Anonymous Letter On Ballantyne’s Fire

Northern Advocate, 11 March 1948, Page 6

Anonymous Letter On Ballantyne’s Fire

CHRISTCHURCH. Thu. (P.A.).— Reference to an anonymous letter received by the chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Ballantvne's fire (Sir Harold Johnston) was made by counsel for the Crown (Mr G. G. G. Watson, K.C.) when the inquiry resumed today. The letter purported to be a resume of a conversation between the writer who signed himself “True Citizen" and Mr Thomas, a silk buyer employed by Ballaptyne’s. The authorship of the letter had been traced to a man named Andrews, of L-unedin, who had admitted writing it, said Mr Watson. Andrews had had no conversation with Thomas, but had obtained his information from Mr Herbert E. Barnsley. who had conversed with Thomas about the fire, while fishing from the wharf at Timaru. ‘‘SUB STRATUM OI TRUTH” “As certain facts in the letter have some sub-stratum of truth, I propose to go over them,” said Mr Watson. He quoted Andrews as saying that “part .of the first floor had been converted into a large modern display room” with flooring of a bituminous compound. Although bituminous material had been used .to patch the wooden floor in other parts of the building, it had not been used in Congreve’s Building, said Mr Watson.

Andrews' statement that heavy power lines were being laid across the new floor were incorrect.

A point raised by Andrews which might be a material factor in explaining the quick spread of the smoke was a statement attributed to Thomas that the lift in the furnishing department was smaller than the shaft accommodating it. Trevor Ernest Thomas in evidence denied that lie had told Barnsley that lie had been badly shaken up by the fire, or that he had been sent on holiday by the firm to recuperate. FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF FIRE He might have mentioned that some parts of the budding had bituminous flooring, but did not say that ‘‘heavy power lines” were being laid across the floor. His first knowledge of the fire was smoke coming from the basement and not, as he was alleged to have told Andrews, from the “bubbling up of the composition floor at intervals of eight feet apart, followed by a' scries of blue lights. ’ Thomas said that he had told Barnsley that the lift shaft was considerably larger than the lift it accommodated. He had not mentioned that the construction of a larger, modern lift was contemplated. He did not know James Frederick Andrews of High Street, DunedinThe first witness today was Edward Benjamin McGregor Walmsley. civil engineer, employed by the Housing Department, who claimed that there was scarcely a building in Christchurch which, under suitable conditions. might not become a death-trap. ON RECORD To prevent the spread of superheated and inflammable gases-up lift shafts and staircases from the seat of a fire, these should be walled in with bricks or concrete, and self-closing fire resistant doors should be provided on all floors.

The president: This statement amounts almost to a statement by an expert on construction. We are going to get from the Crown statements from engineers and architects who will give their ideas on construction to prevent fires. Your statement will be kept and will be on record and will help us when we get to our expert evidence.”

When the next witness, Alfred George Wallace, manager of a Wellington firm dealing in fire-fighting equipment, was called, the president said:: “I think your statement might be of great assistance to us and we will receive and consider it.