A SUSPICIOUS FIRE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 10106, 7 May 1924, Page 6

A SUSPICIOUS FIRE

POSSIBLE INCENDIARISM.

A BURNETT STREET MYSTERY.

PAPERS RIFLED AND BURNED. A fire in a Burnett Street washhouse has brought to light a chain of suspicious events, whose final link may possibly be forged by an arrest by the of a person at present at larg». The lire occurred yesterday afternoon in a. washhouse of the dwelling

of Mr E. J. Paul, situated in Kurnett Street, opposite the Catholic Church. A heap-or papers in a box behind the door was discovered to be on fire, by a grandson of Mr Paul. The boy, seeing smoke issuing from the building, ran out ino the street with the intention oi' ringing the iirebeli. It is doubtful if the clanging of the bell would have brought the brigade to the spot, as its members were then in. the act of making for another reported outbreak near the West Belt. Meantime, an elderly lady next door had grasped a bucket and was doing good work in smothering the flames. Mr Paul and other help arriving, the burning box was dragged out into the open and drenched with water, as were also the blackened portions of the wasnhou.se. very litae material damage was done. Many of the articles in the building, however, had stood in imminent danger of becoming lighted, and several large pumpkins showed unmistakeahie signs ot naving been prematurely roasted. Mr Paul said the box in which the fire appeared to have originated, had contained many papers and records dating back many years. Their .value would be better imagined than estimated. The peculiar phase of the whole affair was that he had returned home at about 3.30 p.m., and in his walk to the back door had passed close to the washhouse. There was then no sign of fire. Shortly after the noise of the fire fighters had brought him out to investigate. He firmly believed the cause of the fire was due to deliberate incendiarism. And then when the police arrived the chain of suspicious evidence was forged link by link. A grandson of Mr Paul's, Paul Choate, said he had yesterday afternoon seen a man run out of the front door, bolt out of the gate and along the road.. He (the boy) had been on the premises at the time, and had been drawn to the back door by haying heard something fall in one of the front rooms. The escapee was a man ot slightly over medium height, and had worn a black coat and slouch hat. He was clean juiaven. lie knew this, for he had seen the back of his neck as he darted tiway. Whether this last piece of evidence of a shorn face was accepted oy the police, is, however, a matter ox grave doubt. The fact that Mr Paul, upon returning home yesterday, had, discovered his papers in a front room to haye been rilled, added extra weight to the boy's testimony. What on the face of it would appear to be another link was supplied oy Mr F. A. Choate, a son-in-law of idr Paul, and who resides next door. Mr Choate said that some fortnight ago he had been in the garden at night, and had seen a person, man or boy, make off irom behind the shed, and probably across some of the neighbouring sections. He had taken little notice of the incident at the time, even when he had discovered that the staple on the latch of the door had been pulled out of its place, tie had treated the matter lightly, as, there having been placed in the shed several bottles of aged wine, he had thought some friends were disturbed in the act of playing a practical joke of some sort. "In view of this," said Mr Choate, "I filled up some of the bottles with water, to turn the tables upon the supposed practical joker, .should he have wished to pay another visit!"