GAS POISONING

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 27 May 1915, Page 8

GAS POISONING

INQUEST CONOE^Nmd WELLINGt TpN;;^AI'ALITIES, i J BT/'dBLBOttAPH^paESS; ASSOCIATION. • ' WULtJLNGION, May 26. . The inquest arising out of the deaths of nve.peisons by gas poisoning on the ot April last- was resumed before the Coroner (Mr. W. G. Riddeil, S M.) to-day:

"< Archibald' Dougall, -engineer to the Wellington Gas Co. for the past five years, said that the occurrence' forming the subject of the enquiry "was solejy attributable to the defect in the Onepu road governor. There was absolutely nothing wrong elsewhere. The pr<essure of 38in. to 40ifl. was imoual at that time of night 19 p.ia., 20th April), but at the same cime, le'ymg on the governors, he would have had no hesitation in increasing the pressures by from 38in. to 40in. had "he been on duty. To Mr Peacock: There were approxi-< mately 14,000 consumers of j>;as in Wellington. The day after the gocidsnt, between 600 and 700 ronplai its^ of meters going wrong were received. They chiefly came from Jlnxburah street, on the Mount Victoria side, across Te Aro flat from Thorndon and Tinalcori road. The governors w^re all inspected a fortnight prior to the accident. \ .

Samuel Thomas Reid, v; eiueer in ' charge at the Miramar works, pn c evidence regarding the increase, of pressure on the night of April 29tb in response to a rail for more p.as. Jle said that, he had used his ovu jtnl'iti'ent witii regard, to - the pressure, and,- had not considered jbhat (here was any clanger.. - , , A'hort Ford, . consnJhipqr en^ne*"-, said T"* was in a wav cnnwto<f with the Wellington Gas Co. At the reoT°f?t of the comcf^v h** had made an i^d^ne^e^t investigation as to the musm r>c +he incident on the night of .Anfil 29th He hi»'l s^ent' abo'itthree weeks 0 11 the work. He had found no defect whatever in tT>e works ibe'vs^lve*?. The accident had been due to the faulty working of the Onetm road croverno". which b*r\ vro^erl, verier test, to '">** nn>e "nre Ti°hln. The vitness de■o«ih»d his investigations' in d"toil to +T»*» Cor.one*1. T+, was im" mi.il to t°st the p-otroT-norn before inR +9lU"i>m Tt \rf><s n"iv>»psed ns a standard article and so I* a^f'in m th^ sp^e way. To Mr TV>"ock:Tf the mvprn/*!* had oon all risM »'r>fessnrp of 60 i^rhes at T^ira^pr. Tir^nlcl nTrle no difference Thft,n"OQ AAiryorv ~o.f: qi T>nT"3n.ol n^ess"^e •»+. av ?»t time did- not enter into the r"" A*er. ' The inquest was adjourned till Fri-' day.