THE HAWERA FIRE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5119, 2 September 1895, Page 2

THE HAWERA FIRE.

i HOW IT BEGAN. i By Telegraph.—Press Association. \ Hawera, Saturday. i An inquest concerning the circum- | stances under which W. J, Cavorf hill and A. Toumor lost their lives • in the Hawera fire was hold to-day r before Mr Nolan, Acting-Coroner, ' aud a jury. f John Alton Campbell (manager . for C, Smith, draper), who was - engaged at about half-past twelve i stock-taking with Mr Jewell, des- > cribed the outbreak. Witness heard | a report as of a lamp glass erackiug, . and rushing to the window ho saw a > board on which a lamp was plam gradually coming down. The law 1 fell into the window when ho was , about 12ft away. Tlio window con- , taincd curtains, mercery, Ac. Ho ! tried to get a .step-ladder to knock against the ceiling to wake tho | Kelly's in the hotel rooms abovo tho . shop, and throw an ovorcoat on the i flames. The shop was in tlamos in ■ what appoarod four or fivo seconds. Jowell was not drunk on that night, Ho had had a glass. At 8 o'clock wilnoss wont to Gibson's hotel toask Jewell to come over. He was there and said he would come ovor soon, E Witness wont to the Post Cflico, and ■ then wont to Gibson's and asked him i to come again. He did so in a few f minutes. Ho (Jowoll) was notsobor ■ and ho was not drunk. i A juror asked the reason for tho > witness working so late at night—- , whether it was through an overplus I of work, or through Mr Jowoll not : attendiig to his duty during tho j day? - Tho witnoss said it was due to i Jewell not attending regularly to i work. C. Jowell deposed that when tbj| i lamp fell, he was rolling i the shop. Campbell called out, . " Run out and givo the alarm," and . witness rushed out and called "Fire," i and rushed back to tho shop to seo • if anything could bo done. Campi boll was sober and so was witness. i Witness had had two glassos of beer ; (luring tho evening. If a statement i had been made that he was not i sober, it was not true, He would • not have been doing his work if ho i had not been sober. i Christopher Smith, draper, -Weii lington, also gave evidence. ,Therp , would be about £3OOO worth of stock in tho shop. Witness was a loser to the extent of £2,500. Hohad always found Campbell truthful, and had not the slightest reaspu to doubt his version of the accident. J. W. Kelly, proprietor of tho Egmont Hotel, gavo oyidenco as to Cavorhill and Tqurner being lodgers at his hotel on Thursday evening. Both knew the house ivoll, and would have been ablo to cscapo; but ho thought that there must' have been unnecessary delay in giving the alarm. There weic no lamps alight in tho passages qf tho hotel. The* was a drop qf 2ft 6in from the win? dow of the room in which Caverhill slopt on to the lantern roof of the billiard.room, and from tho position in which Caverhill was found, ho must have jumped through and fallen into the billiard-room and have been killed. Kelly said that ho was a loser to the amount of £3OOO. Joseph Dixon, barman at the Egmont Hotel, and J. Wilkinson, billiard-marker, were also examined. The latter said he always locked tho billiard-room door, and if anyone fell into the billiard-room 'he' could noi have escaped. '■•■;>.!■! After other evidence tho jury found that-the deaths were caused by accidental fire, and added a rider detailing more stringent precautious in tho hotel for tho protection of life and property, in the lyaj of ljgbts, alarm bells, escape' ladders and the employment of night porters'; that a tya'f ec supply'would hive pre'fenjjji much damage, and that party \fjm should be made of brick', and fire brigade hotter equipped,