THE TURAKINA FIRE INQUIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 24 October 1907, Page 2

THE TURAKINA FIRE INQUIRY.

INTERESTING EVIDENCE OF CONDITION OF FLAX. Per Press Association. Wellington, Wednesday . At tjie inquiry into the circumstances of the fire on the steamer Turakina, George Seotchcr, superintendent of salvage operation on the flax at Jliramar, stated that it was impossible to distinguish murks or brands in the stuff that . had come under his care, they having , been obliterated by fire and water. The j (lax was in a very bad condition, and had not been properly stripped, washed, bleached, or scutched. Fully five hundred bales were in wretched order, and should have been rejected as unfit for shipment. Flax of this kind, he said, was very dangerous if not properly washed and scutched. None of the liales were Lurnt right through, and the burning was on the outside. Th-y were in a frightful state, and very hot. The inside of some of the dumps of tow was full of waste. .. , :

Mr F. Bourke said some, of the wool Bent to Kilbirnic was burnt from the outside. He was of opinion that the tow was packed wet. He had known a bale to heat in about a week's time. He did uot think the tow would have fruited by itself, but placed alongside kauri gum and such substances it would be hard to say what would happen. W. H. Ferris, Government hemp grader, said some of the stuff undergoing reconditioning would have been condemned by him, but to judge the shipment oil the piece produced would not be fair. Bales could be condemned, but so long as they were dry, no steps would be taken to prevent their export. Professor MaeLaurin, Government Analyst, thought it would be almost impossible for flax properly dressed to become ignited by over-heating, but in the case of badly-dressed flax, it would be more likely to ignite. It had occurred to him that the fire inijght have started in the wool, and then it would naturally go to the flax, where greater heat would be generated. .

In this ease, lie thought it most likely the cause of the fire was from smoking or matches, and that the fire would be smouldering several days. Bad specimens of flax such as produced would, he considered, enhance the possibility of lire.