INQUIRY INTO FIRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21572, 17 August 1933, Page 10

INQUIRY INTO FIRE

BUILDING AT TE KOPURU CAUSE NOT ASCERTAINED [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] DARGAVILLE. Wednesday A coroner's inquiry, the first of the kind hold in the district, was conducted by the district coroner, Mr. J. A. McLean, at Dargaville yesterday into the circumstances of a fire which destroyed a largo boat building shed at tho waterfront at To Kopuru on March 11 last. The building was owned by William Robert Rope and was leased to Edwin George Warmington, boat builder. Mr. T. C. Webb represented tho owner; Mr. Astley, a mortgagee; and Mr. C. E. Hankins, tho Northern Insurance Company, Limited. Sergeant Dunford appeared for the police. Tho building was valued at £9OO and was insured with the contents for £6OO with tho Northern Insurance Company. It was leased at £75 a year.

Lengthy evidence was given by tho lessee, tho owner; Georgo Andrew Martin, who discovered tho fire; Vernon Wordsworth, who was early on the scene; Basil Vernon Rope, formerly a partner with his two brothers in the building; Charles Edward Hankins, insurance adjuster; and Sergeant Dunford. Nono of tho witnesses was able to throw any light on tho direct cause of the fire. At the conclusion of evidence Mr. thanked Sergeant Dutiford for the fair and impartial manner in which he had presented the caso. It was clear, counsel 6aid, that the inquiry had not revealed any suspicious circumstances relating to tho parties who had appeared at the hearing. In cases of death inquiries were a usual procedure and as such were not regarded by the public with more than the usual degree of interest. However, inquests into tho cause of fires wero comparatively rare and consequently tho public might be prone to attach to them false significance. Several coronial inquiries into tires had been held recently and it was probablo that such inquiries would be inoro usual in futuro.

Mr. Astley commented that as until recently coronial inquiries into fires had been rare it should bo known generally that the underwriters and the Justice Department now had agreed that such inquests should bo held in cases where the causo of a fire was unexplained. in his written verdict delivered later the coroner said there was nothing in the evidence to indicate that any of tbe witnesses were implicated in any way. Tho coroner added that there had been evidence to show that strangers had access to tho building and it was possible that tho fire had been duo to carelessness on jjieir part.