Fire Inquiry Told Of Faulty Electrical Repairs

Chronicle (Levin), 7 April 1948, Page 3

Fire Inquiry Told Of Faulty Electrical Repairs

CHRISTCHURCH, April 6.- •. Wlien the Royal Commissioii inquiring into Ballantyne's fire resumed it& sittinga this morni'ng, Mr. R. A. Young, for the Crown, said that sin.ee the commission adjourned for the Easter recess thcre had been. an important development regarding the supply of electric power to Ballantyne 's premises, and in the circumatances he felt that a full disclosure should be made and evidenco tendered on the matter before the cross-examination of Nicol eontinued. At tho completion of the statement Mr. Young said the Crown experts felt that the fire was not canaed by a cable. The disclosures had been made within the last day or two, and investigations had been completed last night, said Mr. Young. Mr, Young said that thougli there were four mains outside the building, power was conveyed in by eight conductors. During the recess, a question i had arisen about the daxnage caused to two seven-strand wires. Experts were puzzled as to how the wires had been fractured, and after carrying out tests tliey concluded that a break below the bolt was almost certainly caused by electricity, It was discovered that electricity must have fiowed along the eonduil pipe to the seven-strand wires. "Wlien oue of the conductors was examined it was found that' the lie of the strands had been altered. A break in the cable, which had been adequalelv repaired, had been found. The experts then found a further break that must have been inside the conduit pipe. The joiut had been made in a most amateui way. No insulation had been put around the conduetor except ordinary friction tape. Mr. Young said that it was felt that this was not only a flagrant breach oi the regulations, but also a violation oi commonsense prineiples in making such a repair. The whole length of cable should have been replaced. The illegal join was not properly insulated. At some tinie a break had occurred"in this cable and had been repaired in a negligent and unskilled manner. The experts felt that if a break and subsequent bad worlcmanship had caused the fire Ihere would have been evidenee in the street- end of the pipe, but tlie closest examination had faiied to disclose it. The experts cousidered that at some time before the fire a break had occurred in the conduit just inside the bell mouth. After detailing the effect such a break would have, Mr. Young said that despite these disclosures the fire was not caused by the cable. The Crown felt than an explanation was called for from the company that' •iijstalled the cable, and from Ballantyne 's in case one of the company's electricians did the work or arranged with someone else to do it, said Mr. Young. The Municipal Electricity Department was under an obligation to say whether a permit had been issued for the work to be done; whether, if a permit were granted, a subsequent inspection was made; and whether any of its employees had done the job. Called to' prove Mr. Young 7s statoment, Htcwart Maxtun Nicol, testing enginecr of the State Hydro-Electric I'l-partuuMit, detailed examinations niauv^ by him of the eleetrical installatious. io Mr. W. R. Lascel'les (City Councii ■ hc said that he had concluded tha1 the hre did not s'tart in Ihe entranc.e main, the service fuses, the eablo or the main switchboafd. ; -