HOUSE SET AFIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 686, 11 June 1929, Page 9

HOUSE SET AFIRE

TRACES OF POWDER FUSE AND KEROSENE INCENDIARIST UNKNOWN “The evidence shows that the fire was wilfully caused by someone, but who that person was there is no evidence to show.” TN these terms, a verdict of incendiarism was returned by the coroner, Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., at an inquiry held yesterday afternoon on the destruction, by fire in the small hours of the morning of April 30 of an 11roomed house situated at No. 3 Arthur Street, Ponsonby. The inquiry- was brought by the police, and Mr. E. J. Prendergast appeared for Mrs. Gavegan, the owner of the house. Chief-Detective Hammond was of the opinion that the fire had been wilfully caused by some person. “After the fire we found that a line of fuse had been laid from the front door to the switchboard, a distance of about 20 feet,” he said. “There was a strong scent of kerosene, and on these facts we base our suggestion that the fire was wilfully caused.” In answer to Mr. Prendergast, the chief-detective explained that the fuse was a powder train similar to that used by miners. He mentioned that the insurance on the house was £1,900, and £650 on the furniture. William Laird Wilson, superintendent of the Auckland City Fire Brigade, said that the brigade had been called to No. 3 Arthur Street at 3.17 a.m. on April 30. The house was found to be well alight, and both front and back doors had to be burst in before an entry could be effected. The fire had been ultimately quelled, but the damage was extensive. ODOUR OF KEROSENE Witness had noticed a strong odour of kerosene on the floor near the stairs and below the switchboard. Questioned by Mr. Prendergast, he was unable to say whether or not the electric meter was turned off. The second witness was Detective Allsopp. There had been a good deal of debris at the seat of the fire, he said, and there was a strong scent of kerosene. In an enamel billy the witness produced a sample of the debris referred to. He added that another sample had been sent to the Government analyst. There was no evidence that the house had been broken and entered, except of course where the firemen had attacked the doors. OWNER IN HOSPITAL “I interviewed Mrs. Gavegan, the owner of the house,” continued witness. “This was the following day, and she was in hospital. Later I saw Mr. Gavegan, and they both stated that there were only two keys—Yale keys to the side door.” Mrs. Gavegan had said that one key was with her in the hospital, and the other in the possession of her husband. When he had seen Mr. Gavegan on his return from Wellington, witness had been told that the key had been locked away during his absence. Witness was satisfied by experiments made with the fuse that it burnt at the rate of a foot in 13 seconds. Mr. Hunt: That would give a man 10 minutes to get away then?

“The fuse would ignite a fire started with a benzine or kerosene rag,” said the detective, “and everything points to that being the cause of the fire.” From inquiries he had made, witness was satisfied that the cause of the fire could not have been electrical. He admitted to Mr. Prendergast that Mrs. Gavegan was ill in hospital for several days, and her husband had been in Wellington for a week prior to the fire.

ANALYST’S EVIDENCE Evidence regarding the debris taken from the fire was given by Kenneth Massey Griffin, Government analyst. Charred wood and other material showed traces of kerosene. Charles Edward Hankins, fire insurance adjuster, said that he had adjusted Mrs. Gavegan’s claim. Her insurance was £1,900 on the building and £650 on the household furniture and effects with the South British Company. Adjacent to the seat of the fire he discovered kerosene about four feet from the stairway, on the ground floor. Later he discovered a strong smell of kerosene permeating the felt under the linoleum in the smoking room, just off the hall. The debris at the foot of the stairs was very extensive, while the heat there had evidently been very great. According to Mrs. Gavegan, the house had been bequeathed to her in August, and had not since been occupied. She had herself arranged a mortgage with the Public Trust Office of £1,250. Witness had last been in the house on April 26, when she went to see that everything was in order, as her husband was out of town, and she was about to enter a hospital. The piano and the billiard table, both of which were insured, were removed from the house in August, soon after she obtained possession of it, and were sold. TAXI-DRIVER’S EVIDENCE John Taylor, a taxi-driver, of Newmarket, was the purchaser of the piano and billiard table, though at the moment he could not remember what he had paid for them. He said that he had driven Mrs. Gavegan to the house on April 26, and on the same day had undergone an operation to his eye. On the day before, he had nailed up a window in the house, but he had very rarely been inside prior to that. Since last August witness had driven Mrs. Gavegan to the house about every second day. Cecil Percival Gavegan could think of nobody who had a grudge against him. who would be likely to set fire to the house. Witness had been in Wellington from the middle of April until May 5. During that time his key of the house had been left secure at his office in Auckland.