WAIROA FREEZING WORKS FIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 19 June 1931, Page 5

WAIROA FREEZING WORKS FIRE

CONTESTED INSURANCE 1 CLAIM

(By Telegraph—Press Association)

GISBORNE, This Day. In tire Wairoa freezing works iiisuiy: ance case, William Dfewitt, engineer,to the Power Board, stated that iiistru--,, ments he secured from the fire .showed"' by graphs of electrical energy consumed that the buildings were in such a condi; ,; tion that they were holding their tem--> poratures. •' - llis Honour: “Were a short in system , [Sufficient to cause fire, would that bo - shown?” • ' \ [,•}

Witness: “If it was an arcing, short sufficient to create danger of fire it would be recorded on the graph,” witness continued.- • < v

There was a normal consumption of current before and after- 'the' ’quake. There could have been no; abnormal ingress of outside atmosphere otherwise it would have taken longer to obtain the desired temperature. 1 y . Cross-examined, witness said'the system of wiring had been a poor one but was improved before the ’quake and would have passed the Underwriters’ Association. The wires in the chamber were not in tubes, only the entrance wires, the sole insulation being a-coyer of rubber and braiding. These wires were fairly tightly stretched. If further stretched they might diminish in diameter or break. Tho recording instruments would tell tho defects in the, system. He had not been in C store for four years and could not speak positively as to the condition of the wiring after tho ’quake.

Witness said he could not suggest any, source of fire, apart- from human intervention, other than the electrical installation.

His Honour: “Rats don’t like fre,ez- Q ing works. I take it rats are wetting unfashionable as far as fires are con- o corned.” * . % Witness added that fires of electrical origin were most uncommon. Asked whether, if Waikaremoana were put out of action, could power A have been obtained, witness said there. ■ were duplicate lines, and lie could not conceive of any contingency under which > consumers on this line could not have been supplied within twelve hours. James Brownlie, sheepfanner, who ( - had meat, in tbe works, deposed that be - *• inspected the works after the ’quake and came to the conclusion that they , < were quite safe, the damage being.- » slight. " ' % John Wilson Kane, superintendent of « the Gisborne Fire Brigade, reviewing' ' ■ the. sectional plan of the uninsulated c, •-) walls at the Wairoa works, stated that ' * a fire would not bo readily extinguished 4 oik'o it had n good hold. If a hole was burnt through tho floor and draught t was getting into tbe building the fire would obtain a good hold. To fight a r fire of that nature a pressure of lOOlbs,' ; *; with four to six leads, would be .nenes- r sarv. When a fire was well away there „ would be nothing gained by going on * the roof. "" - »