THE WELLINGTON FIRE ENQUIRY.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 4 December 1901, Page 4

THE WELLINGTON FIRE ENQUIRY.

(feb press association.) Wellington, Doc 3. The enquiry into tho deith of William Crawford, victim of the Oriental Hotel, fire was concluded to-night. Tho evidenco throughout tho enquiry had shown that thera was an overlapping of authority in regard to tho ordering of the owner of the hotel to provide proper fire escapes. Tho Coroner remarked that thore seemed to bo two distinct authorities now dealing with this question, but the Licensing Committee had power to refuse a license to hotels which were not properly equipped with mnans of escape. The jury returned a verdict tha'- Crawford's death was accidental, and added soveral riders in which the opinion was expressed that when licenses are granted they should scute the limit of boarders the house is to accommodate ; that plainly printed notices should be posted in each bedroom in every hotel regarding the fire escapes, that complete system of electric bells should be installed on each floor and that there should be a careful quarterly inspection of all licensed premises.

The jury also strongly deprecated the action of the City Council in not appointing an inspector of hotels and lodging houses sooner and thought sufficient information had not been given as to why an act passed last year was only brought into force in September. They further thought the Council was.to blame in not having had the House list prepared under the Municipal Corporation At, limiting the number of persons allowed to sleep in each hotel. There would then have been less than sixty two persons sleeping at the Oriental Hotel which had only thirty-nine bedrooms.