CARGILL STREET FIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17691, 31 July 1919, Page 9

CARGILL STREET FIRE

RESUMPTION OF INQUEST. NECESSITY FOR OFFICIAL VIGILANOK STRICTURES BY THE CORONER. The final stages of the inquest cm Duncan MacDoneli and Samuel Docherty, the two men who died as a result of the injuries which they received in the Oargill street tire, were reached yesterday at the Law Courts, Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., continuing the inquiry. Mary Ann Barry, the keeper of the house, recalled, said that the boarding establishment was not always full. Sometimes thero were only two or three there. Thero had been no lady boarders. She did not think ropes were needed in tho front rooms because residents could get out by tho verandah. George Win. Gough, city building surveyor said, in reply to tho coroner, that the house was not licensed. Can you tell us why J —We had no knowledge in any of our departments of it being a. boarding-house. How do you rely on knowledge for that? ■ —By application that is made. You wait for that application?—We wait. That is tho form of application (produced). There are many boarding-housea registered in Uunedint—There are a good many registered. What steps are taken to ascertain whether a boarding-house is licensed or not? —Wβ have no means of knowing, because a house may be a private houso to-day and a board-ing-house to-morrow. If you found any, that had not been licensed would yju call upon them to take out a license?— Witness answered in the affirmative.

I notice in the directory Mr Barry is described as a labourer.—There is no notice of any boarding-house keeper of the name of Mr Barry.

Mra Barry' 3 house is not mentioned in th* directory as a boarding-house? There is no mention of Mrs Barry there?—No, sir Her 'husband is mentioned as a labourer in Cargill street.

Under what inspection do boarding-houses comer—lt is almost a dual position as far as I am concerned. I have to be satisfied that there is reasonable means of escape. The sanitary inspectors are then called upon to speak aa to sanitary arrangements. It is a dual office. Speaking later, witness eaid the sanitary inspector's duty concerned the back yaro. and the drainage, without gome inside the house.

This house haa been 16 years or more in existence, ind tiiat should certainly have drawn attention to it I cannot understand now it could have escaped attention. You recognise now the necessity for greater vigilance in seeing that aousca are licensed I cannot understand how it is that this place escaped the notice of some of -your omcers. J

Constable M'OnJlooh, replying to the coroner, said the police knew that the ?. uWf a b 9 ard « , e house for seamen. He had known it for a long time. There was nothing to show it was a boarding house, but the poUce knew it was one! Outside the police it was difficult for anyone to know what a place was. The Coroner: x am going to ask the council to exercise greater vigilance in future. If this place had been licensed the position would have been improved in the direction of fire escapes, which, of course, did not enter into the reasons for the deaths in these two particular cases. But it might have been that families were sleeping upstairs, and a deal of trouble might have occurred. Do you understand the condition making it neoessary to provide means of extinguishing incipient fires? Witness: Every building is now equipped with temporary means. The Coroner: I would recommend the council to see that in all cases fire extinguishers are provided. They are very necessary. Continuing, Mr Widdowson said they all knew now that a fire broke out in Mrs Barry's boarding house about 2 o'clock last Sunday morning. Unfortunately it turned out to be a very sad oocurrence, two nien having lost their lives through the fire. The formal verdict he would return in the case of MaoDonell was that he died of suffocation and burns from smoke and flames which arose from the fire. The formal verdict with regard to Dooherty would be practically the same except that it would be shock following on suffocation, and burns received in the same fire. With regard to the evidence in the case he must eay that he did not think for ono moment that they had got the correct story. He was not at all satisfied with the evidence they had had. It was very largely his opinion that it had been guarded; very likely because some of these men -had not liked to disclose what had been going on. The Coroner proceeded to scrutinise the evidenoe given in relation to M'Donell and Docherty, and others in the house. As to the latter there was no doubt about it he was three parts drunk. Then there was the presence of bottles in the house mentioned by the superintendent of the Fire Brigade. There was.no doubt about it Dochorty must have gone to his room and read a newspaper. Whether he was smoking or not , was not known. There waa no doubt the fire originated in his room, and it might have been due to a lighted candle or a match dropped on the floor. He was got out and it was thought by everybody that he had gone downstairs, and the position was not ascertained until Mr Napier went into an upstairs rooms and heard groans and found Docherty with his head buried in a &' *£' n. 9 tDoch<?rt y) had then gone through the fire, and had suffered to such an extent that he had lost both eyes, and he died m the Hospital afterwards. No ono seemed to know anything about MacDonelL Hβ did not appear to have boon associated with the seamen very much lhey did not seem to know him. It ai> peered to him (the coroner) that MacDoneU was asleep m bed and was more or less overcome by emoke and flames, and was unable to get put He (the coroner) could not help thinking that if this house had been hoansed as it should have been the position would have been different had a fire occurred. Fire escapes would have helped thesis men. In many cases fire escapes were essential for the safety of inmates of buildings. He thought a boarding house and a lodging house should have some fire extinguishers for use in the case of an moipient fire. Barry appeared to have attempted to put the fire out Hβ could not understand that anyone running a boarding house would not provide themselves with means of putting out a fire It was a most unfortunate matter, and had occurred under most unfortunate nonditions •

lurmngto Mr Gough the coroner added that if this .house had been lighted by elect™ U*ht instead of other light it would have bee» a good thing.