THEORY SUPPORTED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26783, 28 May 1948, Page 6

THEORY SUPPORTED

BALLANTYNE'S FIRE CAUSED BY CABLE EVIDENCE OF SPECIALIST P A CHRISTCHURCH, May 27. Evidence for three unions to the Royal Commission inquiring into Ballantyne’s fire on November 18 was finished this afternoon, and to-morrow morning Mr J. D. Hutchison will open the case for the Christchurch Fire Board and call witnesses, including the superintendent, Mr A. Morrison. After Mr A. C. Fraser, counsel for the unions, had asked that correspondence between the insurance com; panies and Ballantyne’s from 193 a should be produced, Mr E. D. Blundell, for the fire insurance underwriters, said there were more than 30 companies involved in the fire risk and a search of the records for something which was not known to be wanted was unnecessary and impracticable He added that witnesses would be called and that apart from some rebate in 1939 there had been no change in the insurances since 1934. Support for the theory that the fire was caused by an electric cable was embodied in the evidence of Forbes Finlay Gilmore, *of Wellington, a retired consulting engineer, who had specialised in fire protection. Bitumen found on the floor of the cellar, foe said, could only have come from the cable, and its presence on the floor indicated that heat had come from inside the cable—if the heat had been outside the cable the bitumen would have been volatile _ before _it reached the floor. He did not think that a cigarette had anything to do witfo the fire. Gilmore expressed the opinion that automatic sprinklers were the only suitable means of fire prevention. He said that he had been surprised to read that it would cost £25,000 to equip Ballantyne’s building with fire escapes when £BOOO would have provided a sprinkler system that would have made escapes unnecessary. “ Vested interests.” said Gilmore, “ are the reasons why we have to put up with inadequate • fire escapes. I know of some ending 40 feet above the ground, and there are numerous escapes practically useless for aged people.” ..... Firemen required special training, and “ would-be ” firemen were a hindrance to them, said Gilmore. To Mr L. Glover, for the Superintendents and Deputy Superintendents Union, he said that the public was given a false sense of security by “ dressed-up so-called firemen ” at theatres.