CLAIM FOR £77,850

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17498, 19 June 1931, Page 8

CLAIM FOR £77,850

INSURANCE ON WORKS PLAINTIFFS’ ,CASE CONTINUED Little fresh light was thrown on.the circumstances of the destruction by fire of the Wairoa freezing works on February 5 by witnesses called in the Supreme Court before His Honor, Mr. Justice Blair during the early part of this afternoon, the evidence being tendered mainly in corroboration of the testimony of earlier witnesses.

John Wilson Kane, superintendent of the Gisborne Fire Brigade, a brigadesman with 21 years’ experience, reviewing a sectional plan of the insulated walls of the Wairoa freezing works, stated that a fire in a large building with such walls was not the type that was readily extinguished once it had a good hold. It was very difficult to deal with. If a hole was burnt through the floor and a draught was getting into the building, lire would obtain a good hold in half an liour. The opening of a door after the lire obtained a good hold would fan the lire very rapidly, and it would be almost impossible to get men into the building. If the door at the side was open, a hole burnt in the floor, and the firemen could not get inside, the possibilities of extinguishing the fire even with high pressure hoses would be very little. To light a lire of that nature mains with a pressure of lOOlbs, and giving four to six leads would be necessary. A pressure of lOOlbs on a lin nozzle would give a jet of 50f,t to 70ft. Having obtained a good hold, with the wind behind it, the fire would run through the building very rapidly. The firemen would be hampered by the smoke in ascertaining how far the lire had run. Once the skins started to warp with the heat of the fire and the pumice ran out the fire would run very rapidly, the emptied walls acting at a flue. With a jet of 20ft to 30ft, once the' lire was well away there was nothing to be gained* by going on to the roof with a building of this description. When the fire was well away it would not be possible to do that. Mr. H. P. Richmond: You don’t know anything of the facts of this lire f

Witness: I wasn’t there. The man on the spot, Mr. Byford, knew a little better than you?—Yes. If Mr. Byford says that lie nearly put it out with a pressure that would not, reach 10ft. he is more likely to be right? —Nearly never won a raco yet. Mr. Richmond: Mr. Byford says he had no difficulty in putting the fire out on the floor.

His Honor: He could only see a foot or two into the building. You cannot put it to this witness that the whole, of the fire on the floor was extinguished. He did not say the whole of the floor was completely extinguished. Mr. Richmond: Assuming that the local fire superintendent stated that his difficulty in putting out the fire was that the jet would not reach the ceiling?—ln a big store like that lie would want probably two or three leads. I would not advise any man to tackle a fire of that description with a 15ft. jet. His Honor: Assuming that the appliances were inadequate, that does not affect this particular case, because the insurance company took it, and fixed the premium on that. I’m more concerned with the efficiency attributable to the earthquake. Mr. Richmond: I should think this witness’ evidence is quite irrelevant, but lie has been called.

His Honor: l r our point is that the original defectiveness has been aggravated by the earthquake? Mr. Richmond: Yes. The witness stated to Mr. Richmond that if the building was cracked then it would increase the draught. It would lie no use sending men on to the, roof of a two-storey building when the fire was on the bottom floor. If there was not sufficient pressure to send a iet further than 15ft. it could not lie forced up a hose as high as the roof. To Mr. Lloyd Wilson, witness stated that once a column of water was broken after leaving the nozzle ot was not regarded as being of any use for fire fighting purposes, the water should reach the seat of the fire in a solid column.

Archie Leslie Ogilvie, foreman litter, employed by the Public Works Department in Wairoa, stated that he went over to tho works at about 2 p.m. on February 15. The water supply tanks for the Public Works Department locomotives had fallen, and water was required. It had been a practice in such troubles to get the water from the works. He entered the engineroom through the stokehold entrance. Everything there appeared to be running normally. The ammonia returns were frosted, indicating that the reticulation of the ammonia system was in order. The small compressor was running, indicating that, the big machine was not necessary to keep the temperatures down. The engine-room was functioning normally. After witness left the engine room ho made a casual inspection of the buildings, and noticed that on the south-west corner of the freezing chamber one or two boards seemed to be budged out 2iu or 3in., about the tail'd board from the top being the one affected. It did not appear to witness to amount to any structural damage, and would not prevent the operation of the chamber. In the freezing chamber lie noticed no damage to the walls. Ho saw that the chimney stack was down to about one-third of its height, and ,at the back, of ,the killing floor lie saw some cracks in the plaster, but did not know whether they were deep or superficial. To witness the cooling floor did not appear to be knocked about. From his look round, he would say that the whole of the structure of the works escaped remarkably well. Since then ho had seen the Pakipaki and Tomoana works. The working conditions on the sth were getting back into their old str.ido again. Thero was no general state of excitement and disorganisation amongst the employees. The portion of the chimney stack remaining would have been sufficient to allow of the operating of one boiler, as he took it that when the chimney was originally built it was designed to carry the whole battery of boilers. If necessary draught could have been induced by n fan.

On the night-of the fire witness was called out by the Public Works Department’s overseer at. about .10 o’clock to move the meat boxes from the works. This he did with a petrol locomotive, with the assistance of Public Works Department’s employees and others. When lie arrived the lire appeared to be between llte extreme epd and the centre of the freezing block, and it was well alight. The engine was then untouched. In Wairoa wooden buildings stood up to tho earthquake remarkably well.

Cross-examined by Mr. A. 11. Johnstone witness stated that he had not made a detailed examination of the engine-room of tho works, but as an engineer he made certain observations. He noticed that the barge boards on the stores were in place. All buildings in Wairoa were more or less knocked about by the earthquake. At this stage, l the court adjourned until this afternoon,