THE CURRIE STREET FIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 180, 17 December 1912, Page 7

THE CURRIE STREET FIRE.

jo: VJ wi .ENQUIRY HELD. ■■i.i.'S (!<•. m<3pen VERDICT. ' An ' pnta'iryiSytfs!"Veld- in the MagisJrate'sVOourt". Yesterday into the cause 'aM Origin ,',of' jflle' fire' which occurred on the'premises' of "Messrs. Archibald Clark .ai)d ( , Hops',_ dit Cock and 'Co.'s buildings, .^Jr|ie;s,^ : eQt,.pn thei ; night of December J r ,'|..Th,e ; ;Disii-icX Corpner (Mr. A. Crooke, ) M.„.)'„pvfjiside(ls and the- following jury tk&sv e%)artell.ed:.(.; A. ,H. Glasgow,' A. Amjwry, ..James,, Clarke, James Hayden. Hirst. '" ' „,'jilyidqnce,:was first given by F. J. Johns rtianagei-; at iNew.Plymouth for Cock and .Cft.k-tnt.t3Ve effect that the building would [lie-.'.wortlu'.touglily about £2500. The insurance on it was f '£l7oo on the LivTiO'ftdon'\iad Globe Office. The damage done to the building was about £BOO. .vSooki.-arxd Co.'s stock, which was JwDi-.tJi'.aboiit £SOOO, was damaged to the •extenfo'iof' about ; £2'ooo. It was insured for- £3400 in'the Liverpool, London and Cilobe' Office. There- was very littlo fire In 1 his 'portion of the building, their loss lining siniply"causc'd through smoke and Water. -y t,! '- :•■■ " "■•'■ :■• -''' f - ", Another witness', James D. Sole, manager for' Archibald Clark and Sons, warehousemen,"of "Auckland and New Plymouth',! occupying 'a portion of Cock and Co.'s building, stated that the premises were-closed : n ; t 20 past ]-2 on the day of the fire. The'iirm's stock on the premises, which was insured for £GOSO, was valued at' about £?000.. He understood the loss;on.(h'e : stock was £SOOO and £9O on the fittings, which were insured for f 100. Reverting to the fire, lie said that smoking was not allowed on the premises: He considered the fire originated on the landing stage, on which there were a few wicker travelling baskets and'a case containing inflammable rubbish, which' was. according to custom, to lie emptied on the Monday. If a match were dropped on the inflammable matter a lire would catch quickly, but if it fell on the sa-wtlust it would probably .smoulder for some time. The landing stage was open to anyone. He did not suspect any malice, but in his opinion someone had gone in there for convenience, and in lighting a pipe had let a match drop, which had caught fire to some inflammable material.

■ Corroborative evidence was given by Wm. James Batton, an employee of the linn, who also stated that the rubbish box was opposite the lift door and almost against the door of the main building. Occasionally they found traces of people having been in the landing place and having committed nuisances. Evidence was next given by John Oliver, night-watchman, at New Plymouth, who said that between a quarter and half an hour elapsed between the timo he was last round at the building of Clark and Sons —when everything was alright—and the time the alarm of Tire was given.

Vim. IT. S. Hughes, proprietor of the BiirlingloTi Tea Rooms, deposed to having seen the reflection of the fire from the back of his premises. Tie hurried to the scene of the outbreak and gave the alarm, subsequently endeavouring unsuccessfully to put "the fire out. With assistance he could have then extinguished the flames" with a garden hose. Samuel White Jury, livery stablekeeper, said that he passed on the opposite side of the road to Clark's late Saturday night, and noticed nothing, untoward, but returnig in -about 7 minutes vi.i the Tfuatoki bridge, connecting with Cnvrie street, he saw the fire, then in an incipient stage.. THE WRONG MAN CTTASED.

Constable D. A. McLean, who was on I duty with Constable Smyth on the night of the occurrence, described how they had both followed a man, whom they had seen turn into Devon street, round Sole. Bros.' corner, under the misapprehension (hat he was a criminal whom he (wJiKr-.s) had been previously speaking tn (hat night. That was about 11.30, and in hurrying towards him they saw bin fntn into the right-of-way leading from Brougham .street to Currie street. In crossing the bridge the shadowed man commenced to run and at the same time witness noticed the lire. Constable Smyth fiilid: "Run and catch him," and witness did so. He caught the man when he was in the act of nulling a box I away from the (ire. Upon questioning him witness discovered that he was not the criminal, hut a livery stable-keeper who (as he himself stated in Court) had been indulging in a walk to fill in time waiting for the return of one of his conveyances, when he noticed (lie fire. The only reason why they followed the man was that at the time they thought he was a certain criminal. Fred C. ,T. Bellringcr. Superintendent of the New Plymouth Fire Brigade, said in the course of his evidence that when ho got to the'fire it was inside the main building. The construction of the roof could not have been more conducive to a fire spreading. There was tarred felt on top of the wood, .and iron on top of that again. The way the 'building had I been left was most unsafe, and a fire could very easily be started accidentally, lie did not think that with a good chemical engine the Brigade could have stop-

ped the fire spreading at the time ttiey arrived with the hose. This cl»sed the evidence, and the jury returned the following verdict: "ffhat the fire started in the receiving dock, and there is no evidence to show how it originated."