The Dee Street Fires.

Southland Times, Issue 4942, 19 May 1884, Page 2

The Dee Street Fires.

'■■ rr+ — • An inquiry into the circumstances of the iire by which the building: in Dee street, occupied by Messrs L. Rodgere and Co., and others, was destroyed on the morning of the 10th inst., was held on Saturday afternoon before H. McCulloch; Esq., coroner, and a jury of thirteen. Mr James Borrowmah* ' was chosen foreman. Mr Wad'e' Watched the case on behalf of the Associated Insurance Companies. ■ F. W. Burwell, architect, produced the plans upon which the buildings had been . erected, and gave evidence in reference to them. He had been in the building the night previous to the fire, and when he lett.it, about 10 o'clock, he did not notice a light Jin the photographic studio. H« did not see Mr Nicholas or Mr Dougall about the premises that evening. . *.•? ■ - Norman Prentice, survey or, deposed that he had occupied b room: on the second -floor of 'the -building. He slept there on the night of the yth inst. Did not see anyone about the building, or a light, in any of the offices when be went to bed shortly after 10 p.ral About 1.45 a.m. witness looked out of niswinaW .and saw the reflection of light on '"the wall of the Imperial Hotel. By the timA ie got dressed a nnmber of people; had rushed upstairs and entered the' studio. He saw the light in the studio, and the room seemed to be on fire. - Had no idea as to the origin of the fire. Witness lost some property : in the fire^ which was not insured. By Mr Wade: If persons had gone, up the stairs in an ordinary manner after he had gone to bed, he would have been awakened. * " N. 3V M. Rein, watchmaker,' deposed that about 1.45 a.m. on 'the morning the 10th he saw, the fire from the dining ' room of Deschler's Hoteli It war in the photographic gallery; The\bell had.ibot then rung. Witness went to-the buttiiHg and upstairs. The back places belonging to Messrs Nioholas -and Dougill wereoh fire. Did not see anyone 00. the street while going from the hotel to the fire. The. fire had, in witness's opinion, been burning some time before he noticed it i Constable Macintyre was on duty on the night in question. Did not notice anyone about the street, but about 1.45 a.m. he saw the reflection of fire while • at fte corner of Spey and Dee streets. He »aw Mr Dougall about 15 minutes after he first went to the building. \ Mr Dougall was dressed in his Salvation Army uniform, Did not recollect seeing Mr Nicholas. ' Bj Mr Wade : Mr Dougall appeared to be fully dressed. : i ' "William Hart, who had been in company with Rein, corroborated the evidence given by the previous witnesses. No chembals were used in the photographic business that were liable to take fire spontaneously. —By Mr Wade : When witness went up stairs the' fire seemed to be in two plages, to the second and the third storeys, and there was nothing that witness could see connecting them. Witness had never known any photographic chemicals to spontaneously ignitei None of them would explode if the bottles were overturned by cats or rats.— By a juror: He heard no crackling in the second storey and the most of the fire 4 appeared' to be on the third. : . :_ . ,; t;:*? G. F. Purdue, nightwatchman, deposed that he was on duty on the morning, of tho 10th inst. Had been about the 7 buildings which' weTe burned about 1.30 a.m. He want into the nght-of-way between Messrs Hatheson and Co.'s store and Mr Organ, the butcher's. Went round the back of Mr Hatch's premises, where be could see the buildings which were burned qoite plain. He saw no signs of fire. Came out to Dee street again, and Went to ttie_ corner of Don street, when he saw the reflection of the light. That could not have been more than tea or fifteen minutes after he'had been at the-back of Hatch's. _ ; Went up to Sargood's right-of-way and saw the sre in the studio. The glass in the roof was not broken then. - He went as quick as possible to the fire-bell. By the < time he got there the flames had burst through the glass roof. Before noticing the reflection he heard a noise, as if timber, or some heavy Bubßtance, had fallen. Did not see anyone about the buildings before the fire. ■'•'' Rosannah Moody deposed that she occupied a shop cldse to where the buildings were that were destroyed. On the night of the 9th, she left the shop in company with her husband and son about 10 minutes to 9 o'clock. She went out of the back door into Don street through Sargoo'l's right-of-way. She noticed a glimmer of light in the studio, but saw no one about. The light was similar to one that would be given by a gas jet, She had often noticed the light there before. Elizabeth Birss, an employe of Messrs Nicholas and Dougall's up to the time of the fire, gave .evidence. She was in the finishing room and the printing room the day before the fire. She left that evening about 5 SO p.m., when r Mr. Nicholas was there. She and; Mr Nicholas "were"' the last to leave. There was a fire in the finishing room during theday, Nightcaps coal being the fuel used. She believed, there were also fires in two other rooms. .When (she left the fire in the finishing: room was quits out ; she could not say if the others were burning. By Mr Wade ; There-was no fender to the fire-place in the finishing room; By a juror; Mr Dougall left before wjtnesa did, L.ouis Ro>igers, general importer, deposed that he was the owner, of the building destroyed. He did not live on the premises, nor did anyone sleep on the part of the building occupied by him. Was last in the shop, about 7.30 p.m. on the evening of the 9th. He was roused in the night by his servant, who said tb<* photographic gajlery was on fire. He rus.hecl to where he could sco the flames namiqg out of tho gajlery/ ,H& went to the shop, hy .which time, the fire brigade was at work. There was no fire io the ibop tt Ume ;it was all «boT«. By

the fire he lost LSOO a year for ever. He was partially insured. Could throw no light upon the cause of the fire. (Witness here described the positions of the fireplaces in thf photographic rooms.) William Dougall, photographer, depose! that he was in the gallery all day on the 9th inst. There were fonr fireplaces in the room?. He knew that on the day in question there was a fir© in the gallery, and one in the printing room, but he could, not say whether or not there was one in the finishing room. Before he left the gallery ho put water on the fire there himself. He was certain it was thoroughly drencher*. There was no possibility of a spark having got out during the day and smouldered on the floor. He left the building at 5 p.m., and did not return to it that evening. None of the chemicals ÜBed would be Hk» !y to ignite spontaneously, so far aabis kuo'-vlrdge extended. He lived in EttTickstic<.f, about ten minutes' walk, fully, from the building. He was awakened on the morning of the 10th by the fire-bell. 'Looted out and saw the fire, and thought it. was a turner's place in Nith street. A gentleman who lived close to him then came up, and they ran together to the fire. When going down Esk street he saw that it was the gallery that was on fire. Nothing was saved from the room, the value of the property destroyed being over LI3OO. It was insured for L6OO. Witness had some private properly _ in the studio, : worth about . LSO, which was not insured. He had not the slightest idea of how th« fire occurred. It could not have been caused by the fire in the gallery. Witness had been at the Salvation Army meeting during the evening. When he left it.he went straight home, arriving there about 10 o'clock. Did not leave the house again tillalaimed by the bell. By Mr Wade : Did not know anything about the light that was said to be seen in the gallery about 9 o'clock. In dressing to go to the fire he put on the Salvation Army jacket, which was handiest, he having been wearing it during the evening. He had not on his red guernsey at the fire. H«had his slippers on, bat no stockings. The estimate he had made of his loss included the negatives. They bad been in the habit of going back at night for an hour or two to develop negatives, bat had not done so for at least a fortnight before the fire. There was a little collodion in tne gallery, but it would not explode unless a light were actually applied to it. By\ the coroner : Witness kept one check key for the door and his partner the other. The gallery could hare been entered from the front roof, which could have been reached by a long ladder that was left in the right-of-way. By. a juror: No one but Mrs Dougall went all the way home with him that night from the Salvation Army. ; J. S M. Nicholas, photographer, deposed that he left the premises at five minutes past six o'clock on the evening of the 9th. Daring the day- there had been three firea, burning. When he left they all ap-: peared to be thoroughly out, the one in the gallery apparently having had water thrown on it. No water was put on the others. Before leaving he put out the gas himself, locked up, and went directly home. Did not return to the building again till the fire. He heard the fire-bell when in bed, and got up and opened the door. He aaw the reflection of the fire, and went back to bed. A young man came to him afterwards from Mr Dougall to tell him it was their place. He went down to the fire with the young man, arriving at it after the upper part of the building had been destroyed. Did not see Mr Dougali at the fire. Could form no idea as to the origin. Access could have been obtained to the roof through a door on the first landiog, and from the roof a person could go right into the studio. By Mr Wade : He had been asleep before the bell rung. It continued a shor* time-after he first heard it. When he saw the fire he did not think it was their place, and as he had a bad cold he went back to bed. It was about a minute after he returned to bed that the young man came. By. a juror: Did not know anything about the light said to be in the rooons about 9 o'clock. ■ ■ W. Dongall, recalled, said he had sent word to Mr Nicholas about the fire by one Charles Joss. Constable Griffith deposed that he was alarmed by the fire-bell. He was lying awake, and heard the first sound of the bell. He went to the fire and saw Mr Dougall in Esk street, not more than ten minutes from the time the bell started. Mr Dougall appeared to be fully dressed. Did not notice whether or not he had his boots on. ,-■'.- j xi. His Worship shortly reviewed the evidence, and the jury after a few minutes' deliberation returned a verdict to the effect that the fire had originated in Messrs Nicholas and Dougall's photographic gallery, but that the cause was unknown to the jurors.