FIRE INQUIRY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 284, 1 December 1941, Page 8

FIRE INQUIRY

EXCITED CALL

TO CENTRAL STATION

BRiGADESMAN'S EVIDENCE

Evidence by firemen relating to the times at which various calls wore received on the morning of the fire was given at to-day's sitting of the John Burns' fire inquiry. Mr. F. K. Hunt presided. Roy Polham, fireman driver, stated that he was relieving at the watch room when he received a phono call that there was a fire at John Burns' premises at 8.24 a.m. A female voice told him that the switchboard was on fire, and, after questioning her, he rang the general alarm and notified the officer in charge, Mr. Preston. At S.2(i, continued the witness, an excited call was received, the only words of which he could catch were "Send the ladders! . . . parapet . . . can't reach it!" The line went dead before he could ask any questions. Witness gave the message to the junior officer, and, a few seconds afterwards there was a district call from Customs Street East. The general alarm was sounded, and witness, being relieved, went off to the fire. IVo Call for "Everything" To Mr. Goldstine (representing the Queensland Insurance Co.): There was no call from a male voice other than the excited message. There was no call to "send everything we have," so far as witness was concerned. To Mr. Reed (John Burns and Co.): I did not hear a di&cussion that this was one of John Burns' false alarms. Walter Elliott, first-class fireman, said he travelled on the first machine that went out with Mr. Preston. When he arrived there was no sign of a fire outside the building. Mr. Preston ordered two C.T.C.'s and the first-aid. Witness took the first-aid and went into the building, running it up to the first landing. He was working inside the building for two hours.

Water Pressure Was Right

Hector Lunn, first-class fireman, said he entered the building before the previous witness. Going through the doorway he saw the switchboard on fire. There was a man with a small hose standing there watching them come in. The man was not playing it on the switchboard. Witness took it from him and started to play it round the switchboard. When the first delivery from witness' machine came in he handed over this hose to somebody else and took the delivery upstairs to the-top of the second flight. He was inside the building till 1 p.m. There were other firemen and other leads of hose with him. Water pressure on his hose, witness added, was all right. S. E. Pelham, first-class fireman, stated that he had 20 years' experience in fire fighting. He had had experience with switchboard fires, and usually a C.T.C. extinguisher, or the first-aid apparatus was used. Witness doubted whether there would have been time to make an extension with a pole ladder to remove Mr. McWhirter from the ledge in front of the building. It would have been necessary to take the ladder down and lash the pole-ladder to it.

Trevor W. Davis, driver, gave evidence that there was no difficulty with the water pressure, so far as his machine was concerned. It was witness who gave instructions for the district call to be made. He did not receive orders from anyone else to do this. To Mr. Goldstine: In making a district call the usual procedure was to use a convenient telephone or, if a fireman was available, he could ring a street alarm. Three Calls Donald J. Kelleher, junior station officer, said he was on duty at the time of the calls to the fire. The first call was to the switchboard fire at John Burns. The second call was the excited one concerning ladders. The third call was the district call. He did not understand what was meant by "the ladders call."

Witness did not tell Mr. McKenzie, assistant-superintendent, about the call for ladders. This call was followed very shortly by the district call. The ladders call was not recorded and it was not passed on. When the Western District station received a call the ordinary machine was dispatched, but not, at that time, the ladder machine. Witness did not know when the ladder arrived, although it was at the fire at one stage. (Proceeding.)