FATAL EIRE. THE OUTBREAK AT FEILDING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 84, 6 October 1909, Page 3

FATAL EIRE. THE OUTBREAK AT FEILDING.

FIREMAN WILLIAMSON'S ' DEATH. AN INQUEST. t tßt TELEGRAPH — SPECIAL TO THE POST.] FEILDING, This Day. Mr. Edmund Goodbehere, who was recently appointed coroner for Feilding, held his first inquest yesterday afternoon regarding tho death of Fireman Williamson. A jury of six leading business men formed the jury, Mr. Sandiiands represented Mrs. Hastie (owner of the hotel), Mr. M'lntyre the deceased's relatives, and Sergeant Bowden the police. Alfred Eade gave evidence to the effect that the fireman were endeavouring to get close to the seat of the fire. A lead of hose was taken upstairs, and Fireman Williamson held the nozzle. He was standing on tho landing at the head of the stair?, with several other firemen, and playing on the fire rightabove his head. Mr. Eade, who is a life-member of the brigade, went up to the men and warned them of the danger. Ho stated that he had ascended the stairs and saw the firemen atanding on the landing with the burning ceiling right above their heads. He warned them that they were in a dangerous po?ition, and begged them to leave. A couple of the firemen were ordered away to another part the building, and left Williamson with the nozzle. Superintendent Saywell had just left him and was descending the stairs when crash came a quantity of bricks and debris through the ceiling. It fell right on the unfortunate man, completely burying him. Witness was standing only a few feet t away. He tried to pull a sheet of iron off him, but the weight of the bricks was too much. Superintendent Saywell and others immediately came to the rescue, and tho man was got out. He never moved, and when the doctor saw him he pronounced life to be extinct. Cross-examined, Mr. Eade said it was dangerous for any fireman to work right under a blazing roof. Superintendent Saywell said he had ordered a lead of hose up the front stairs to get at the fire in the ceiling. Ho was there himself part of the time, and there was no apparent danger from the ceiling — only bits of plaster falling. He was just leaving Williamson when the latter took a step forward, and all at once the chimney fell through the roof right on the spot where he was standing. It was impossible to see there was any danger of the chimney .. collapsing like that, and no reason could be assigned for it, exceot that it ' may have been defective. It seemed that as soon as the ceiling was burnt through the chimney fell down. He had told deceased to continuo working where he was, thinking that the best point. On the application of the police, the inquest was* adjourned for a -"reek. THE LATE FIREMAN. The absorbing subject yesterday was the fire. Fireman Williamson had grown up in the town, and was educated at the hic;h school. His father, a noted - maker of violins, is now a resident of Wellington. The deceased was married just twelve months ago to-day. REPORT UPON BRIGADES WORK. Mr. H. Grave, of the National Insurance Company, who is on a special mission investigating the cauoe of the frequent fires in New Zealand, completed his visit to Feilding yesterday. He saw the fire at Hastie's Hotel, and it is understood that he has furnished a report upon the brigade's work to the Wellington office. He declined to be drawn on the subject yesterday morning. ________________