On Tuesday, 18 November 1947, a fire engulfed the Ballantynes department store in central Christchurch, New Zealand, resulting in the death of 41 people.

[2][3] Ballantynes is a Christchurch department store that traces its origins back to a millinery and drapery business that began in the front room of a Cashel Street residence in 1854.

By the time of the fire, the showrooms, fitting rooms, art gallery and sumptuous tearooms catered to the elite of Canterbury.

The store's interior partitions had untreated soft wood-fibre linings that had been permitted by the Christchurch City Council contrary to its own bylaws.

Klaxons that had been installed during the Second World War and the Vigilant sprinkler fire alarm in one building had not been maintained and both were eventually removed.

[citation needed] The fire started in the basement of the furniture department, which was located at the southern end of the Colombo Street frontage of the complex.

[citation needed] Around 3:30 pm on Tuesday 18 November 1947, an employee told a colleague that smoke was coming up the stairs from a stairwell, and asked them to call the fire brigade.

The sequence of delays, errors, and fatal mistakes made by management during the next 25 minutes have been portrayed most memorably in the novel Gardens of Fire by historian and novelist Stevan Eldred-Grigg, who based the book on detailed research and interviews with survivors.

They were met by joint managing director Roger Ballantyne, who showed the fire crew a back access way to the cellar.

Approximately half an hour after the fire was discovered, the heat and smoke went into flashover, erupting across the conjoined first-floors of the Congreve's, Goodman's, and Pratt's buildings.

Workers on the multiple top floors attempted to denote their location to firefighters by banging at windows before being killed by heat, fire or smoke.

[3] Two credit department employees jumped together from a top-floor window of Pratt's Building on the corner of Colombo and Cashel Streets.

At this point he climbed out onto a window ledge as the fire engulfed the floor behind him and was the last person to be rescued by firefighters from Pratt's Building at 4:10 pm.

[citation needed] It has been noted that office employees were not evacuated as the policy required that insured equipment be stored away in a fireproof strong room first.

Firefighters and Police were able to gain entry to the ground floor about 6 pm, where they found a number of bodies near the exits and others hanging from beams.

[citation needed] Planned celebrations for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth that were due to be held on 20 November 1947 were cancelled and flags were instead flown at half mast throughout New Zealand, apart from a few official exemptions on Government Buildings.