FATALITY AT MIRAMAR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 183, 29 April 1919, Page 7

FATALITY AT MIRAMAR

THE ACCIDENT AT THE GAS WORKS

INQUEST ON THE TWO VICTIMS

Details of the fatality which occurred at tho Wellington Gas Company's works at Mirnmar on Saturday morning,' when two men, John I'errel and.Joseph Churc.nll, wero killed, unit another J. JUim, was injured, were investigated at an inquest held by Mr. % .V.'°JVrnfcr, &.M.- yesterday afternoon.' Sergeant •W ado appeared for tho police.' Mr P J. Ulvegau represented tha relatives of" tho deceased Churchill, Mr. C. WTriugJiam appeared tor Mrs. \Ferrel, Mr T Aeaye tor the. Gas Company, and Mr. It. A. 1 olland tor the Labour Department.. ■John Graham, a labourer, employed at the gas works, said that at aiiout 9.30 uin on Saturday he heard a loud noise, on looking round ho noticed a box of coat which-had fallen from a erhno oh 'to ■ ft-truck. Deceased Churchill tried to Ret clear of the crane by jumping oil' the box on to tho truck. He louked up, but the jib of the crane was coming down m a slanting direction above him. Uniichill was about to jump off the truck when .tho jib struck him on the *eck at the back of tho'shouldors. Witness did not seo I'errel. '.''■" "William 'G. Cunningham, an employee at the gas works, stated that the. iirst thing ho saw was Mann'in the air before he struck the ground. Re also saw the jib .of the 'crane strike Churchill, and then the whole crane fell down. Witness did not see I'errel then, but he afterwards saw him being carried out of the little cabin from which the crane was driven. The . concerto plntform of the crane was about'ten feet in height, and hhe engine house was about two feet above the surface of the platform. .After the' crane' collapsed■'Ferrel would have fallen about'l2ft. ' Wilfred Clifton Quinnell, another em.ployee at the gas works, and' an eye-wit-ness of the fatality, stated that 'at the time of the accident he was in' the office, which "was just opposite the crane,'' a bos'of coal was being lifted from the truck. When'about six'feet above the truck tlie' brake of the'- crane was applied. As the weight of tho box was again being taken, prior to swinging the jib, the crane 'collapsed. Churcnill was on the box, aud'as the latter'struck the truck, he fell down - • Witness. did nor eeo the jib strike' Churchill; but-'it fell in his 'direction.' lie (lid iiiit notice J?eri'cl, but he knew that .'the'latter was'in the . driver's cabin. . The box of coal would weigh about three and a half Whs.' .Witness did not lmoy' what weight the crane was supposed to lift.'' '•'

To Mr. O'liegiyn: The crone had been working for about « week," and " the •Weight of the box Was about :ari average lift. ' Beforo'the weight or.tho;bqx was taken, and after th«S '■' brake ' was upplied, flie box appeared" to.'slip 'slightly." He had noticed such n : slipping action occur on. previous occasions.' - '•■'. '• '" i .Albert Baker, .a retort-house worker, said that one-of the supporting guys 6i l .the'crane'was constructed'of-bid'" timber. The ' wood wasrotten where-'- the 'bolts' went .through, one of the bolts ': wasbiokeii, and the-other whs-'only holding by a thread. ; It was 'that' guy that-gave way. and caused the. collapse of 'the crane.. .The'crane was new, and ail the timber, ..with the exception of ,the one guy, was "also new. '.lie understood the timbeiv-in the. gv.y was used in' the construction oi'tlio" Wellington Post..Office some years ago. .... . • ; - ..." .To Mr. .Tringliani: ..He did not know whether the guys had. been tested before the crane was erected... '• " ... Samuel Ferrel, ion of the deceased Ferrel, stated, that, his father was an experienced engiiit-di'iver, who took a special pride in his knowledge of cranes.; Witness .understood that his lather, superintended the erection, of the crane. Constable Tarrant,: who wj\s summoned to the gas works after the accident occurred, stated that he examined . the crane, and noticed,. that. the woodwork of ono of .the guys. wa6 perished,.-.. Archibald Dougall,.engineer to tho Wellington Gas Company, was next called to give evidence' respecting the'condition of the crane. Ho said that deceased Ferrel was- employed to erect-the crane, whicli-was-purchascd.-'by .tho'comr pany" from 'Wilson and C 0."".. Three .'con: crete pillars' wore' erected, to''hold'the crane, which' consisted of a mast, two stays, a. jib,- and 'two horizontal spars used as a base. ■'.- The work - 'of .'.erection was commenced a month or six'.weeks, ago. Deceased Ferrel and-witness had | a conversation about the crane before it j was erected; as a-result of'-which it wns j decided to replace a jib and one stay. In regard to the stay which collapsed on Saturday, Ferrell said it was absolutely sound, and was newer timber than the T"«t.;ly , loii' , it!!r' to Hie crane. Witness did 'not rely' on this statement, but inspected >the guy himself. So far as he i-iiiLu see tm-i-e was no sign of decay, ftp carried out various tests, all of which satisfied witness that as far as could"be Been the timber was sound, and could be uscd'with safety. ■■"■'■ ■■ .■'-."■ '■'' To Mr. O'flegan: The guy was Oregon pine, and was painted. Ferrel-had no ; thing to'do with the carpentering work on the crane. Until the accident happened it was practically impossible to tell whether the guy would bear a heavy strain, but as 'a result of his tests witness felt satisfied that it was .. sound. When in use at the* erection of the Post Office the crane had. lifted five tons.. It was 6oldas a 5-ton crane in good order. He did'not subject the crano to' a lift-

iiig test,''except by. gradually increasing tile weights- The maximum weight ho employed was four'tons. The coroner returned a. verdict that tlie cause of tho death of each of the two men was injuries sustained through the collapse Of ii crane on which they were working. Tho fritlcnce showed that the portion of the. crane, which carried awav had been examined prior to. its erection a month ago, and that the Gas Company's engineer had satisfied himself as to its soundness. His Worship said that was liis formal finding. In view of the possibility of civil proceedings he had left'' the finding just slightly indefinite.