THE LATE FIRE IN OWENSTREET.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1802, 12 October 1874, Page 2

THE LATE FIRE IN OWENSTREET.

CORONER'S ENQUIRY.

The enquiry into the causes which led to the late fire in Owen-street, Grahamstown, on the night of Thursday last, was continued at the Court House to-day before J. E. Macdonald, Esq., Coroner, and the jury empannclled on Saturday last.

Eugene Murphy was the first witness examined. He deposed that he heard nothing of the fire until some one told him tbat his premises had a narrow escape from fire—that was when he had returned from a dancing class. He attributed the cause of the fire to a spark from some chimney haying burnt through the ceilinp, and set fire to some matches which were stored on the shelf below the roof. There had been nothing under the whole sufficiently strong to hold a fire which would hare burnt through the hole in the roof.

By the Coroner —I could not «ay what estimate I put on the goods on. the night of the fire—it might be £500 more or less. That sum is the nearest estimate I can make. I have made no correct valuation since.

George Hawkes deposed that on Thursday night at a few minutes past eleven he had seen a reflection from the fire on the premises lately occupied by Joe Hart, as a crockery shop. Witn°ss roused his brother, and got on the roof of Murphy's premises, and, his brother having brought him a bucket of water, he threw the water over some burning shingles. He extinguished the fire,and then saw a hole through which he looked. He could see the opposite side of the store, from which smoke was issuing. He could see ho flames. He then ran to the street end of the roof, and sung out to ring the fire-bell. By the time witness descended from tho roof, his brother had, with the assistance of another man, got down the shutters of the burning premises, and was pitching some water in. Witness did not see any fire after he got there : he only saw some boxes and things charred. The things charred had been taken from within aboat six feet of the doorway on the opposite side from the hole. There were a good many cinde

about. The joist holding the ceiling was charred. The - chimney of witness's house was about four feet from where the fire had occurred in Murphy's premises, but witness was positive that the fir* was out on the night of the fire before eight o'clock. Witness's chimney was clean. Dennis O'Brien, a miner, deposed to having entered the store on th« night of the fire to assist in taking down some boxes. He saw a gas jet burning pretty low down —arid the chimney burned. He saw fire at the time the boxes were being shifted, a couple being actually alight when taken down. He saw some matches on the top of tht pile of cases, in which fire had been at the bottom. Didn't think the cases were touching the wall. C. F. Quint deposed that on Thursday night in Pollen-street he heard the fire bell ring. He asked a man who carried a lantern where the fire was. The man pointed to Murphy's store, and said, "It is in there." Didn't know who the man was. On going inside, he assisted to take some boxes down. He found in the bottom of the cases some tin boxes of matches, the contents of which were burnt, while the paper boxes were uninjured. By a juror—Mr. Paul opened some tin boxes, and I opened some. The matches looked as though they had fallen down from the top of the cases. Eugene Murphy was re-called and examined by Mr. Bullen. He deposed that the ceiling might have been papered three times since he had been in occupation-— four yean ;and he believed that the new piper was always put over the old. .Kobert Bullen, officer in charge of the Armed Constabulary at the Thames, de-; posed that the joists were smoked, also the Tafters. Observed a hole in the roof, the hole being about 9 inches from the ceiling. Couldn't see the signs of fire from within. On the outside the shingles were charged to a larger extent than the whole, and burnt off to an exceedingly fine edge on the inside. Witness had been an officer of a fire brigade for seven years, and had in consequence some experience in fires. He was satisfied from the observations he had made that the fire originated from the outside of the roof. He was supported in thi3 opinion by the fact that there had been nothing under,the ceiling sufficiently strong to hold a, fire which would burn such a hole. He was of opinion that* the spark could have made tke hole, being fanned into aflame. Thought the noxious, damp matter which had accumulated on the ceiling—which was preserved there by | reason of the several thicknesses of paper —had caused the ceiling to smoulder instead of taking fire. Henry Hawkes was the last witness examined, his evidence being simply corroborative of that given by jobn Hawkes.

The jury, after a brief consideration, brought in the following verdict j—" The^ cause of the fire was casual and accidental, and not caused by the wilful or unlawful act of any one." ;