Several of you requested that I deal with some of the larger fires that occurred in Caernarfon and since so much press has been given to the Fire Fighters dispute of late, I thought it advisable to refer briefly to the history of the service in town.

There is a reference in a book which gives an account of fires as early as the year 1567 and it relates how they spread from Harlech and damaged 200 houses in the town of Caernarfon and its suburbs. W.H. Jones, author of "Old Karnavon" (page 140), published by H. Humphreys, Paternoster Buildings, refers.

He goes on to give an account of a fire which was reported in a Bangor based newspaper and it was in the house of William Jones, currier, of Castle Ditch in 1825. He further states that this was the first fire to break out in Caernarfon since 1755, a period of 70 years. In 1768, according to the report, the Town Council bought a Fire Engine, but never had occasion to use it and it was replaced only a few days before the fire in Castle Ditch.

It appears, therefore, that very few fires occurred during the 19. Century, otherwise W.H. Jones would have recorded them, being that he had his book published in the early 1880's.

It is believed that the first large fire of the 20. Century was on April 1 1910 and, fortunately, a document recorded by an eye witness is kept at Caernarfon Archives. Hamilton Jones was very well known in the town in his day and was in his 90’s when he died. He recorded the history of the Flour Mill Fire in Victoria Dock. It started on a Friday evening, and witness stated that 2 other fires occurred on a Friday, one of which was the Nelson Emporium Fire of 1948.

It was unfortunate at the time of the Flour Mill Fire that the tide was out and it was not possible to draw water from Victoria Dock Two houses and a nearby Timber Yard were also damaged. Hamilton remembered going down to the Dock and was amazed to see a huge red glow in the sky. This, he stated, could be seen from Anglesey and as far away as Llanaelhaearn on the main Pwllheli road, but that which he especially remembered about that evening was seeing literally hundreds of rats rushing from the building with their backs on fire and running towards and around the pier in a state of frenzy.

This must, surely, be regarded as one of the largest fires in Caernarfon in modern times and below is a photo of the town’s Fire Brigade from that period in time.

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