On 14 July 1952, a fire broke out in the Silver Nitrate Building at Kodak Australasia's factory in Abbotsford, causing £10,000 worth of damage.

The fire erupted in a room where vats of nitric acid crystals were stored. The crystals, which are highly flammable, were for use in the manufacture of photographic emulsion. A spark from an electric drill is thought to have ignited them, at around 11.10 in the morning. Following a blinding flash, flames jumped from vat to vat around the room. The fire burnt for 15 minutes before being put out by the fire brigade, causing extensive damage. Six employees escaped with minor burns. The building was later rebuilt, and was open for use again by September 1952.

At the same time as the fire was burning, floodwaters were also rising at the Kodak factory, making this day a double disaster for the company. The flood waters, from the Yarra River, were about 12 feet high according to newspaper reports. They submerged the company's timber yard and maintenance workshops, causing £2,000 of damage to the timber.

References

"Film Plant Suffers by Fire; Floods" The Age, 15 July 1952, p.3.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206217222

"FLOOD, THEN FILM BLAZE" The Herald, 14 July 1952, p.1.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244377315

"Factory in fire and flood"  News, 14 July 1952, p. 20.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130808409

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