FATAL BURNS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 287, 4 December 1941, Page 9

FATAL BURNS

AUCKLANDER'S FATE TRAPPED IN SCRUB FIRE (0.C.) HAMILTON, this day. Fatal burns were suffered by Mr. William Henry Isdale, aged 63, of Totara Avenue, New Lynn, at Frankton yesterday afternoon. Mr. Isdale, who owned about 16 acres of land situated between Ellis Street and Higgins Road, Frankton, lit a fire to burn off the gorse and fern with which most of the area is covered. The fire spread so rapidlv that Mr. Isdale was surrounded by the flames. j clothes were almost destroyed ana he was burned from head to feet He was taken to the Waikato Hospital, where he died late last night. Before he was trapped the spread 11? * e a^ neighbours, who called the Hamilton Fire Brigade. The brigade had a long ana arduous task to suppress the fire, which extended over a large area of weedmfested land. The flames were extinguished in about two hours. How Mr. Isdale attempted to fight the spread of the fire on his own and left his attempt to escape until it was too late was told to-dav by Miss Joan Irwin, of Ellis Street, Frankton. who was first to notice his absence and who discovered him on the edge of the fire. "I had seen Mr. Isdale lighting fires—he started several in various narts—and when the flames got out of control and the brigade arrived I wondered where he was," said Miss Irwin. "I glanced around the crowd that was watching the brigade at work and at the men who were assisting, but I could not see Mr. Isdale, so I ran to the back of the house to look over the whole area. There was a great deal of smoke about and although I climbed a high fence I could not see him. I went back to the front of the house and asked mother if she had seen him and when she said no I again looked among the crowd of spectators, but without success."

Miss Irwin said that by this time she was worried about Mr. Isdale, so again went to the rear of the house for another look. The smoke cleared a little and she saw the figure of a man stumbling just out of the fire. She immediately ran to him and assisted him to the back of her house. She secured a coat for him and rang for an ambulance. "Mr. Isdale said he was all right and told me there was no need to get an ambulance," added Miss Irwin. "However, I could see he had been badly burned, so I went for assistance right away. While I was helping him across the gorse Mr. Isdale said he had been trying to stop the spread of the flames and had been beating it out. He added that he thought he would have succeeded."