SLOW START TO FIGHT FIRE AT BALLANTYNE’S

Grey River Argus, 30 January 1948, Page 3

SLOW START TO FIGHT FIRE AT BALLANTYNE’S

lx-£.P.S Member of Staff’s Account 9 CHRISTCHURCH, January 29. At the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Ballantyne’s fire, Percy Gilbert Stringer, a salesman at Ballantyne’s, was the first witness of those who saw the fire originating. He said that his attention was drawn to smoke by Miss Drake. The smoke was coming up from tlie basement. He stated that, after investigation, he asked that the .-’brigade be called, and the heads of the firm be sent for. He asked no one in particular. He made another investigation of the cellar, and decided that it was a job for the fire brigade. He met Mr Falkingham in tlie cellar. As he went out, he met Roger Ballantyne at the top of Ihe stairs. They and Falkingham had a hasty conference. Ballantyne asked, “Has the brigade been called?” and the answex 1 was “Yes!” He did not know who replied. The three of them decided to bring a lead by the brigade through the alleyway to the basement by the stairway. Mr Falkingham was to undertake the meeting of the brigade.

HOPES PLACED IN FIRE EXTINGUISHERS

Witness described his tour of the shop to see that it was empty of people, and for the collection of fire extinguishers, which he took Io the foot of the main staircase. Smoke was there, and P was increasing. He met there Roger Ballantyne and others, who had collected lire extinguishers, too. “The hope then was, with the extinguishers, we could at least form a check on anything coming through the fire door on the north and west wall, keeping the main stairway clear”, said Stringer. “I opened up the fire doors in the north wall a fraction to learn if water had gone in. as we had planned. I saw flame in the furnishing department for the first time. The air was very very hot. It was a hot blast. I closed the door. “I remember a member of the brigade coming through. I asked him where the water was going in. He warned me not to get trapped. Burning debris began to fall on the main stairway, and was put out by the fire extinguishers. Flames were coming through the fire doors on the west wall. McKay and I decided that we had stayed as long as it was prudent, and we went to Cashel Street. There was a ‘doof’, and where no smoke or fire had been, in the centre of the shop, became a mass of flames. Two big windows blew out”. NO WARNING SYSTEM Stringer, who had been in charge of Ballantyne’s E.P.S. arrangements during the war, said that the warning system had been dismantled after the Japanese scare was over. He and others had carried on an interest in fire-fighting after the war with tha encouragement of Ron Ballantyne. START OF FIRE-FIGHTING He said: “I was kept on the fire appliances. This group met at the stairs on the day of the fire, and tried localisation and control, as practised in the E.P.S. When a man told Roger Ballantyne that the brigade had been rung for, he had no doubt the assurance was correct. Nor would Ballantyne doubt it. There was no loss of lime in doing things that should have been done”. Stringer was closely cross-examined by Mr C. G. Penlington (for the fire brigade) about directions given to the brigade. He said that it was left Io Falkingham to direct the brigade into the cellar through the alleyway There were alternative means of access to the cellar, but it did not occur to him that the brigade should be directed by those ways. He considered that the alleyway, the closest way, was the best way in the early stages, after which he would leave it to the brigade to decide the best way to light the fire. He was only a layman. When he saw a fireman in the shop, he did not give him any directions. DELAY OF WATER Witness said he was amazed when he found that no water had gone in the alleyway. Once lie believed that the brigade was called, he thought not of fighting the fire, but of saving the people in the building. MISS DRAKE’S ACCOUNT What happened in the alleyway when the fire brigade arrived was described by Edith Drake, who was in charge of the appro, office on the dav of the fire. After the fire was discovered, she went into the alleywav. “I stood at the doors of the right-of-way outside my office for several minutes, thinking that the brigade would come along, and I eoulo show them the way down to the cellar”, she said. “The smoke became so dense and thick that I went out, leaving the door fastener open, and I went down tlie alleyway. I stood, with Falkingham, waiting for the brig: de to arrive. We waited one or two minutes —it seemed like a .week —and the brigade arrived. Falkingham instructed a fireman to go clown the right-of-way. He went with him. When Falkingham opened the door, the bottom half of the right-of-way was black with smoke. I heard the fireman say that he could not get in the door for smoke. I don’t think he could find the door. They opened the side of the lire brigade, and were supposed to have taken respirators cut, but I did not see any more from that point”. . . ... Miss Drake’s cross-examination will be taken when the Commission resumes to-morrow morning.

TECHNICAL EVIDENCE

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 29. At Ballantyne’s fire inquiry technical evidence was given. Called b v the Crown, Ernest Percy Sanders, equipment telephone engineer at Christchurch, said the telephone equipment at Ballantyne’s was tested and found correct on November 17. Percy Claude Cornish, district architect for the Public Works Department in Christchurch, proved the model of the buildings and gave a detailed report of his architectural survey of the buildings. Mr T. P. Cleary (appearing for Ballantyne’s) was asked by the chairman (Sir Harold Johnston) if he was satisfied that the model was a correct due. Mr Cleary: Yes, as far as we know. Mr C. S." Thomas (for the fire underwriters) said counsel joined with him in congratulating Mr Cornish on the work done. , , To Mr B. A. Barrel’ (for the Clerks Union), Cornish said there was nothing to prevent smoke rising to the fire escape from the hole which was being constructed between Goodman’s building and Pratt’s building. Photographs of the buildings after the fire were produced by Victor Robert John Mean, a Public Works Department architect. Albert Vernon Bedwell, engineer to the Christchurch Tramway Board produced a plan of the lay-out of Ihe overhead electric tramway lines in the vicinity of Ballantyne’s. Arthur Horsey Jecks, assistant-city waterworks engineer, produced a

plan of water mains and hydrants in streets adjacent to the premises. John Cossar Forsyth, chief electrical engineer of the M.E.D., produced a plan of the lay-out of overhead electricity mains on the day of the five.