouched however and the fighting spirit of the community saw the market reopen just three days later. Determined not to be beaten, traders crammed into whatever space they could find in undamaged sections. "The market is such an iconic retail space in the heart of the city centre and it nearly left us entirely,” reflects Shane. “If it wasn’t for the fire service, it probably would have all burnt down. They saved a significant proportion of it and it was able to reopen quite quickly. It’s important we keep stories like these alive for future generations.”
To see the story map, visit space2.org.uk/ heritage-record/the-kirkgate-market-fire50-years-on