FIRE ON LINER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24839, 12 February 1942, Page 5

FIRE ON LINER

ATTORNEY'S INVESTIGATION CARELESSNESS PROVED SABOTAGE THEORY DISCUSSED (Rec. 7 p.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 10. The New York District Attorney reported to-day that, as the result of .an all-night preliminary investigation, he placed the responsibility for the disastrous fire on the Normandie directly on the careless disposition of inflammable materials and on the acetylene torch Operators. “ whose carelessness has served the enemy with equal.effectiveness as sabotage.” The torches, he explained, were cutting through four steel stanchions in the main saloon promenade deck. Three had been cut, and the fourth was partially surrounded by a large number of burlap-covered bales, which, it was said, contained kapok-filled life preservers. These had been ordered to be removed, but actually were moved - only two or three teet. Thus a flame causing sparks to fly was used within a few feet of hundreds of bales of inflammable material. ■ -■ - The District Attorney added that two witnesses had talked vaguely of sabotage, reporting that they heard someone say, “This liner will never leave port.” ’ ' ' " . - After the Normandie capsized and was lying right over on its side in 40 feet of water, the fire flamed up, burning for a further 50 minutes. Ship to be Repaired Rear-admiral Andrews, commandant of the Third Naval District, said to-day he was confident that the Normandie would be raised and repaired. Many new stories in regard to the fire continue to be told. Outstanding is the official insistence on the impossibility of sabotage, opposed to which is evidence of an astonishing lack of precautions considering the Normandie’s importance, size and speed, . Four 'sailors, who were roused from their bunks when the ship’s loudspeaker system blared out the fire warning, said they saw little fires start, unaccountably, as they, fought their way through smoke. “In going up,” one said, “ we saw little fires, just as though someone went around with a torch and lighted them. It was like pouring gasoline on the place and then setting a match to it. Maybe it is not sabotage, but it is very funny. It hit us without warning. We were just sitting resting when—boom, it all came at once.”

Not Yet Located

Significant, too, is the fact that the man whose torch is alleged to have started the fire among life-preservers has not yet been located. French officers and sailors who formerly manned the Normandie wept openly. They were amazed that the Normandie’s magnificent fire-fighting and fire-detecting apparatus was not fully utilised. They claimed that, had they been on board, the fire would never have got out of control. Fortunately, practically all the Normandie’s luxurious fittings, and furnishings had been carted to warehouses.