The workhouse on fire

On New Years Eve 1934 the Magherafelt workhouse infirmary went on fire and only for the actions of staff, ‘inmates’ and policemen the main building of the workhouse would have also caught fire and likely to have been left in ruins. Aided by firemen from Belfast and Ballymena who came to their rescue, two policemen were injured in the blaze as they fought to prevent the fire from spreading. Sergeant Bothwell was injured when a ladder he was standing on snapped, while Constable McDonnell was injured by falling slates. Forming a human chain, staff and ‘inmates’ passed buckets of water to try and stop the fire which had broken out shortly after 6pm that evening. The ‘inmates’ dining hall and school classrooms looked to be engulfed with flames but Bothwell and McDonnell tore slates from the roof and managed to quench the flames. They were aided by Head Constable McGrath and George Johnson, a carpenter in the workhouse who almost fell from the ladder. In the end both the infirmary and workhouse were saved.