One Eccles fire crew fighting a blaze at a factory in Patricroft were lucky to escape with their lives after a huge explosion 50 years ago.
PC Burgess was on patrol on the evening of Wednesday 28 May 1966 when he saw a sudden flash followed by a huge cloud of smoke and flames erupt from Tomlinson’s Engineering Ltd on Shakespeare Crescent.
He quickly contacted Green Lane police station and told PC Ellwood, who relayed the emergency message to the Eccles fire brigade and four engines were scrambled to the scene.
When they got there, a crowd of 100 people had gathered, alerted by the loud explosion which it was reported was heard over half-a-mile away.
Nearby streets were cordoned off and traffic was diverted away from the area in case of further explosions.
Firefighters directed their water hoses towards flames which had consumed wooden outbuildings and were burning strongly.
But they were as yet unaware of what was being stored in the yard: five barrels of highly flammable magnesium.
Dry sand was poured into the barrels in the hope of preventing an explosion – whether by fire or the chemical reaction of water and magnesium.
Four firemen entered the yard when it seemed that the blaze had died down.
But as they passed a barrel of magnesium it suddenly exploded and fireman Ronald Palfrey, 20, caught the full blast.
He was rushed to Hope Hospital (now Salford Royal) suffering from severe burns to his face, hands and body.
Fireman, Joseph Fitzpatrick, 23, was also treated for severe shock.
A spokesman for the company said that rubber and steel were also stored in the yard, which no doubt helped the blaze generate such heat and cause the terrific explosion.
Do any of readers remember this fateful evening? Are you a member of the Palfrey or Fitzpatrick family? We would like to hear your memories of that night. Please contact tony.flynn@salfordonline.com, join SalfordOnline on Facebook or call 0161 789 5377.
