Ballantyne’s Fire— Search For Entrance To Cellar Described By Brigade Officer

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 February 1948, Page 5

Ballantyne’s Fire— Search For Entrance To Cellar Described By Brigade Officer

(P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Charles Ernest Warner Stevenson, senior station officer of the Christchurch Fire Brigade, this morning continued the Fire Brigade evidence before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Ballantyne’s fire. Stevenson said that on November 18 he was squad officer for the day and in charge of No. 11 engine. After the alarm Station Officer Thompson told him there was a call to Ballantyne’s cellar. Witness suggested that one machine go via Lichfield street and one via Cashel street, so as to cover the three frontages of the building.

Stevenson added that he did not know where the cellar was. He knew the goods in the building were of a light, combustible nature. When he left the station it did not occur to him that it would be particularly dangerous. He would agree that he knew it would be a bad fire risk if a fire got a good hold.

On leaving he did not know the electric ladder was not going, said witness. He first saw smoke at the corner of Colombo and Lichfield streets in the vicinity of Ballantyne s. Smoke was issuing from the right-of-way, but he did not see any coming from the first floor. His machine was the first there. The machine carried Roberts and Salvus respirators and a supply of smoke filters. On arrival the duty of the first officer on the scene was to locate and extinguish the fire as soon as possible. Asked if there was not a duty to take immediate in.spection of the building under the circumstances Stevenson said he did not feel there was, as other appliances were coming. He was relying on the senior officers to make an inspection of the building and an appreciation of the position on their arrival. Inspection System Dropped He had inspected the building eight to 10 years ago. He thought the inspections had been continued up till about 1939, when with the war scare the E.P.S. system came into being. The scheme had not been started again, mainly because of staff shortages. As the scheme developed a system came into being for recording whether a building was a bad fire risk. He did not know whether anyone had had the duty of classifying the reports put in. Any report of an inspection of Ballantyne’s, subsequent to his, should still be there. He did not think that at the time. He would not think the fire risk at Ballantynes would be any worse than in many other establishments in that line of business. There were several in the city all dangerous risks, but they could not help it owing to the nature of their business. . Once on the scene of the fire, said Stevenson, he ordered that hose be

prepared and he went to the alley. A civilian said: “It i$ in the cellar—the cables fused.” He had no further conversation, and went up-the alley. As far as he knew no one accompanied him. He was trying to locate the entrance to the cellar because the man ha’d pointed up the alleyway. He had no preconceived idea of the location of the entrance in the alley-way. Because of the smoke he could only see eight or 10 feet up it. Exploration of Alleyway After going in 10 or 15 feet he realised respirators would be needed, so he returned to the machine and ordered a man to don the Roberts respirator. Witness procured three smoke-masks and a lamp. One fireman, Todd, also put one on. As he was pulling on his mask he saw Burrows coming to the alley. Witness and a branchman went up the alley. The smoke was very thick and visibility nil as the lamp was unable to penetrate the smoke. He left it to the branchman to feel the right wall while he went up the centre. Both were on their hands and knees. There was no civilians there. He explored the whole of the right-of-way. He had no recollection of coming up against a closed pair of double doors across the alley, but he thought he had passed them. He added that he had not given the branchman instructions to look for an entrance, but if he had come across the door he would have taken it for an entrance. He had an idea he would find an entrance at the end of the right-of-way. Witness said he continued down until he came up against a blank wall. There was no possibility of that barrier being double gates. He examined a wooden door at the end, but he did not attempt to o,pen it. He realised that there must be some opening by which the smoke was getting into the alleyway.