CORONER'S INQUIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 249, 20 April 1912, Page 7

CORONER'S INQUIRY.

THE DEVON STREET FIRE. An enquiry, occupying all day, was i held in the Courthouse yesterday into the fire which occurred on Good Friday evening at the premises of J. F. Burke, fruiterer, before iMr. A, Crooke (coroner) and the following jury: Jas. Olliver (foreman), G. A. Tabor, I. Morrison, W. Wood, G. Lawrence and E. Egan. Senior-Sergt. Iladdrell conducted the i enquiry, and Mr. F. C. Bellringer was present on behalf of the l'.ve Board. Thomas Hood, chemist, who occupied the building next to the scene of the fire, related its discovery, wlien he arrived to open his shop at (> p.m. on Good Friday evening. He could see no evidence of fire when he went down the right-of-way l)y Griffiths' shop after his attention had been called to smoke rising from Burke's premises. He had a closer look, and then rang up the brigade, which arrived smartly. He described the construction of the premises, which were difficult to get at from Devon street for -fire-fighting purposes. There was nothing to lead him to suppose that the lire was in Mr. von Lubbe's premises. lie would not swear that he had seen iMr. and Mrs. (Burke, that evening. In reply to Mr. Bellringer, witness I stated that the fire seemed to come from either the kitchen or a bedroom at the rear of the 'house. He could not say which. iMr. J. F. Burke deposed that he had been in Inisiness as a confectioner, fruiterer and registry-office keeper, for two years. His lease" still had two years and four months to run. On the date in question the shop was closed all day. He was at home till 4 p.m.. when he lit a fire and had afternoon tea. The ordinary fire in the stove had ibccn used all dav! A'bout 5 p.m. he and his wife went for a walk. As his wife was not ready, he went out first to have a smoke. When he reached the railway station he found he hud forgotten his tobacco, and returned to get it. He met his wife, and she went back with him, remaining outside, while he got his tobacco off the shop counter. This must have lieen 5.30 p.m. They then resumed their walk, and had reached the Terminus Hotel, i when they heard the, bell, and returned to discover where the fire was. When near Role's butcher's shop he was told the fire was at his place, and he hurried home as fast as possible, pushing t the perambulator for his wife. He could have gone no quicker bv himself. Whe* he arrived, water was being played on the back part of the shop, which seemed to "be all on fire. The bedroom and kitchen were divided by match-lining, the walls of the former being papered and scrimmed. Gas was used in the kitchen, and kerosene in the liedroom. He did not know where the fire could have started. It may have done so in Von Lubbe's shop for all he knew. A small shelf alongside the stove might perhaps have caught. It had been there for years. He h?.d 'been lying down smoking on the bed in tire bedroom at 1.30 or 2 * p.m., 'but was sure that no spark from i his pipe had set the bedding smoulder- : ing. He had been insured in the I T nited a Insurance Company for nearly'a y&ir <■ for £■?,). and estimated his loss at £25. | Not all of the articles insured were in the building at the time of the fire; the | harness was not there; a collar and reins were burnt, however; the buckles should have been found in the debris, but were not. His loss consisted of bed linen and furniture, and small things about the house. A watch-chain Valued at £7 was burnt; Thirty pounds of the insurance was on rfis personal effects, and £4is on shop and fittings. He ' had made a statement to Air. Lightband, but had sent in no claim. In a signed paper he had stuted that there was a total loss. He had claimed that there was £2O worth of stock spoilt, but he ■ I did not now think that it v.'., < vvor.iih so much. He had also claimed that he had £4O worth of furniture burnt,. Mr. Day had estimated the value of the stock 'prior to the fire at about £5 10s. He, did not know what stock was there on, I Good Fridav. He had quite lately, purchased goods from various firms .t'dta)Tln£ £3O, and on this he owed £7 0,r ,: .te8.' 1 .fitf owed some other • Bmoll" l acMMui& 1 : 'Hfld ' though over £2O in arrears with, liip,. rent, at £1 per week, his IdmHor^'M^i^, pressed him. His wife couljl SaV. 'tieit'ejr' than he how the 'business liad .been doing lately. He had been ,working' 'iof' nine months, and had put most of hip wages into the business. He had also, tried to get rid of his lease. Ti\ behind the 'building there were some.old., clothes, blankets, ttc. His consisted of clothing, lie had nev&r 'before had a fire at the place. ..„Hc f.hfvd! two gold watch-chains, a-d the'one burnt I he 'had had for eight years. He did 1 not j iisure the other, because he The harness was his own wheij iiifsured.il In claiming £72 he had allowed a'Hlajiti gin, as everyone did. L" accepting £25 the insurance company had fiested him and had the better part of the bargain. He did no-t think it necessary' to mention either to the police or to the insurance company that he hart-returned to the shop after leaving it 5 p.m. When he left the first time he thought the doors were open. To Mr. Bellringer: After ha went out tlia second time he remained with his wife. When he got to the' Scene bf f tflje fi'rc he could only look on, as 1 the'fpofiw. told him not to enter the buiictfrig. lt '"\ To a juryman: The stoVe' waß 'ft'iffift 1 ' in brick, and there was no draping, Tliq shelf was the only tiling tha't c.quld have ignited if the uppc - part','<if /the' stove door had dropped do\yn. ~T,he skylight in the sitting-room w;ap'' : o.pen' for an inch or 'two at the timcj' and ,a, spark from another chimney might have' come through it.

'May Teresa Burke, wife of the previ-. ous witness, deposed that she' had used the stove on the afternoon•,of, ; thei ,fire, About 4 p.m. there was a good.fire in, the stove, but after that she just sufficient to keep it going-; did not use a light in thcj 'bedropro,! which was partitioned off -front tli<i,lki;t/:i cheh, Mforpj leaving. The fijrsfc, ,frf; tlie stove did not close properlyj!;htt,t,i she thought the fire was Slw Corroborated ber husband's evidence';from>' the time of leaving the shopvuntil tSe.' firebells rang. When a few minute's later > !Mrs. Lumsden told them about'tlm fire, they hurried to the shop, but coufd''tiof get close up on account of>'tKe' : h-oWd!' They never had any trouble;"\i'itft shelf above the stove. The outsidedoltf would be closed, but witness did not remember closing the door between the bedroom and kitchen, but the glass door ! was shut. Her husband smoked a good deal, and it "was his custom to lie on the bed and smoke. Witness had found small holes burnt in the blankets, and: had spoken to him about it; - Mfc : '*hot lately. They had not been doiiig sot' well in business lately, but had" done better previously. There was a: fair'. 1 stock, and six or seven boxes of sweets had not been opened. Sweets to the | value of £2 were missing after the I file, (he heat of which would not cause | them to melt. The stock would be worth | £fi or ;CB. She knew the furniture was insured, and sin; had not bought or dis- , posed of any furniture since the insurance. Just before tile fire witness saw some reins, etc., below the bed. When , witness left, the house was 3ecui/!, .and. there was no smell of fire. Witness did not know if the fire cancelled the lease.' To a juryman: The stove was used

I for cooking. It had a good draught, but the protection in front often dropped down. To the Coroner: Witness could not think what caused the fire. The collar and straps had been beneath the bed for months. The value of stock before the fire was £B. Witness did not see any smoke or fire when they returned to tine house, and there was no smell of fire when they left. They had been nearly an hour on the esplanade when the bells rang, but nothing had occurred to make her fix the time. iMr. W. H. lightband, agent of the United Insurance Company, deposed that his company held a policy for £75 on Mr. Burke's effects. Out of this the stock was insured for £2O, and fittings and fixtures for £;10. He inspected the risk last May, when he valued the stock at £25. Mr. Day had assessed the stock at Uie time of the fire at £5 10s. The value of the fittings was still there. He had no reason to suppose that any household property was missing. They searched diligently for the watch-chain, but could not find it. Nor could they find any remains of the horse collars. The offer of £26 made to and accepted by Burke was a fair one. The fire was principally confined to the back, and the result in the kitchen and bedroom was a total loss. To Mr. Bellringer: He had held the risk for two years, and in giving a full insurance, thought it was a fair risk, and as it Was an old risk he continued it. Before going away at Easter witness thought of cancelling the risk, as he was under the impression that the business was not going too .well. To a juryman: ,He had had no trouble over insurance matters, and did not tii ink anything had been shifted after the fire. iSenior-Sergt. Haddrell deposed that he was quite satisfied that the fire originated either in the kitchen or in the hedroom, which forms part of the kitchen. The partition being practically destroyed rendered it impossible to say on which side it start d. The building showed the more severe evidence in the bedroom, as that contained the bulk of the stuff destroyed. The chimney in Mr. von Lu'bbe's house was very close, but witness was satisfied that there was no danger from that source. The building, which was valued at £4OO, was insured in the State Office for £IOO, and the damage had been assessed at £l4O. Mr. Griffiths' place was insured in the State Office for £2OO, and the damage there was from £l2O to £l4O. To Mr. (Bellringer: The bedroom floor was burnt more than the kitchen floor. The Coroner, in summing up, said that there was no direct evidence as to the origin of the fire. He reviewed the evidence, pointing out that Mr. Burke had given his evidence in a very fair manner. As regarded the fire, it had been suggested in the evidence that it might have been caused by the shelf over the stove catching alight, and it had been 1 indirectly suggested that it might be the result of the smoking in bed. Then, of course, there was the other suggestion that the stock was over-insured, and that this was an incentive to the owner to set the place on fire. The jury, after a short retirement, returned a verdict "that, according to •the-evidence, they were of opinion that 2 the fire occurred in the bedroom, through i misadventure."