In a matter of hours, the livelihoods of 500 Southampton residents were consumed by flames nearly a century ago.

A devastating fire engulfed a British American Tobacco (BAT) warehouse on October 30, 1926, ripping through the building which once stood in the town’s docks.

“Fire, which spread with amazing rapidity, involved floor after floor of the five-storey building with basement, and finally the roof collapsed with a deafening crash, sending millions of sparks skywards,” said the report in the Daily Echo.

“Apart from the building being gutted, thousands of pounds of tobacco in various stages of manufacture were destroyed, as well as valuable machinery, in the whole being valued at well over £100,000 (equivalent to almost £3m in today’s money).

“As a result of the fire, 500 men and girls will be rendered workless.”

Situated a short distance from the old Sugar House in the docks, the warehouse, designated as 'K' warehouse, had suffered a similar fate less than two years earlier, succumbing to a devastating fire.

Constructed in 1895 by Mr. J. Doling, the BAT warehouse has a rich history. Its foundation stone was laid in 1893 by the Hon. Mrs. Eliot Yorke. Initially serving as an emigrants' hostel until 1916, the building was later repurposed by a tobacco company. The company added an extra floor and utilized the space for export operations.

“At the time the fire broke out the building, which was a bonded warehouse, was bolted and barred; and it was evident from the outset that the firemen would have great difficulty in effecting an entrance,” said the Daily Echo.

“Exactly how long the fire had been burning before any trace of the outbreak was visible from the street remains a mystery, but from the remarkable rapidity with which it spread it seems that it must have secured a firm hold.”

A resident of the now-demolished Guillaume Terrace, located near the warehouse, sounded the alarm. Soon after, other calls came in, including one from the landlord of the York and Albany pub.

“The bolted and barred doors and windows presented an unexpected stumbling block which had to be removed in extra quick time,” said the Daily Echo.

“Firemen with axes rained fierce blows upon the doors, which soon yielded to the sustained attack.

“Great pieces of machinery, many weighing as much as two tons, crashed from as high as the fourth floor into the blazing pile below, and as they fell carried everything in their way with them.

“When they reached the ground they landed to the accompaniment of loud reports, likened to the firing of a 12-pounder gun, and in one instance they crashed through the 16-inch concrete floor which separated the ground floor from the basement.

“The flames had now done their worst, for the building was ablaze from end to end, and fiery tongues leapt from all the windows, as well as the exposed interior.”

"A mesmerised crowd flocked to the scene, some even scaling nearby trees to witness the inferno. The fire, a relentless beast, consumed the building for seven hours before firefighters could finally bring it under control.

“Throughout the following day thousands of people visited the scene of the outbreak but all they could see was the blackened skeleton of a once fine building,” said the Daily Echo.