FATAL CITY FIRE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8737, 20 May 1914, Page 10

FATAL CITY FIRE

INQUEST ON VICTIMS VEBICT OF “ACCIDENTALLY BURNED TO DEATH.” An inquiry into th© circumstance;, attending the death of the victims oh the fire at the Manchester Private Hotel, in the early 1 hours of Sunday morning, was held before Mr.D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., yesterday afternoon.! Two lives were lost as a result of the' fire, the victims being Susanna Ackerua.cn, a married woman, aged about! fifty-three years and separated from her husband, and an unknown man, aged about forty-five. Sergeant Kelly appeared for tha police, apd Mr J. O’Shea, city solicitor, watched the proceedings on behalf of the City Council. Harold Pinnock, the lessee of the hotel, said that the two deceased had, booked their room, No. 8 on the first! floor, about 7 o’clock on Saiturda-y| evening under the names of Mr andi Mrs Avilson. There were 'nineteen! rooms in the hotel, and on the night j of the fire there were twenty-three; people in the building. Witness retired about 12 o’clock, and was thei last to go to bed. At “that time there) were a few embers in the kitchen 1 ' range. AVhen witness was awakened) by the sound of falling glass, he open-i «d the door of hie room on the first, floor and was struck by a hot blast.; He shut the door and rushed to the) fire-escape. He had no idea as to how) the fire was caused. All the injured! people, at present in the hospital, had rooms on the first floor. FIRE-ESCAPE FACILITIES. There was a fire-escape running straight down from the top at the front of the building, and two platforms on the east aide led to another ladder at the hack. There was a-sort of an . arch, through which one had! to go to get to the’ ladder at the back. There were two doors in the arch, opening in opposite directions. There was no ladder on the east side at all. Deceased had made no inquiries on Saturday night when . they • booked their .room concerning fire-escapes.' The ladder loading- into Courtenay place stopped eight or ten feet from- the ground, but ■he had not known that part of it was tied up with a rope. To Mr O’Shea: AWtness did not know that the door leading through tho arch was tied up that night with rope. It was sometimes fixed up with cardboard because the door banged. Mr O’Shea (to tho coroner): “I am cure that the door was tied up before the fire. The superintendent of the fire brigade pointed it out to me. The fire started in the back of the building and was driven clean over by the southerly.” .

Ellen Domb, housemaid at the hotel, said that she occupied No. 6 room:on the first floor. She did not know whether deceased, who occupied the room opposite hers, had a light in their room at 11.20 or not. Sydney Beok, porter at the hotel, said he had not seen either of the deceased. He escaped through the bathroom window on to the fire-escape by means of, some pipes. \ Henry Joseph Ackermann. said ,he had identified the body of Susanna Ackermann afe that of his;-mother, who nad been living apart from her- husband for seven years. He last saw deceased on Saturday afternoon, when, she did not appear to Re. sober. He did not know where bis mother, had resided, and did not know; who the male deceased was. . • ■ ■ BOARDERS’ EVIDENCE.

Alfred James Phillips,’ of Gisborne, said that he occupied room. No. 18, third floor, on the , night, of .the fire. Not knowing the building, he escaped down some pipes on the outside of the building; „ _ , . ... Alfred Campbell Hawkins, cab-driv-er, said that he had resided at the hotel, and had made his escape down the front fire-escape. • ■ • ■ ' : Constable AVilliam Hardy said that he had discovered the fire about 3.30 on Sunday morning. He ticked at the door to alarm ; the imitates,’ , shouted out “Fire!”, and called the brigade from the Taranaki street alarm. He then assisted some people to escape down the front ladder.. The fire appeared to be coming from the hack: of the building. Sergeant Taylor gave evidence that he first saw the flames bursting out of the first floor at the back. The whole of the back eoon became. a mass of flames. The fire brigade appeared about five minutes after he had given tho-alarm. He had found the, Taranaki street alarm broken, but had pressed the button to make sure. He had seen the bodies of-the deceased hfcioio they were removed. *1 he inan was ,iy-

mg on his face and tho woman was lying on her right side, both beir.g on .•the floor. There was no outer window in the room, but there was a window looking on to the staircase. Further fire escapes would not have given deceased a possibility of saving their lives. To Mr O’Shea: The fire seemed to go right through the building as it would have gone through a lift-well. (BRIGADE TURNS OUT SMARTLY. Harry Tait, superintendent of the fire brigade, said that tho alarm was: received at 3.38 a.m. from the Tara- 1 inaki street alarm. Two machines and' (sixteen man were, immediately dispatched to the scene of the fire. After the flames were suppressed, he found the door of No. 8, in which the Ijodies ■were found, was locked. The inmates 'had evidently made no attempt to escape. He found that the front fireescape stopped about fourteen feet (from the ground. There were no ladjders from the landings on the east; the archway next to these landings, leading to the fire escape, had two doors, the outer one, leading to the firejescape, being tied up with rope. No (one could have got'in from the outside (through that door, which had no; (handles. As the two deceased had not. (tried to escape, no better fire-escapes] (would have availed them. A permanent] Ifire-esca'pe ladder could not be put up 1 ion the eastern side, as it abutted on |to private property. In witness’s opinion, the fire started;in the kitchen.

j To Mr O’Shea; The brigade left the (station under a minute from the time ■when the alarm was -given. It was at itHe snpne of the fire in less than five Iminutes. I . THE VERDICT.

. The coroner gave his verdict that the deceased were accidentally burned to jdeath, in, a fire at the Manchester PriIvate Hotel on the morning of the 17th (inst. The origin, of the fire went on the icoroner was evidently in the kitchen, ifrom the evidence of tb 3 proprietor and of Superintendent Tait. The police did all they could to assist the lodgers to escape, and the fire brigade got to ,;the scene of the fire within five minutes of..the call. They then used all! expedition in putting out the fire. Withi regard to the .fire-escapes, the' front one was tied; up, but this fact had nothing to do with the , injuries of the four, people?, who were at present in the hospital. ; The woman Higginson, whoj fell, from the balcony, was accidentally hurt through her own fright. The‘fireescapes oeemed to have been sufficient,, and it,would be inadvisable to put up another on the eastern side of the) building, which abutted on to private property. Even had there been morel fire-escapes, that fact would not have assisted the ' deceased to escape, as they had not moved from their room.