FIRE INQUIRIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24526, 7 February 1941, Page 6

FIRE INQUIRIES

There seems to be a certain amount of mystery about the circumstances in which a serious fire was originated on an Overseas vessel in Wellington harbour this week. It may be assumed, therefore, that an inquiry will be ordered with the object of ascertaining, as far as possible, the cause of fire. It should indeed be regarded as only necessary that this course should be taken. It is dearly desirable that any doubts that may exist concerning the origin of the fire should be removed, and that any suspicions should be set at rest, if a public investigation would produce this result. If, however, there is a sound reason for holding an inquiry into the Cause of this particular fire, there is an equally sound reason for the investigation of the causes of many other fires. There have been several fires in the Dominion in recent months of the causes of which there has been no completely satisfactory explanation. The impression that in one or two cases they may have been due to acts of sabotage cannot, in the absence of any plain evidence to the contrary, be wholly ruled out of consideration. Where there is room for any doubt on the subject there should be no hesitation on the part of the authorities in deciding that an inquiry before a magistrate is desirable. For the reason that any loss that is due to a fire is a total loss —a fact that is only ; partially obscured in the cases in which the loss is to a greater or less extent covered by insurance—it might be fairly contended that every fire should be followed by a public investigation. At a time when the nation is at war* and when there can be no- absolute certainty that enemy agents are not engaged in an effort tb interrupt, and disorganise the country's; war activities, as might be done by originating :fires in ships and in factories and other industrial establishments; it would be a wise policy that would direct that an inquiry should be held into the cause of every fire that was not demonstrably accidental.