DISCOVERY OF ELECTRIC DEFECTS UNCONNECTED WITH BALLANTYNE'S FIRE

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 June 1948, Page 6

DISCOVERY OF ELECTRIC DEFECTS UNCONNECTED WITH BALLANTYNE'S FIRE

(P.A.) Christchurch, June 27. Finance would in no way influence the Christchurch Fire Board in its consideration of any recommendations the commission might make lor improving equipment or the service it could give, said counsel for the boarci, Mr. J. D. Hutchison, concluding his address today before the Royal Commission investigating Baliantyne’s fire. He submitted as well that, although there were grounds for criticism of the fire brigade, there were none for condemnation nor for some of the adjectives used by Mr. C. S. Thomas (for the accident underwriters).

In his final submissions concerning the activities of the brigade at the fire, Mr. Hutchison was followed by Mr. T. P. Cleary (for J. Ballantyne and Company) whose first submission was that Mr. K. O. Smith, who worked in the cellar where the firt started. was blameless insofar as the outbreak and spread of the fire were concerned. Mr. Cleary suggested that the discovery that an inspection had revealed about 100 defects in the electrical installation at Ballantyne’s had nothing to do with the fire. He considered that in the hearing there had been a tendency to elevate honest inconsistencies and differences of opinion in the evidence into contradiction.

AN "UNEXPLAINED INCIDENT” ‘‘it becomes very diliicut for anyone to assert that there was a late call to the lire,’ said Mr. Cleary. He submitted that it was clear that immediately the lire was discovered uallantyne’s telephone operator was called and what happened on the receipt of that call must remain one of the unexplained incidents. The chairman, Sir Harold Johnston : There may have been a late discovery and a prompt call after the discovery, but to the brigade the call vould be regarded as late. Mr. Cleary submitted that the time which elapsed in ensuring an effective call to the brigade should not be exaggerated against the management. If there was any avoidable delay, it was not attributable to the management, but to some human error on the part of an employee. After the arrival of the brigade, he submitted there were no grounds for a legitimate criticism, of the management. The brigade was properly met and told where the fire had been discovered. There had been no warning from the brigade to clear the building. "It is easy for anyone to talk of undirected or uncontrolled evacuation, but this overlooks honest recognitioi\ of the fact that it was the same ‘situation as might have existed anywhere and the absence of a prearranged plan must not be culpable except as the community as a whole can be regarded as culpable” said Mr Cleary. After referring to the recommendation of the commission of inquiry into John Burns’ fire that there should be evacuation plans in buildings employing large numbers, Mr. Cleary said the authorities had not acted on the recommendation. "It is plainly wrong that a commission should make a recommendation for precautions to be taken and that, failing any action on that recommendation by the authorities. the absence of the precautions recommended should, some six years later, be made the ground of criticism against an individual property owner.” The natural reaction of the owners to the arrival of the fire brigade was that the brigade would take full charge and warn the owners of any need to evacuate, he continued. It had been suggested that Ballantynes with a mo r e intimate knowledge of the buildings, should have known of the need to order the evacuation, but their knowledge was no greater, he submitted, than that which the fire brigade should have gained by an inspection of the buildings. SAVING OF GIRLS. Mr. Cleary submitted that no blame could be laid on the men on ihe ground floor, who were concerned in getting at the source of the hie and in summoning the fire brigade, for not getting the girls out of tne millinery workroom. The dangers of the spread of the fire had not oeen realised. It was unreal to suggest that more requests could have been made to the brigade to try to save the girls. Mr. Cleary dealt at length with the evidence on Kenneth Ballantyne’s visit to the credit office and submitted that there could be no justification for blaming Ballantynes for the loss of lives in tne fire. What could only be described as an attack was made on Mrs. Crew for failing to get the millinery girls out, and the suggestion that she had not gone back was made. The suggestion was made by reference to what Mrs. Crew was said to have said on visits to relatives, and Mr. Cleary suggested that the commission would find that there was no failure by Mrs. Crew to perform her duty and that she did her best and could do no more.

Counsel for the City Council (Mr. W. R. Lascelles) had criticised Ballantynes at length, said Mr. Cleary. "And we are entitled to ask, who are our accusers?” Mr. Lascelles says the council is interested in the questions of warning and evacuation, but. is it not also interested in the affairs and finance of the Fire Board? There was a strange contrast in the way he dealt with Ballantynes and the time he spent on it and the very muted and almost apologising reference to the Fire Board. "I have felt that if the council had been able to look with any sort of civic pride on its building by-laws, its attitude to us might have been understandable. If it had been able to give some reasonable explanation for its complete inactivity over many years in providing precautions, it might have had seme justification, and if it had been able to regard with satisfaction the observations and inspections of its own electrical department it might have had some justification. I suggest that, not being able to look with complacency on its records in these departments, it might have been better if it could have left Ballantyne’s method of dealing with the evacuation io those who were concerned with it.”

Mr Cleary will continue his address tomorrow morning and will be followed by Mr. G. G. G. Watson for the Crown, whose final address is expected to finish on Wednesday afternoon.