THE lONIC FIRE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 122, 23 May 1908, Page 5

THE lONIC FIRE.

OPENING -OF THE ENQUIRY

A .SPARK THEORY.

THE- CAPTAIN'S EVIDENCE

Dr.! M'Arthur held an enquiry into the recent firo on the White Star steam-

er lonic at the S.M. Court to-day. There

were with him as assessors Captain Blackburne, and Mr. W. G. Foster. Mr. M. Myers appeared for the Marine Departme/nt and Mr. A. Gray for the owners. Captain J. 0. Carter, master' of the lonlt, was the first witness called, and aPjer answering formal questions, said , ■hi, did not know if the hull of the ship Vas insured. He received a report that the chip was on firo at x 11.30 a.m. qn I Wednesday. He was ashore at the time. When he returned to the ship he found that tho fire had broken out in No. 1 hold. The second officer was in charge of the ship, and had battened down the hatches. Chemical engines and steam were used to prevent the fire from spreading. It was decided to keep these engines going until next morning, and if conditions were favourable then to lift the hatches and ascertain how the fife was. On Thursday morning it became necessary to flood the hold". When the fire was extinguished the water was ' pumped out of the hold. The ship was not materially damaged — not such as to affect her seagoing qualities. She had, however, unquestionably been, damaged. A couple of deck plates buckled, and a beam slightly buckled. The wooden decks overlaying- those of Steel 'were charred undearneath. The fire broke out on the starboard aide of the No. |V 1| 'tween decks. The fire originated in some Way among the flax. This/ was. quite clear, and the flax that was turned was puji into the 'hold on 29th April. This part of the sKip was" not always usVd < for cargo, but sometimes for, passenger !, accommodation ' A THEORETICAL CAUSE. ' Mr. Myers then elicited the statement that there were electric wires connected * with the ship's lighting installation in the part of the 'hold where the. fire broke I out. , \ Mr. Myers: H^ve you formed any. opinion as to the orogin of the fire? Captain Carter : Well, eliminating ths j theory of spontaneous combustion, I I can only suggest that as there werp two •or three bales o* flax with steei bands round them, some of r these bands might have burst and thrown a spark upon Borne particularly favourable portion of the flax. I have seen that happen with cotton in the North Atlantic trade. Tbje bands have burst and have thrown Vl". spark, but I have not seen cotton ignited • by these sparks. . . '.

NO SMOKING DONE.

Witness said it was quite possible^ that wax matches were introduced into ships' holds. Tho men who worked, ia s • the holds were not searched, butf smok- > ing did riot go on in, the' holds, he was quite satisfied as to thatj smoking - neither by the stevedore' men nor members of the ship's company. Replying to Capfc.* Blackburne, wit-_ ness said the ventilators^ were about. 25 feet from the seat of thej fire. The electric current was cut off from the "bold Where the fire broke out. The switches ' were out, as a matter of fact. ' Capt. Blackburne observed that he saw men smoking on the deck of the lonic, " near the hold ; when they saw him they moved away. ' .Capt. Carter did not deny this; but; the hold was full of. water at the tima, f.and the , men were "shore men" probably. As for searching men "' before they were allowed to enter the holds, lhat was a matter for Capt. Evans, the , shore superintendent? but so far- as witness understood there was no power to search men. ■ » * .

. James Murray, electrician on the lonic, described the "wiring" of the portion of the ship where the fire broke out. The circSit was only\ used when passengers were /carried in this part of the ship. There was no current on • when the fire' broke out., It had 'been ' long cut off, the fuse being out. No current could possibly have got into • the hold. The cunent had v been cut ' off severi months before.

To Mr. Foster, witness said he was positive that ,the fuses in this portion i of the were out.

THE QUESTION OF MATCHES.

John Arnold Holland, 2nd officer of ; the lonic, estimated that there were i sixty bales of flax loaded on the star- , , board side No. 1 'tween decks, and they / were loaded on 28th April. The flax was consigned from Foxton, but could not say who were the consignors, nor 'what, thq brands. Tho flax was stacked in two tiers. There were eight bales of . wool in this part of the hold ; but the ,"' wool did not catch fire. Witness added that he .was having a last look at the i hold, just before ordering the hatches to be put on, when he noticed smoke [ curling over from behind the bales of flax stowod on the starboard side of the 'tween decks, well towards the forward ! end of vhe vessel. Deferring to 7 the > bands on the flax, witness said he no- ' ticed that rtwo of the wire bands around bales were Tirokou. It would not have ' been possible for anyone to have .got th 9 bales or between ilhera and t the skin of the ship. There was not one bale that was entirely burned. The . lonic had had no tad weather after leaving Wellington on 29th April. As for the men working in the hold, they were supposed "to hand over their matches to the foreman before going • down into the hold,and this was done. He had never seen matches in tlie hold.' - A WHITE STAR RULE. To Mr. Gray witness said it had been a White Star regulation, ever since he ' had been in the company'^at any rate, that no matches were to be taken -intc< „ the hold, and notices wero posted up to that effect. Witness had never .' known of smoking in the. holds. No ' smoking was permitted about the holds when the hatches were off. Replying to Mr. Foster, witness said he could not j say that any one could not have thrown his coat down and so havedistributed matches/ that might have been iiu'tho pockets.. As a rule, the ~ men worked in their coats. There was ; a penalty^fpr not handing matches over to the foreman. Mr. Foster : Can" you enforce a penalty? >

Witness : Oh, yes. Dr. M'Arthur : You. might cause a strike.

Witness said ho was confident that the electrification of the" ship had nothing % to do with the cause of fire. THE MATCHES QUESTION. Witness, in answer to Dr. M'Arthur, said when the men were going down into th.c hold, ,they were asked to sive. up their matches ; "but," he added, "in no case have I known men' give up matches." The men were down in the hold about an hour.

v ?}■ .JCArUiur : Were you down the hold all the time- the meu were there? Witness"; Not all the time. Was anyone responsible down there? —Yes; Mr. Archer. Was there any sign of fire. When those men went on deck* There was not. Mr. Myers at this stage said the rest of the evidence would be short, and ha suggested that the enquiry should ba adjourned to Friday next at 10 a.m.