THE FATALITY AT THE BRICKWORKS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 6 February 1907, Page 3

THE FATALITY AT THE BRICKWORKS.

. /.-, ... . „ THE INQUEST. The inquest on the body of the late Alexander Lonsdale Boldero, who was killed at,, fife Sehon Brick, Tile, and Pottery Co.'s works oil Tutii'Stlay last, was resumed this afternoon, before Mr E. Trask (Acting Coroner), and the following jury:— Messrs F. W. Fairey, (foreman), VV. R Anjell, J. Kershaw, & T £.%!fl' & f- Bftmmond, an<3 T. vv. Uiridslia«^ . . .< , : .. i i^l *£ ?; Haves appeared off beli'alf of the-Bncfc ancl Pottery Company; Mr is- Fell on behalf of the Ocea Accident Insurance Company; and Mr A. T. Maginnitv 'on behalf of the widow of the (Jvtlsfedi i .- ;.,,;. . Sergeant- Dougan cOndiictga the inquest, and first called Isaac Taylor, labourer, who said he was working on the second floor of the brickworks on Thursday last, the deceased being on the same floor. Deceased Went to the uppsr floor about 3 6. clock in the afternoon, and helped witness to i teed rollers aiid. brake the trucks do-vii. APout ,half r past three he heard a smash and lookina found he saw deceased on the opposite side to which he should have been, with his head and back lying across the shaft of the brake. Witness had never worked the brake. To Mr Maginnity : He knew nothing about machinery. He had been working on the same floor in the morning. The fireman was braking a truck down and Witness saw . him lying, on the left o tlie brake; Tfiat would be about 10.30 The fireman was. strijck 6ri. the righl arfrl,, the rigflt Mdeatia.tße right cheek. He did not know: what -caused the ac-dent-.in the morning. After the. accident in. the ; morning,, the brake was fixed "P -Jgajn; by Mi Ward and oiie or two of-jthe labourers. ,To Mr Hayes: The. truck,, when the accident- occurred, was not travelling faster than usual. He did not know whether deceased knew of the accident in the morning. To the Coroner : The deceased was Heap, when witness .got to; him. He was frorkfdg. abSiut 9ft from the deceased at thr time of -the accident. To the Jury : There was not, to his knowledge, much vibration from the machinery. Dr S. A. Gibbs deposed that when he went to the scene of the accident he foud a man lying on the floor in the brake room. The man was dead. His right forearm %vas broken in two or three places. There was a severe bruise over the right side of the chest, a fracture of the ribs, and a broken"collar bone on the same side. There was a deep wound on the neck under the right jaW. Tho jaw and the bones of the right Side of the face were broken. There iyas a dislocation of the neck, and evidence p| a.fractqi-.e .at the base of the

fjilijj. Death wotfid be' absolutely initahtarieoui... , , „E dward . Haase, carpenter, depose- 1 tjiai, on instruction's from tlje. Police he Ija-j^,. prepared plans (.produced) of. the room tri wlifc/t the accident occurred, and of .the- machinery tiiej-euf. A &*iri Should have been able to brake from 8 to 12 tons at the works. He did- hot think the lever post was securely fastened. Four 4-inch nails went fully into the joist, .qpe nail went partly into the floor aiid partly Iftto tlie; joistj and two nails went into the floor ffrft*.' - The nails had not been driven in in a workmanlike way. A steady puii, even with one nail, would have drawn four or five tons. He would have bolted the lever post with two f joints. To Mr Maginnity : The lower part of the grade on the tramway would be aobiit b&e. in six. The Weight of a truc'it ioaded with cUy would, he Would say, be.aßblit.B or 9 cjrt. If, the deceased put the brake Hard, do^-n there would be a, great strain on the lever post, arid all the gear connected with tfie .brake. r r the brake was phi bijl gradually to regulate- the speed of the truck very little .weight or strain would be on the brake wheel or any other part.. , The deceased's . duty, was to Ifradually take the strain when the truck got on the incline. The. -weakest part of .the brake .was at- the Jb'oE? torn -of the le^er post, .though the post itself was- large enough to carry . any strain, and iron plates were not necessary to strengthen it. The result of the weakness of the fixing of the lever upright to the joist when an extraordinary strain was put on would cause the brake wheel to carry the brake band, including the post, from the rflar to .the, 1 font. If ft Biah wa§ leaning oyer the brake lever rhe woud.be carried over with it. If a man had only his hand on the lever the hand would be knocked off. The brake should be work with the man standing clear of it. Not-withstanding a -sudden prtSSsHrg coming oh to the- drum, witness was of opinion that if the lever upright had been fastened to the joists. by,.the two bolts placed diagonally the woodwork would not have been carried away. . To Mr Hayes : It was not necessary for the man to lean over on to the brake to stop a truck, or to put the brake hord down. The lever joist was fastened strongly enough to resist any ordinary pressure or to stop a full truck coming down the incline. To Jury : He would not have preferred irou to wood in erecting the lever post, but he would have secured the post differently. The Anchor Foundry fixed up tho machinery at the works. The man at the brake could see the truck coming down the incline without leaning on to the brake. (Left Sitting.)