FIRE INQUIRY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26704, 25 February 1948, Page 6

FIRE INQUIRY

BRIGADE OPERATIONS OFFICER’S DESCRIPTION CROSS-EXAMINED IN DETAIL P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 24. James Thomas Burrows, third officer of the Christchurch Fire Brigade, who was in charge of the early operations, continuing his evidence at the Royal Commission's inquiry into Ballantyne’s fire to-day, said that after the rescue of Ken Ballantyne he ordered the use of more hoses in Cashel street. He also ordered pumping units to be cut in to give individual control of each hose. Water was directed from the top of the electric ladder to the roof of the building. He directed other brigade activities and remained at the scene until 9.45 p.m. Movements of Girls Replying to Mr Watson, for the Crown, Burrows said that if the girls had stayed at the millinery windows for a few more minutes the electric ladder could have been used to rescue them. Because of the presence of electric cables he did not think the ladder could have been brought to bear on the second floor windows to rescue the girls in the credit office. An officer, a driver and three men would have been necessary to manipulate the ladder, but only an officer and the driver were with it. Burrows said that in his opinion the electric ladder was not an efficient rescue unit. It was simply a movable platform for directing water on to burning buildings. Asked by Mr Watson if he thought the Christchurch Fire Brigade hiad adequate ladder facilities for rescue purposes, Burrows said the brigade could do with lighter ladders with hooks and a tender for carrying different sizes of ladders. He had no suggestions to offer regarding additional equipment. There were six men and one junior officer who should have been available for any rescue work in Congreve’s building, Burrows told Mr Watson. This should have been sufficient. In a grave emergency drivers could be taken from their machines, and Burrows said he was including three drivers in his figure of six men. In the event of a cellar fire there was a responsibility to consider the possibility of the fire spreading, and in view of this it was the duty oi some officer of the brigade to survey the adjacent buildings. Burrows agreed that an investigation would have revealed factors which would have indicated that deliveries should have been put into the ground and first floors of Goodman’s building to try to surround the fire. By the time, however, that such a survey and deliveries had been made it would have been too late because of the speed with which the fire was spreading. Responsibility for Evacuation

Burrows said that in his opinion there was no duty on the brigade to order the evacuation of people, especially on the upper floors, during the first 10 minutes after arrival. The; responsibility during that period was on the heads of the firm although there was some obligation on the brigade to warn occupants to get out. “To what do you attribute the fact that a cellar fire became a major conflagration after the arrival of the brigade,” asked Mr Watson. “There were several factors,” said Burrows. “The fire had been going some time before the brigade was notified, and the firemen could have been taken into the building by a much easier route than the one they were actually shown. Mr Thomas, for the underwriters: You realise you were the experts and Ballantyne’s not experts in fires?—That would be so.

“As part of your duty under the Act is to save lives, was not there a clear duty upon you to give any warning, if necessary, to Ballantyne’s to clear their premises? ” —lf necessary. “ Did you take any steps when you first came out of Congreve's right-of-way and saw that the ladder had not arrived to have the electric ladder sent for immediately?—No. > “Did you make any inquiries of Roger Ballantyne as to access to the cellars or whether the cellars were inter-connected? —No. “When you put out the brigade call, did you notify anybody in Ballantyne’s that they would have to evacuate?—No.

Don’t, you think a duty was on you. as an experienced fireman, to notify them? —It was too late to go and inform anybody. Everybody knew we had a major fire on our hands. Was it too late to make a full evacuation?—l presumed the building had been evacuated by that time. Length of Ladders If the guttering of a veranda were solid enough, it should provide a good footing for a ladder, said Burrows after studying photographs. He did not know of a better-built veranda in Christchurch. Mr Thomas: According to the architects the height from the gutter line of the veranda on Pratt’s building to the windows on the second floor is 21ft 3in. Had you ladders available that would have reached from the gutter line to the window?—-Yes. The measurement from the gutter line of Goodman’s building to the window on the third floor was 34ft. Had you ladders that would reach that height?—No. They were not carried on appliances. But if a ladder were used from the ridge of the veranda you would have a ladder that would reach 28ft?—Yes.

You know now that if the barest investigation had been made of the opening through to Congreve’s building the ground floor must have been found? —It would have been found.

If that opening had been found it would have been a perfectly simple thing to find the hottest spot and put a hole through to the cellar?--That would be the case.

If there were a hole through to the cellar, and you could have put your spray through, the probabilities are that it would have remained a cellar fire?—Yes.

Answering Mr Lascelles, for the City Council, Burrows agreed that when smoke was coming from the right-of-way, and when an alternative access had not been found, evacuation was called for, Burrows said the brigade's electric ladder was of the same type as that at Wellington. Auckland’s was older and Dunedin’s newer. Mr E. D. Blundell (for the fire underwriters): If the first call had been a brigade call and had been acted upon as promptly as the general call was, do you still think you could not have prevented the spread of the fire? —I do not think we 'could have located the fire in time to save the building. Have you ever had a fire which developed as rapidly as this one did? — Never.

Mr Watson, re-examining: You said the fire had achieved the stage that Ballantyne’s building was doomed when you got there?—That is my opinion. You say the whole building was doomed?—l would not say the whole building. It was on the way. “ But if that were so, you must have taken immediate steps to rescue people?” suggested the chairman. Witness said he had since formed that opinion.