The fire alarm sounded at ten minutes to eleven on Thursday 5 February at a time when 'Chapter', the heralds' governing body was having its monthly meeting. The fire was already too well established to be tackled with fire-extinguishers, so the Fire Brigade were called. The evacuation plan was immediately put in action by the College's house comptroller, David White, and the officer on duty, and within minutes the building was clear. No-one was hurt, and no damage was done to the official records of the College of Arms, which date back to the fifteenth century.
Peter Gwynn-Jones, Garter King of Arms, said: "This event is a great sadness to all of us who work here. We will work hard to put the building right over the forthcoming weeks, but we will remain open for business. I am glad that our emergency plan worked well, and I am really grateful to the Fire Brigade for the exceptional care they took, knowing what national treasures we care for here."
The fire was successfully contained; the building, which had been swiftly evacuated, suffered damage to the two upper floors of its west wing only, some distance from the archive storage areas. A number of rooms there will now need to be repaired and redecorated.
Welcome to the twentieth edition of the College of Arms Newsletter.
PENDLEBURY, John, of Todmorden, West Yorkshire. Arms and Crest (illustrated left). Garter and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms. 23/7/2008.
NATIONAL POLICING IMPROVEMENT AGENCY. Arms and Crest (illustrated right) were granted to this statutory body established under the provisions of the Police and Justice Act 2006, by Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms dated 19 September 2008.
Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the badge illustrated left, for the National Policing Improvement Agency. The badge includes a meerkat (Suricata suricatta), which was granted to that body by the Kings of Arms as their Crest (see above). College reference: Standards 5/117.