FIRE RISKS IN BAILANTYNE’S EXPLAINED

Grey River Argus, 14 April 1948, Page 3

FIRE RISKS IN BAILANTYNE’S EXPLAINED

Probable Cause of Fire’s Quick Spread P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, April 13. Cross-examined at this morning’s session of Eallantyne’s lire inquiry, Norman Patrick Alcorn, Government Analyst at Christchurch, told Mr B. A. Barrer '(for the three unions) that it looked as if the bricks near the approval department had reached a temperature of 1250 degrees Centigrade. If he had a preference for any of the theories which he had advanced for the rapid spread of the fire, it was for that based on the overheating of easily-conbustible materials.

“There would be a lot of guesswork about answering that”, Mr Alcorn told Mr W. R. Lascelles (fox’ the City Council), when asked if a lighted cigarette butt, thrown on to any of the materials in the cellar, could have caused them to ignite. "Thrown on loose muslin, or shavings, oi’ even perhaps on rolled muslin or carpet, it might have ignited the material”, he added. "A fire cannot start by the simple heating of the bitumen on an electric cable”. Mi’ R. A. Young (re-examining for the Crown): What TJercentage of the capacity' of the cellai’ in Congreve’s building did you allow to be taken up with materials? —Twenty-five per cent.

Would the two openings into' the cellar admit enough oxygen to maintain combustion? —If it originated near the frontage on Colombo Street, it would probably burn slowly for n while. Then the creation of a natural draught would most likely start it burning fiercely. To the chairman (Sir Harold Johnston, K.C.), witness said that the fire must have burned slowly in the cellar for some time for the smoke to have gone up and affected the' telephone operator, and to have issued from under the eaves of the building. Leslie Wilkinson, chemist, employed at the .Dominion Laboratory in Christchurch, examined by Mr Young, said that wood fibre boards, such as those used at Ballantyne’s, would, in an unpainted state, spread flame as rapidly as unpainted wood. Fibre boards were a considerable tire hazard. The application of flat paint to their surfaces would not increase the hazard. Though, wood fibre insulating hoax'd would be a material factor in the spread of fire, the paint would, if anylning, fend Io retard (he spread. “1 disagree with the evidence of Mr Lockwood, a previous witness, that the paint used at Ballantyne’s would increase the fast spread of the fire”, Mx - Wilkinson said.

“When Ballantyne’s buildings had come under one control, and openings had been cut in the buildings, the effective fire retardant qualities of the original group of buildings were destroyed,” said Percy Claud Cornish, district architect to the Public Works Department, Christchurch, this afternoon. Excent for two of the earliest openings on the ground flooi’ of Goodman’s building, one door in th:? same building on the flooi’ above, one doorway on the second flooi’ between Pratts and Moule’s building and two doors in the basement at the real’ of Pratt’s building, there appeared to have been no effort to protect the openings, some of which were very large, he said, during comments on the building design. With reference to the spread of the fire and means of agress. Mr Cornish described some automatic sDi'inklei’ systems, properly metalled and maintained were the only means of ensuring minimum damage to property and danger to life. Such systems were particularly useful for protection of basements. The other method of preventing the spread of fire was to close all openings to eliminate draughts, and to prevent or retard the spread of smoko and flame from floor to floor. Where buildings were of considerable extent and were covered with pitched roofs enclosed with ceilings, it would be possible fox’ a fire lo start in or reach the enclosed roof space, Mi' Cornish continued, and, aided by draughts, to travel a considerable distance. Il was,- therefore, a good gractice to divide the roof spaces by partitions of non-combustible materials. Ceilings, under limber-framed roofs and floors and the underside of stairs should be covered with noncombustible materials. Mr Cornish, after giving evidence on what he considered the best means of egress and evacuation warnings, said that occasional visits of inspection by officers of the fire brigade to buildings in this area would be of value. The owners could, be given advice on firefighting problems and firemen could become conversant with the building layout, the class of goods stored, or manufactured, and the means of agress. There was no sprinkler system at Ballantyncs, and it had not been possible to close openings that were vertical or horizontal. The stairs were not enclosed by smoke-tight partitions ,and the lift shafts, which went right up to the roof spaces, were not completely enclosed and fitted with doors of a type tnat would exclude smoke. In the horizontal openings the corridors were not fitted with smoke-tight doors and the walls of the corridors did not go from the floors to the ceilings. Most of the openings were quite unprotected by firedoors. Those which did exist were not modern and wee on one side of the opening only. Wired glass did not appear to nave been used in the windows overlooking the adjacent buildings, and there appeared to have been no lire-ijixaks in the roofs. No. system of fire aldrm, automatic oi' manual, was installed in the budding and he considered that an automatic alarm system would, most probably have detected the fire much earliei' than it was- The means of egress were adequate iri numbers and width, but were not protected by an obstruction against smoke and lire, and were of combustible construction.

When the premises was modernised, the walls and ceilings w P re covered with wallboards which were extremely combustible. Mr Cornish said that the fire escape between Goodmans and Pratt’s buildings could not be regarded as having been a protected stairway.. The slooping roof of the verandah would not facilitate tne erection of a laddei’ in a safe manner, and the design was such that anyone jumping onto it would find difficulty in retaining a balance. Examined by Mr G. G. G. Watson, for the Crown, Mr Cornish said that the prottetion of the stairways and openings he had mentioned as being necessary, would cost, at a rough estimate, £25,000. That estimate would not include the cost of a sprinkler system. George Victor Stanley Appleyard, electrician and maintenance manager for Ballantynes, recalled by the Crown, said that about 500 square feet of unpainted softwood fibrehoard was scored in the first floor of Congreves building. To Mr T. P, Cleary for Ballantynes, he said that wood fibre board used in walls and ce’lings in Ballantynes had been painted on the outside. The Royal commission adjourned until tomorrow, when crossexamim.tion of Mr Cornish will then h? continued.