THE FIRE OF DECEMBER 4.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 593, 14 December 1869, Page 2

THE FIRE OF DECEMBER 4.

PUBLIC INQUI&Y. An inquest as to the circumstances under which the fire of the 4th December occurred was held at the Court house on Saturday by the Coroner, Dr Giles, and a jury. The following was the evidence given : John Cummings: I am a mariner residing in Westport. On the evening of the 4th inst, I was standing at Mr Munson's door, opposite Mr Anslow's shop. I saw Mr Anslow come to the door and close it. I few minutes afterwards I saw Mr Anslow's place on fire. The door was then open. Mr Anslow was at the door, and he called out that the place was on fire. I saw that the fire was at the furthest extremity of the building. The shutters must have been up when I first looked across, as I saw no light inside. That is all I know of the origin of the fire. Walter Bishop, bookseller: About a quarter past ten on the night of the 4th I was in my shop when I heard the cry of " Fire." On going out I I saw a glare of light shining through Mr Anslow's store. I ran through the store to the back, where I found a case of kerosene on fire ; and others lying near it. This was in the room at the back of the store. Mr Anslow was behind the counter, pulling some of the things off the shelves. I carried a case of kerosene into the road, and when I returned the whole of the back place was in flames. I did not notice any lamps. .The floor seemed saturated with kerosene. One of the kerosene cases was open. I did not notice the others. I had not observed previously to the fire whether Mr Anslow's shop was closed. Patrick Mulqueen, musician : I was standing outside Mr Anslow's door, with Mr Stanton and Mr Hamilton. Whilst we were in conversation Mr Anslow came to the door and said the place was on fire. We gave the alarm and went into the store. We found that the extreme end of the store, next to Mr Trimble's hotel, was on fire. The fire had caught the lining of the walls, and the ceiling. We began to clear out the things. I did not notice any kerosene tins or lamps. We were standing at the door about a quarter of an hour before the alarm. Mr Anslow's shop was closed. We could see no light. I did not notice any broken glass or fragments of a lamp. Before Mr Anslow gave the alarm, I heard no sounds inside. Michael Stanton, musician, and John Hamilton, miner, gave similar evidence. Hamilton said there was a lamp hanging over the end of the counter on the side where the fire was, but not exactly where the fire was. The glass of the lamp was hanging to one side. After the fire broke out, Mr Anslow was knocking the windows out with a broom, and the witness checked him in doing so. Thomas Anslow, draper: On the evening of the 4th I closed my shop about a quarter past ten. After putting up the shutters I was about a quarter of an hour going over my books and taking the cash. When I was ready to go home, I proceeded to put out the lights. There were two

kerosene lamps, one at the front and one at the back of the shop. I put out the front one first by standing on an empty box. I then took the box to the back lamp, and put it end up to stand on it. I got upon the box, and found that it was unsteady, as if something was underneath it. I turned down the wick of the lamp suddenly, and jumped off the box to save myself from falling. I then went towards the door and threw a piece of calico over some goods that were uncovered. "Whilst in the act of doing so I heard an explosion. On turning round I saw that two of the three chains by which the lamp was hung had given way, leaving the frame of the lamp hanging by one chain. There were two entire cases of kerosene, and one with the lid off. They stood nearly underneath the lamp—from one to two feet off, where they always had stood. I had sometimes had a case that leaked, and the floor was saturated for about two yards square. One of the cases was also saturated. When I turned round on hearing the explosion I saw the kerosene burning on the floor. The other cases also caught. The fire soon flared up to the ceiling. I opened the door immediately and gave the alarm. I broke the windows only to set some calico out. I broke them with my hand. The house was the property of Mr Cowley. I had no insurance at all on any of my property. Both lamps were hung in the centre line of the shop, and by link chains. On the explosion the lamp had fallen, leaving the frame hanging. I think I heard the lamp fall. It might have been eight feet from the ground. At the time I covered the goods I thought the light was completely out. I had seen previously that the goods were not covered. There was light coming in from the street between the shutters. The jury found that the cause of the fire was the explosion of a kerosene lamp, and that it was purely acci- ; dental.