MAN BURSTS INTO FLAMES

Taranaki Daily News, 27 January 1934, Page 6

MAN BURSTS INTO FLAMES

WIDOW’S STORY AT INQUEST

TIRIMOANA LABOURER’S DEATH.

ACTION OF SODIUM CHLORATE.

CORONER EMPHASISES DANGER. To see her husband a pillar of flame was the terrifying experience of Mrs. Stephen Daines related _ at the inquest at Hawera yesterday. Dames, a farm labourer, 54 years of age, with four children, lived at Tirimoana, near Eltham, and died at the Hawera public hospital on Sunday night, having been severely burned by the ignition of sodium chlorate the previous afternoon. Her husband, said Mrs. Daines, had been spraying ragwort on Saturday morning and in the afternoon, without changing his clothes, dug the garden. At about 8.45 p.m. she went to bed and a few minutes later Daines followed her into the bedroom. Saying he would light the candle to see if the baby was all right, Daines struck a match. The head of the match came off and fell on the knee of Daines trousers. Mrs. Daines heard a hissing noise and in a moment her husband was enveloped in flames, so high ana so fierce that it seemed the whole room was alight. She saw him beat at his blazing clothes with his hands, and then he ran out of the room. Mrs. Daines seized a coat to wrap round him and extinguish the flames and followed Daines out of the room with it. As her husband fumbled with the lock of the back door, she attempted to wrap the coat round him, but he pushed her away. Having opened the door, he ran outside. Aided by a relative who was staying in the house, she poured water over him and then took off what remained of his clothes. She telephoned Dr. S. W. Crawford, who came at once from the town and attended to Daines until the ambulance arrived from Hawera. Daines had been wearing the clothes for a few days. On the Saturday morning she asked him to change them, but he said he would wait until the following day when he would have finished the ragwort spraying job. Dr. E. S. Fossey, acting medical superintendent at the Hawera hospital, said when he examined Daines on his admission to hospital he found that from twothirds to three-quarters of the entire body surface was burned. The lower part of the body was badly affected, while the hands were so severely burned as to be black and claw-like. As a result of treatment Daines rallied a little, but Dr. Fossey had not had much hope of his surviving. G. E. Thompson, Tirimoana, on whose property Daines was employed to spray ragwort, said the solution of sodium chlorate used was weaker than the average. Daines was experienced in the work and was aware of the danger attached to it. Daines had been spraying tall ragwort and could not have avoided getting his clothes soaked. Sergeant Henry quoted from a Department of Agriculture circular as follows: “Sodium chlorate on dry clothes is liable to burst into flames with great rapidity so soon as a spark, a blow, or friction is applied at any one spot. Heating the clothing by coming too near a fire, even without actual contact with a spark or a flame, may cause the garment to catch fire or explode.” Recording a finding in accordance with the evidence, the coroner, Mr. R. S. Sage, emphasised the need for taking every possible precaution when dealing with sodium chlorate. The late Mr. Daines, who was 54 years of age, was the son of pioneers of Eltham, his father having worked at sawmills in the district before the town existed. Mr. Daines spent practically, the whole ot his life in the district and assisted in many pioneering activities. He was esteemed by a wide circle of friends as a worker of sterling worth , and he did not have a day’s illness in his life. He is survived by Mrs. Daines, who was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ward, Mountain Road, and four young children. A brother, Mr. George Daines, resides at Opunake and three sisters, Mesdames George Carter, A. Onions and M. Brew, at Eltham. The funeral was largely attended and the graveside service was conducted by Adjutant H. J. Parkinson. The pallbearers were Messrs. Bishell, G. Carter, A. Onions, R. Knofflock, L. and H. Martin.