THE SCAFFOLDING ACCIDENT

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 33, 9 February 1922, Page 9

THE SCAFFOLDING ACCIDENT

INQUEST AT AUCKLAND

FORMAL VERDICT.

(BY TEIBSRAPH—-PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

AUCKLAND, 3th February.

The inquest in relation to the deaths of the four painters (Charles Courtney, Donald Campbell, Walter Moore, and George Jones), who were killed at En-' dean's Buildings on Ist February through the collapse of a iscaffolding bearer beam, was concluded to-day. George Burrows gave evidence that the three beams on which planks were j laid were 6in x 4in Oregon, placed on the flat, as the foreman, Charles Courtney (one of the deceased), said this would obviate'the danger of rolling. Witness assisted to erect the scaffolding. An inspector came in and talked to the foreman, but witness did not hear the conversation, though he gathered it was about the scaffolding. After dinner the foremait said; "All right. The scaffold has been passed. We will go to work on it." Witness said that Ken Taylor, one of the firm's principals, visited the job aftei the bearer beams had been placed in position. When the scaffolding had bean completed the men were given other work pending the arrival of the inspector. Witness, with others, handled the beam which collapsed, and saw nothing wrong, j neither did he hear the others make any I comment. Trestles were placed on the ' platform after the inspector left, but at the'time of his visit they were.standing by ready for use. '• Harry Otley gave "similar evidence. ' He did not hear the conversation with the inspector, but heard him say on leaving: "Yes, all right." Hugh Gresham, inspector of scaffolding, stated that he told the foreman to put the 6x4 beams on edge, to put in another, and place supports under the beams near the handrails. The beams were then on the flat. A swinging stage wbs irt position. Nothing was said about trestles, and he did not know it^was intended to use them. He instructed the foreman to place the fourth beam between the beam that broke and the beam which was not used The planks were not long enough to cross three beams, and he thought that with a fourth beam the planks would be placed across them all. The foreman agreed to comply with his instructions, but from a subsequent inspection he was satisfied that this had not been done. He did not give the foreman permission to use the scaffold on carrying out his instructions. He could see knot marks and also some bolt holes in the beams. Witness thought the foreman, when he was leaving, asked if he would inspect. He replied: "Yes, all right." This was not in reply to a question by the foreman whether he could go on with the work. He had not passed the scaffold, and could not say why the foreman had told the men it had been passed.. For some considerable time he had not issued certiScatea under clause 3 of the regulations. George Henry Lightfoot, officer-in-charge of the local office of the Labour Department, expressed the opinion that the broken beam had been placed weak side down, and that fE would not have broken if placed on edge. Police Sergeant Hawke stated that he had called on the inspector the' day after the accident. The latter said he had passed the scaffolding. The inspector said the gear consisted of six 9x2 planks, two trestles, and one swinging stage. He made no comment about the foreman not carrying out his instructions. Mr. Lightfoot explained that Mr. Greeham had forwarded a report \to the Minister prior to the sergeant's visit, in which he stated that he had not passed the scaffolding pending certain alterations. -The Coroner returned a formal verdict that the deaths were due to a fall from a scaffold due to the breaking of a_ beam which was obviously not of sufficient strength for the purpose and had not been tested. He added that he regretted that there had been a' misunderstanding between the inspector and the sergeant as to whether the scaffold had been passed. It was unfortunate that following the acoident the inspector ap-peared-to have said nothing about his instructions not being followed, and he appeared to have miide some remark suggesting to the survivors that the scaffold had been passed.