IT was a sad day for John Shallcross when the former Manweb building in Northwich burned down last month.
For John, of Beach Road, Hartford, who is a Castle churchwarden, was just 14 when he worked in the building as an apprentice.
He said ironically the upstairs of the building was also used as a meeting centre for fire wardens during the Second World War.
The fire broke out on Friday, April 22, just before 7am.
At its height, five crews tackled the blaze, a hydraulic platform was dispatched from Chester and there was traffic chaos as Northwich Town Bridge was closed.
John recalled his early time working for Manweb.
He said: "The first storey was the meter centre with all the domestic meters for the area.
"I spent hours watching a galvanometer making sure that it didn't move from zero.
"I was 14 at the time and was paid 15s 9d a week between 1944 and 1945."
John recalled where the emergency exit for the first storey was at that time.
He said: "It was out at the back and the emergency exit was a knotted rope through the window.
"I remember a lady being burned once as she went down the rope."
Before it was Manweb the building used to be a pub.
John added: "My wife's mother used to have to go down to the pub with a jug.
"You could say we have had a family connection with the building."
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