THE WILLIS-STREET FIRE.

Evening Post, Volume LXII, Issue 134, 3 December 1901, Page 2

THE WILLIS-STREET FIRE.

INQUEST ON WM. CRAWFORD'S DEATH. CAPTAIN HUGO'S EVIDENCE AND SUGGESTIONS. The Coroner's inquest as to the death of Wm. Crawford, one of the victims of the fire which destroyed the Oriental Hotel on the 25th ult., was being held as we went to press yesterday. Conrad Buckingham, in- answer to the foreman of the jury, said there was a rope attached to the head of his bed, and coiled ittnder the bed. The rope would enable .anyone escaping to reach Grady's roof. E. A. Monckton, black and white artist, said he had lived itf the hotel since November of last year, and slept on the top floor. Thought he was back in the hotel on Sunday night Buckingham. The latter and witness sat yarning in the sittingroom on the middle floor until' about 1.30 a.m., when they went to bed. Buckingham had had some drink, but 'was not under the influence of liquor. Witness opened Buckingham's room door with the key, which was kept under the door mat. Did not go into his own room- Had not been in has own . room since 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. The staircase was clearly lighted. A match must have been ■ lighted in Buckingham's rx>om, but ho could not say which of the two struck the light. Neither of them was smoking in the bedroom. Buckingham invited witness to go into his room to finish the' yarn, but was positive he did not say anything about finishing the smoke. Had been in the room about ten minutes, when, through the open door,' .he saw the glare of ■ fire, and called Buckingham's attention to it. (The previous witness had said the bedroom door was closed when Monckton saw the glare). The fire was roaring in the passage not very far from the room. Went out in the passage, and it seemed as if the whole /house was on. fire. Warned Buckingham, then went "down to call Mrs. Watson, thence to call the night porter to take up a bucket of water; next switched on the house alarm, and then went across the road to give the Fire Brigade the alarm. But the alarm opposite appeared to be out of order. Would swear that the fire did not begin in either his qwxl room or Buckingham's. Was positive be did not go into his own room and light' his candle. Had often expected that a fire would occur in the hotel. Had his things always packed handy for removal, but lost everything. As a rule he was- cool headed, but he was a bit excited that night. One of the rooms was numbered 13, but owing to the' superstition about the unlucky number those figures were painted out, and 12a substituted. About two months ago the scrim of that room came down and part of the ceiling fell in. were also a number of birds' nests, above the room. These things, combined 1 with the age of the building, would make that portion of the house very combustible. The Corona— But birds- would not carry matches. 1 Wm. Chasr G- Ross, fctage mechanist, employed by the* ( Waldorf Dramatic Company, said he slept in the Oriental Hotel on the Sunday night for the first time. He occupied room No. 12 on the top floor. Went to bed at about quarter to 11 p.m., and was awakened at about quarter to 2 a.m. by the breaking of the glass of his window. Never smoked in bed. Opened his door, and found the staircase .opposite and the bedroom 'next door (No. 11) in flames. There was then no fire in witness's room. Could not get down the stairs, and went round the passage to the fire escape, and so escaped. Had noticed that there was a fire-escape during the,, afternoon, because he had first been placed- in room No. 18, from which access was had to the escape. ' Three men escaped in front of him. As he ■ left the flqor, rooms 10, and 11 were in flames ; knocked at No. 13 aa he passed, and called out "Fire!" Did not see cither- Buckingham or Monckton there then. Escaped with9Ut his clothes, and helped two women who were in a fainting condition. Had been in fire brigades in Sydney. and in Christchurch, and was not at all excited. Had the fire been down the corridor witness could not have escaped in the way he did. Wm. Burrs, -night porter, re-called, said that when he went upstairs with the bucket of water, he had been called by Monckton. Did not see Buckingham then. When he got to the top of the stairs the fire was only from 5 to 10 feet off the staircase. Went upstairs just after 11 p.m., and knocked at the door of No. 12. Ross answered the knock, and the room was then in darkness. When, at the time of the outbreak, witness went to the top floor, it looked' as if the fire was coming from Rhoin 11. Wfien witness last saw Buckingham and Monckton, between- 1 and 1.30 a.m., they were talking in the bar parlour tin the ground floor. Buckingham was" smoking-, but not Monckton, unjd both were sober so far ,as witness could see. J To the Foreman- 1 — From the way the wind was blowing at the time, the names could have gone from room 11 to room 12. Wm. " Lewsey, electrician to the Ada Delroy Company, said he occupied No. 12a room on the night of the fire. (This was the' room 13 referred to by Ross). Went .bed at about 9 o'clock, but could not say what time it was when he 4 was awakened by much shouting and the breaking of glass. When he opened his dour the flames were rushing down the corridor, and were so near that they scorched his face. Could not say in which direction they were coming— did not stop ' to see. There was smoke in his xiom, but no flame. He -escaped through ' the window, smashing it with his .portmanteau. Climbed' down to a window of the lower floor, and then got on to Grady's roof, and so round the back, dropping from Grady's roof to, the back yard. ,' When he climbed out of his window, flames were coming out of No, 11 room, so far. as he thought. Could not say that there were flames coming out of the next room. Looked, but could not i find an escape-rope in his room. ' Edward Ford, member of the Ada Delroy Company, said he was in room 27, on the top floor on the night of the fire. He was awakened by the calling of Mr. Packer for his. daughter. Miss Packer slept in the next room to witness. After calling her and getting a

response, witness lan round "to call some of the members of his company. On getting round to the head of the staircase he saw Monckton and the porter. It seemed to him that room 11 and the whole passage were alight. Tb^CgStaircase did not then seem to be alight. Witness's door bore the words "Fire Escape." He rang the fire alarm, and then went back to get out the fire escape. Got out two rungs of the ladder, but the remainder of it would not come. Was photographed whilst /trying to get the escape out. / In the! meantime he saw that the staircase was catching alight, and thinMng his means of escape would be cut off, he grabbed a suit of clothes and his watch, and ran down the stairs. Arthur Inglesby, saddler, said he had been boarding in the hotel for 18 months. He occupied room 22 (top floor), and on being awakened found the flames coming along the ceiling. When he came out into the passage the flames x were right on to his room and around the head of the stairs. He ran along ihe passage aud went out by the escape window. Tms flanfes were mostly'about rdom 11. To tne foreman — Did£not know of any escape-rope being" in his ''room. Ho. knew that there was an escape from room 'M. To the Foreman — Did not know of any escape-rope being in- his room. He knew that there was an escape from room 27. " Superintendent Hugo, who is in charge of the Municipal Fire Brigade, said he received the alarm as to the fire at the Oriental Hotel at 2.12 o'clock on.Monday morning. The brigade was on fhe iscene of the fire within a minute and a half of receiving the call. Flames -were then coming out of the window 'of the top story, and also, he thought, from the roof. The middle floor .was well alight. Went through the house and round the back. There was then no one in the vicinity of the building, but a number of persons were in safety on the bank at the oack of the hotel. The brigade got three calls almost simultaneously, and another at few seconds later. The tare was seen as soon as the brigade came out of the station. There was no delay in getting the' alarm. Witness inspected the hotel about May or June of 1899, and reported to the -City Council in March following that the house was very dangerous as' a place of residence. The inspection was no part ■ of the Corporation's responsibility then. Inspected it again in 1900, and found it still in a dangerous condition. These inspections were made by witness only for his own information as a fireman. His report- upon the subject was one which wab general in its charac; ter regarding dangerous buildings. This hotel was not specified. Did not make any report to the police upon the\ subject of the Oriental Hotel. Knew that two escape ladders had since been placed in the hotel, because he saw them tested. Did not go round the rooms to see whether there were any ropes in them. 'Thought rope escapes were inadequate. Was" appointed Fire Inspector by the Corporation under the Municipal Corporations Act of last year, the appointment coming into force on the 19th September last. Mi\' Sampson Williams was appointed as his assistant. There was no Fire Inspector under the Act'so far as he knew from the coming intcf operation on 12th January until the time of the appointment. No inspection was undertaken during that period. Did not personally inspect the hotel, having personal knowledge of it already, but instructed Mr. Williams to do so on -the 2nd September, and aa a ' result of his report, witness sent a notice to the owners of the .hotel. It was a 60 days' formal notice, and was served by Mr. Williams. ,The notice was not complied witM. Could nqt say why it was not complied . with. Should read the Act to mean that after the 60 days' notice the owners were liable to a penalty of £10 per day for all the days which enaupd before it was complied with. The notice served upon the ownerk informed the owners that they were required within 60 days to provide the Oriental Hotel with a proper means of escape in case of fire — a platfortn with railings for first and second floors around the building and ladders to the ground, simi}ar to those erected upon the Occidental and Club Hotels. There were legal difficulties in the way which prevented the enforcement of the order. There" were several other hotels in town upon which similar notices' had been served; and 'in w.hich, cases compliance had not resulted. Noifa, of the necessary work had been, carried put upon the Oriental Hotel up to the, time of the v , expiration of the notice. On 13th November Mr Schwartz, the architect, cal'ed upon fitness with a number of notices served upon the same ■owners (Staples and Co.), and asked for fuller information concerning J:he work required. Witness sent «he\ Assistant Fire Inspector round with Mr. Schwartz. If the work required had been done upon, the Oriental Hotel, fair provision would have been made for escape from the building. There were some people who so entirely lost their heads at fires that they could n^t avail themselves of an' escape if it was right under their noses. To the Foreman— The Oriental' Hotel passages were very narrow. Should hate thought they were wider than 2ft 6in. The Foreman (Mr. M. V m . Cameron) said he thought no hbtel building should be allowed to be used t which had such narrow passages as the- Oriental had. The witness said' if he had the power under the Act he would insist that hoteH such as the Oriental should keep a night porter who should do nothing but patrol the .building. Sufficient notices about escapes should also be posted ..throughout the house. He would also insist upon the installation of an efficient system of electric alarm. But he had not-the power to carry out these ideas. The patent wirerope ladders used in the Oriental Hotel were not efficient for such a, building. t The staircase escapes at the back were fair. To Mr, T*. F. Martin (City Solicitor)— Was aware that during the. 12 'days from the expiry of the Inspector's notice to the time of the fire, the Corporation took legal advice as to the interpretation of the two clauses of the Act bearing upon Hotels. Tha interpretations given by the Council's advisers were conflicting, and led*to the delay complained of. Mr. Martin said the Council had no objection to making the opinions public. Mr. Myers (for the Police Department) said it was not a question ai 12 days' delay. The Council had haoT eight months in which to get the opinions. . - Mr. Martin ' said he was asked/ by the Corporation, to give an opinion* upon the subject. In sending iiis opinion he wrote by way of a concluding note— '-'Owing, however, to the gravity of the- duty expressed to be imposed upon/ the Council by section 318, I beg to recommend that one of the following courses be adopted : — (irObtain an opinion from another barrister ; (2) take a test case into Court ; or (3) send a copy of this opinion to the Licensing Committee with an intimation that the Council does not acknowledge any liability in the case of hotels." . This opinion, Which applied to the city hotels generally, and none in particular, was sent in on the 4th November. The City Council decided to take another barrister's opinion, and in getting this, further delay occurred. Mr. Martin made this explanation,, in order to show Row .the 12 days' qelay bad been occupied. Mr. Myers said Mr. . Martin's explanation did not" give a satisfactory reason for the eight months' delay in attending to the improvement of the fire escapes in' the city hotels. At 5 o'olock the inquest was 1 adjourned until 10 o'clock this morning.