Dunston Staiths on fire… again..
I got a call from a friend on his way home from work saying there was smoke coming from the Dunston Staiths, so I took a quick wander along there with the camera and sure enough someone had set it on fire, sadly. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad a fire, and the fire brigade were already arriving as I was (just as I began dialing 999 I rounded the corner to see them).
Fire engine arriving at Dunston Staiths
Smoke rising from Dunston Staiths
Firemen climbing over barrier at Dunston Staiths
Fireman stretching hose out onto Dunston Staiths
Fireman trying to extinguish fire at Dunston Staiths
Firemen cutting burning wood out with an axe at Dunston Staiths
Firemen dumping charred planks into the river at Dunston Staiths
As you can see, sadly they have had to cut even more chunks out of the Staiths, though thankfully it’s nowhere near as bad as the fire that ravaged the structure in November 2003. This means that even more of the structure needs to be repaired, though with each fire I would imagine that gets even more unlikely a proposition.
Part of the problem is that the Staiths are made from an Australian wood known by its aboriginal name of Jarrah, which comes from the protected Eucalyptus Marginata tree. This wood was heavily forested for years for use in piers, railways, bridges and similar structures due to its dense nature and ability to withstand extreme moisture without decaying. The wood was exported throughout the British Empire for the uses mentioned above in the thousands of tons. Due to over use it is now bordering on being an endangered species, and as such the Australian government has placed a ban on the export of the wood, in fact many things built from Jarrah now even in Australia are built using reclaimed timber from destroyed buildings. As the Dunston Staiths are a listed structure, any repairs must be carried out using the same materials as the original, which obviously is not possible due to the export restrictions in place in Australia.
The Dunston Staiths were built in 1893 and were instrumental in the export of coals from the Newcastle,Durham and other local mining communities. Trains loaded with coal would arrive onto the Staiths and then be unloaded onto ships that would carry the coal out to sea and its eventual destination. It is truly saddening to see yet another fire started on there by vandals who obviously don’t appreciate the significance of the Staiths in both the maritime and mining history of Newcastle.
~Shepy
Related Posts
Comments
Comment from Jill Eskeli
Time July 24, 2009 at 1:50 am
Great pictures Shepy. What a shame it is that we have stupid idiots everywhere who don’t think of the consequences of their acts or don’t care!
Would love to see more of your pictures. Jill from Low Fell
Comment from ILuvNUFC
Time July 27, 2009 at 1:21 am
Cracking photos of a sad event, mindless morons.
Thanks for the info on the Eucalyptus Marginata tree. I learn something new on the internets every day, some of which is even true and interesting! 
Comment from Les Pearson
Time July 23, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Nice write up mate. They should hang the little fockers up for the seagulls to feast on. They should also change the listed building rules. There is a grade 1 listed building in north London that is basically falling apart because some of the broken cross beams were mahogany (and whilst it’s not 100% illegal to use it, it’s morally wrong to do so – I.M.O). They are insisting that they cannot use RSJ’s because it’s ‘not original’ I would rather have a 300 year old building with half of its original features than no building at all!