Accidents & Offences

New Zealand Mail, Issue 869, 26 October 1888, Page 24

Accidents & Offences

THE SUNNYSIDE ASYLUM FIRE.

(PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Christchurch,- October 18. Fire Inspector Harris says—“ Some years ago I visited the Asylum with Colonel Lean for the purpose of inspecting the buildings from a fire prevention standpoint. _ A number of very serious defects were pointed out. In the roof there are a series of tanks which lead to the various wards, but the pipes are exceedingly small, so that when a hose was attached there was no pressure.” Another informant Btates that the pipes were one inoh in diameter and the hose two inches, so that the water came in nothing better than a dribble. “Again,” continued Mr Harris, “ there was the construction of the roof. The female ward is from 200ffc to 300 ft long. The shape of the roof is that, of an inverted V. In the building the separating walls are oarried up at intervals from the ground to the attic, but terminate at a distance from the apex of the roof, so as to resemble the upper portion of the letter A. This formed an enormous fire flue from end to end of the building. This was our trouble, and to deal with it we had to cut apertures through the iron roof, and the men of the Brigade, under extreme difficulty, directed the nozzles of their hose through these openings. Finding that the fire was gaining on ua, we at last cut openings upward through oue of the ceilings, and the men were plucky enough to go through into the open part of the roof, and deal with the fire from there. Man after man had to drop away from the position, the heat and smoke being intolerable. To give you an idea of the pluck shown, a man who was perched up there with the branch sang out to rae, “It is impossible for me to stand this without something over my face.” I managed to pass up to him a handkerchief, and after he had fastened this over his mouth and nostrils, be went on with his work for an almost incredible time. As a further illustration of the defective construction of the building, I may point out that a window and door at the end of the long corridor of the building communicated directly with the central hall, so that there was absolutely complete fire communicatioa the whole way.”