FIRE ESCAPES

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 108, 8 May 1923, Page 8

FIRE ESCAPES

AT GIRLS' HOSTEL FIRE.

Some suggestion at the inquest concerning the victim of the Girls' Hostel fire was responsible for tho Coroner (Mr. Hunt, S.M.) calling before him this morning Superintendent Tait, of the Wellington Fire Brigade. Tho Coroner stated that it had been represented to the Court that the fire escapes were not what they were stated to be at the inquest. He said the superintendent had stated that he had inspected the fire esscapes, and found that everything was in order, and that the only thing the girl had to do was to open the window and walk out. He (the Coroner) had taken this as correct, but to his surprise it had been represented to him that there were no fire escapes in the vicinity of the room as was stated by the superintendent. He wanted to know what exactly was the position of the fire escape outside tha window.

Mr. Tait said that outside the window, and within a foot of the level of the win-dow-sill, there was a plank about a foot wide, to which was attached, on the outside, a hand-rail. It was an easy window to get out of, and at the time of the fire was about six inches open, as were all the windows on that floor.

His Worship (to Senior-Sergeant O'Hara): "Do you hear that? It is absolutely contrary to the evidence we had last evening." Mr. Tait said it would not require anyone with nerve to go out on this particular fire escape. The indications were that the girl did not try the window. His Worship: "No. It appears that she tried the door and met a blast of\ smoke that suffocated her. That clears the matter up."