TIMBER MILL FIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22609, 28 June 1935, Page 10

TIMBER MILL FIRE

INQUIRY INTO CAUSE EVIDENCE BY RAILWAY OFFICIALS (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 22. Evidence on behalf of the Railways Department concerning the fire which destroyed the buildings and plant of the Morningside Timber Company, Ltd., on December 1 was given at the inquiry into the outbreak when it was resumed to-day. The proceedings are being held at the instance of the Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board, on behalf of which evidence has been called indicating that the outbreak was caused by a spark from a passing locomotive. W. L. Wilson, superintendent of the Metropolitan Fire "Brigades, produced a report showing that from November 1, 1934, until January 31, 1P35, 20 fires had occurred near railway lines, for which no cause could be given. Of these 13 had been outbreaks in grass. Stating that he would call expert evidence on various aspects involved, Mr Meredith (for the Railways Department) emphasised that when a grass fire occurred near a railway line following the passing of an engine it was a natural assumption that the engine had caused the outbreak. This, however, could easily be a totally wrong conclusion. It was an accepted engineering fact that the spark risk could not be removed entirely, and it was purely a question of eliminating the risk as much as possible. Referring to the outbreak at the mill, Mr Meredith claimed that there was a definite possibility of someone dropping a cigarette butt on the property. Percy Angus, locomotive superintendent for the Railways Department, said that £41,000 had been expended in rbe last few years in experimenting with spark arresters and fitting them to engines. Exhaustive teste had been made by the Railways Department, and a new device, known as the Waikato arrester, had been evolved. The engine which passed the mill before the outbreak wast equipped with the grid arrester type used in other parts of the world. The hearing was adjourned.