HUTT EXPLOSION TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2130, 23 April 1914, Page 3

HUTT EXPLOSION TRAGEDY

: ♦—- THE ACETYLENE THEORY

INTERESTING EVIDENCE M PROF, EASTBRFIOLD

PAST EXPERIENCES

'. The iiiquost into the deaths of the . fieven victims of the Upper Hutt fire '■ explosion was resumed before the District Coroner (Mr. W. G. Esddcll, S.M.) at tho Magistrate's Court yesterday. Chief Detective Broberg conducted the ■ case for the Crtnvii. Mr. 0. B. Morison, K. 0., with Mr. M. F. O'Leary, appeared for Messrs. Bengo and I'ratt, in whoso store- at Upper Hutt the fire occurred; Mr. T. At. Wilford appeared for Mrs. Mahoney, Mrs. Comeskey, and Mrs. Flynn, widows of three of the deceased, and for the relatives of E. Polling. J. Vivian, and G. Taylor; Mr. E. M. Sladden represented the New Zealand Acetylene Gas Company, and the Heat, Light, and Supplies Company; and Mr. 11. E. Evans appeared for the Guardian Assurance Company, which office held Messrs. Bengc and Pratt's risk. The relatives of the other vie* tim, Michael Tooliey, were mot represented. Philip W. Congreve, acetylene gas expert, aud -manager in Wellington for the New Zealand Acetylene Gas Company, continued his evidence with rej gard to the generator at Messrs, Bcngc ',aiid Pratt's store. Ho said that not I more than 24ft. of gas could havo got J into tho building, b.y leakage, after'the gas 'was turned off, assuming bath ohiimliers were fully charged, between 8.30 and 8.43 p.m. " To Mr. Morison: If the connection with tho building ha.d been turned off before the fire, it would have been it»possibfc for any gas to get in the building. Lead Spots on Coats. Br, J. S. Maclaurois, Dominion Analyst and Chief Inspector of Explosives, Rave evidence as to tho analysis he mado of spois found on two coats handed to him, These were metallic spots, which he found to be lead. There were sonw other white spots, which were certainly not from carbide, but appearcdto be some kind of paint or brilliantshino. Ho bad examined the generator at Benge and Pratt's. The Heft.-hawl chamber was found turned off, and was still turned off, which would lend to show that only tlio right-hand chamber was used. , ' When he examined the generator at the Hutt he found the lefthand chamber was flooded with water. The right-hand chamber was almost dry, but tho carbide-, on being tested, was found to bfi exhausted. Ho removed the carbide, weighed it and Calculated tiro amount that would have been in when tho chamber was charged. It was 2jlb., and 12 cubic feet of gas could have been generated from it. Aceording to Mr. Benge's evidence only gas Rrom ono chamber could have (rot into tho. building.. Seven and a half cubic feet would have beefl nsod from .8.30. when tho generator was charged, till 9.80. wljr-n tho shop was dosed. AssuiniiiE! there w™ three- pounds in the tray it would havo bean capable of holding lift, and about 1 cubic feet (wild have Ijoeit generated after the lights wore turned off, and cnukl have got into tho. building, assuming there was a leak. If there was a leak more ?.»« would have been used while the lights were- still burning.- Soven cubic foot of gas would render a litUa over 200 ft. of air explosive; that amid havo done no damage, in a rnoni contnininp approximately.'l3oo ouWe feet. Assuming only four cubic feet of oas was consumed before' tlwj lights Were put out. and that tlw generator tap, which Mr. Bcngp dosed, opened apiin, the'total gas available would bo 22ftThai was tho greatest. possiMn amount that Qonld have been fw'nwatod, assuming both trays contained 31b. of eafbid« •> Ohiff-Dotectivo Braberg: Was it tws* siluo for that, iimotinl to Imve leaked in tlw two ftofirs after 7\Fr. Bonge went ronnd the building?—" No. It" represents a greater amount thaa consume? by all the burners turned oh at once." Das Explosion (Jiscoantetf. Uiitlcr what circiimsbnccs would tlie leak havo to bo to do a.ny daraago?— "Well, tho gas would all" ha.vo to ho gathered i.'i one portion of tho room, in some peculiar way, and the leak must havo been tinder the floor, in tho frontsouth room. If it did up through tho Hour it would rise slowly, and lave a very good opportunity of mixing 'thoroughly with the air in the room, and so would bo£ tend to remain in orce corner." -If it. dirt mix?—"lt wosiW h> far beW__tho limits of expfosibility." If the dsors between the different rooms were open, the gas would go into the different rooms?—'-' Yes." Contimiinc:, witness said that, assuming the toak was caused by the nielt* hw; «f oiw of the aipper pipes, the gas would i<rnite, and burn at the Rejieralor. Tli-s fffects of the explosion , wero nioro consistent witti a ftelisnite eslilosion. The evidence pointed to the ■fnot fchaS tbo oxnlosion' took place in tiw i top smith room, I What would yott .about the cnlfiH«M)'of tiifl floor ?—"That is olio of the most sugsestiyn points, pointing; to gelignite, rather'than acetylene." • If tho smoke was escaping out of tho building, woiikl that tend to carry away Uμ acetylene?—"lt would tend to catiso a draught, and mis tho acetyteue with the air."" To Sir. Sladden: He had heard the evidence, but it had been so conflicting that it was hafd to say whether . Hie arotylnne fa'uld havo exploded. Assuming all the gas had gathered, ho did not think it could have- exploded, aiu? caused such damage. Had it been placed in tho host explosive profMrtions JiconTd i)avf>ic3iisfd great- damage, hot no leak would, gather in those proportions. To have caused tlw explosion the gas koM have had to be gi'thofod in oiw part of tho room, so tltdt it could not possibly have diffused. Danger of Burning GeHgnlte. To Mr. Morfcon; It was impossiblo tj say in what proportions gelignite, subjected to Sre, .would burn' l or «x----liiodc. it would iomctiinc-3 usptodu and sometimes burn. Mr. Morisou; Arc you aware that tho average-' labourer, accustomed to gelignite, will put it in the lire with' impunity?—'"l'l's, afld many, times ge!s blown up for his pains."-' What number at pounds of gejigftito would tmve caused that explosion.?— "Ten or fifteen pounds, or more." Doaling with gas explosions, witness admitted that the paint of ignition had some effect on the explosion. The resistem-o of aii old building would bo practically negligible in a gelignite explosion, but at a certain distance the walls would havo a directing influence on the force of the explosion, This would not be noticeable in the immediate vicinity. An acetylene explosion was snorts violent than an ordinary coal-gas cxpiaskm. At tho sito of the explosion, gelignite was more violent than acetylene. Jt was consistent, with both kinds of psplosinns to find a number of men with their heads or amis blown off. Had it linen possible to give a sutficient explosive miKture in tli<; upper room, thcro nxiiikl not he much to clioosc-, as reUai'dod the effects, between a gelignite mid'acetylene explosion. From tin; liosition in wliJcli tho missiles wore thrown on to tho hotel, he could not

make any serious inference as to whether tlio explosion tot>k plitce under, or almvc, the floor of the gelignite room. From his investigations he was led to believe the explosion was abovo the floor. This concluded tho evidence for the Crown, Chief-Detective Ikoborg stating that ho did ilbt propose to call further witnesses "at present." " Mr. Morisoii thouglit Hint all tlio cvidonco for the Crown should bo put forward before he railed evidence. Before lio called Professor Eastern'eM, he wanted all tlio evidence pM*. C'hief-Detentivo Brobcrg: "The only evidence I would have from now would be anything to rebut any theory set up liy Professor Eastcrfiold." I should have the right to call expert evidence to answer anything put forward by Professor Easterfiold." Mr, Sladdsn also applied to be allowed to bring expert evidence, if he thought necessary, in reply to Professor Easterfield. "Ho agreed to submit his witnesses to the Ghiof-Detecfive. Leonard Clongh, baker, recalled by Mr. Morison, said thot ho had often refilled the- trays of tlio ■ generator. Water had escaped after the taps were turned off. On the night of tlio explosion, about 10 o'clock, the hell of the generator was so lull that »as was escaping. He noticed this when ho wont to the bakehouse at the back of the store. He snlelt thtt gas', avid couid hear it escaping.

Professor East«rfieW's Evidence. Professor T. H. Easterfield, Professor of Chemistry at Victoria College, was called by Mr, Morisrm. ■' He said' that ho had exporimciited with acetylene eas' from tinlo to time. Hβ had expioded coal gas and acetylene gas with the theoretical quantity of oxygen, so as to "ive-tbo maximum ex)>losion. The coat sas-osygeii mixtur* exploded with a lood report; tins aeetyjene-oxygen with so much violence that the contain* ing vessel was . invariably shattered, whereas with the coal gas-oxygen hehad never succeeded in shattering tlie vessel. The limit of biowlcdgo of tlsc esi)losibility of 'acetyleae was not yet reached. Tlio Professor related instances of acetylene explosions "in various parts of the world, and the conditions attendant on them. In an explosion -of acctyll'iio gas in an hotel iu Ontario tiic hotel was wrecked from collar to roof, tlio first two floors falling in. InFrance, in 1904, a woman went into a KCiMrator-roolß with a lighted candle. An explosion followed, and seven were 'tilled and 17 'injured , .- At Readme, Pennsylvania, two buildings were wreck-. Ed in 1902, and three persons Were killml. Tho damage was £6(5,000, Conditions arose from acetylene explosions which it was hard to explain. Usually acetylene* was a : safe iliuminant,

Two Important Theories, He slid not asveo with the evidence of Mr. Con&rcve, that 30ft, of gn.s could not have caused an explosion, He conceived of tivo conditions ilndei frhich very violent explosions lfiigM have bean caused with 20i't. of gas oi less; in th? first place, if, owing to any change iix ' the' shape «F a ijuiMiiig, owing to warping of limbers, as during a fire, at from any: other : cause, a gas-pipe laid ■ along • a ceiliiip was caused to leak badly, so that tlw gas streamed into tlio room and thus became mixed with air, and a flame \hw camo in contact with tiro mixture, t I'orv violent explosion would resiili. If, on the other hand, ft pipo wore laid be< twceii a coiling and the floor, above, mid, owin« to any cause, a leak were to occur in it, there would !io a large cartridge of explosive mixture bctwew tho ceilhtg awl the floor above, and. ii fire reached that 'cartridge, a ierriffic explosion vrmijd occur; * On* sueti. !?as_( had occurred i\) New Zealand, at Waitftlri High School, QainarU. He ihowglii it was in November, 1909. A pipe sprung aleak Iwneath tins floor. Tlio phibiijei essayed to raiso tho flno.r hoard, am search with a Jinked ligJit. A hole wa: blown through th(* stofto wall of th( buildiiig ami the plumber was Wowt down tlie passago at ttio othar ofld ol tlio room. ■ Mr. Morisori: You liayo seen tlw site of this esplostoii, and heard the evi deuce ?—''Yes." .One man was blown*.across the road; —"That, is iiQt'unnsual in ordinary ga; csplosions." Acetykne Theory Mot Negatived, ■ From tho fact that the man wa{ blown across he road) from lie door, tho professor s.iid he would have iiifcn-' ed that the cspiosion occurred from the ceiling of the grocery department. i\ blue flash, ns described by wiincsso's. I would be consistent with ail acetyle-iu ; explosion. There was no evidence'thai would uepative an acetyleno explosion. Ho conceived it possible that either ol tho hypotheses (Hit Jortvard % hhv. -might explain tho explosion at L'ppei Htiit. The presence of dust or smota might have intensified, tiro explosion, (Supposing tho explosion took place in tho rdling, tho flanies, shooting up, might have cjuised si second niiner esplosion. Tim Coroner: What Mr, -Af'Cunlj suggests ivas that tho minor oxplosieii was first. Professor Ensterßeld: Supposing ,vou got a smoke or dust explosion first, tlw flamo would travel fast to where the acetylene , was. Either tire minor oi major explosion nii&ht liavo boon first. Professor EasterJlcld was excused' at this stage, and will resume Ms evideroco on Friday mofiiiag. slr. Bene;e, recalled, corroborated Clengh's evidence as to tlio water'gottine into the generator eylindcTs, even with the taps turned off. Tho apparatus leaked'. The Coroner: Bid ,ttni tfotect any snicll of j'asi: upstairs or downstairs, at 10 o'clock on the night of the fire?— "Xβ." Tho inquest; was ndionnied till .10 a.m. to-moFTCW. and will probably conclude in. the aftentoon.