HEROIC FATHER
DASH INTO FLAMES
LIFE LOST FOR SON
OVERCOME BY SMOKE
FIREMEN SAVE CHILD
[by telegraph — own correspondent] INVERCARGILL, Sunday.
Dashing into his burning home early yesterday morning in an attempt to save his four-year-old son, Mr. Robert John Fraser, aged 33, was overcome by smoke and was found by firemen lying near the back door unconscious. Although badly burned about the shoulders and face he was still breathing. Artificial respiration failed, however, and he died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance.
The child was found unconscious evidently just in time, but he responded to treatment and is reported to be making good progress in hospital.
The brigade was called at 4.37 a.m. by a man who was passing the house, which is situated on the corner of Lewis and Ramrig Streets, Gladstone. The front of the house, a six-roomed brick structure, was burning fiercely with flames shooting through the roof.
A lead of hose had to be played on the building before the men could fight their way in. A door was opened and the draught partly cleared away the smoke, which was stifling in its density.
Boy Unconscious
When the firemen got inside they found Mr. Fraser lying huddled in the hall near the back door. Continuing through the building the firemen, by the light of an electric torch, found the boy unconscious in the bathroom passage. He had apparently been trying to find a way out of the burning house. Artificial respiration was applied and he was taken to the hospital.
The occupants of the house were aroused by the fire, and the housekeeper, Mrs. White, woke four children, the youngest of whom is a girl aged two years, and with Mr. and Mrs. Fraser they rushed outside. It was then discovered that one of the boys was missing.
Mr. Fraser tried to go back into the house, the front by this time being a blazing inferno. Mrs. Fraser tried to restrain him, but he was determined to save the child. Overcome by smoke he fell unconscious in the hall where he was found by the firemen.
The boy, by good fortune, was in a passageway off the hall, where there was a small current of air, and the smoke was not so thick. This, it is considered, saved his life.
Serious Damage
The blaze was so strong when the brigade arrived that no one could enter the house until the flames were controlled. The fire was quickly subdued, but the front of the house, where the outbreak apparently originated, was seriously damaged, even the roof being burned through. The rear portion escaped comparatively lightly, the main damage being done by smoke, water and heat. Every window was broken by heat.
Even at that early hour of the morning a number of people gathered at the scene before the brigade arrived. It is stated that some of the bystanders wanted to break the windows, but were rightly advised not to do so as the draught would only fan the flames.
Mr. Fraser. who was employed as a motor lorry driver, was a member of a well-known Wallacetown family, and was formerly proprietor of the Invercargill-Wallacetown bus service. -NZ Herald, 16/1/1939.
FIRE BRIGADE’S WORK IN PAST MONTH
18 CALLS ATTENDED
Eighteen calls have been received by the Invercargill Fire Brigade since December 12, 1938, according to a report made by the deputy-superintendent (Mr R. A. Robertson) to the monthly meeting of the Invercargill Fire Board yesterday. Included in this total were calls to four dwellings and eight chimney fires.
Discussing a fire at 147 Lewis street on January 14, the report stated that after the fire was under control, Robert John Fraser and his son John Stewart Fraser, aged four, were found in the house. Both were unconscious and first aid was applied while the arrival of the ambulance was awaited. Mr Fraser, however, had died on the way to the hospital.
The chairman (Mr W. G. Tait) said that this fire had been most unfortunate, but the brigade had done splendid work in subduing the outbreak.
There were present at the meeting: Mr. W. G. Tait (chairman) and Messrs R. R. Binney, A. Dix and A. Sharp. -Southland Times, 26/1/1939.
MAN’S DEATH IN FIRE
Evidence At Inquest
ATTEMPT TO SAVE LIFE OF SON
“It is probably only fair for me to comment that it is sometimes hard to live well and hard to die well. The family of this man can, at least, be proud of the fact that he died trying to save his son.” These remarks were made by the Coroner, Mr R. C. Abernethy, S.M., at the inquest yesterday into the death of Robert John Fraser, aged 33, a motor-driver. He returned a verdict that Fraser died of asphyxiation during a fire at his home, 147 Lewis street, in the early morning of Saturday, January 14.
Maurice Holmes Thomson, a labourer, of 144 Lewis street, gave evidence that he was in bed in a house practically opposite Fraser’s early on January 14 when he heard glass cracking and saw flames coming from the north end of Fraser’s house. He called his brother to ring for the fire brigade and he dressed hurriedly and ran across the road. He was met by Mrs Fraser and two of her children on the footpath in Ramrig street on the east side of the building. He asked Mrs Fraser if everybody was out of the building and she replied: “No, Peter is still inside.” He went to the back door and saw Mrs Fraser’s’ daughter, who was about six years of age, and asked her where Peter was. She replied: “He is on the other side of the house,” meaning the west side. The witness went to this side of the house and found all the windows shut. He then pushed a window and broke it in. He saw a bed near the window and pulled the blankets out through the window, but could not see the boy. He could not enter the room because it was full of smoke and flame. He broke another window, but still could not see the boy. The fire brigade then arrived and he informed them that there was someone inside, but he did not know where. Mrs Fraser did not tell him that Mr Fraser had gone into the house.
MRS FRASER’S EVIDENCE
Margaret Grace Stuart Fraser, widow of Robert John Fraser, said that they had had visitors at the house on the evening before the fire and they had spent the time sitting in front of the fire in the front room. The visitors left about 11.30 p.m. The children had been put to bed about 7 p.m. and her husband went to bed immediately after the visitors left. The next morning she was awakened about 4.30 a.m. by her son, Geoffrey, aged 7 years, who came into the room and said there was a fire. She could then smell smoke. She immediately woke her husband and they rushed from the house, her husband taking the baby from a cot in the same room as he went out. She could not remember if the other boy went out before them or with them. When they were outside they discovered that Stewart Fraser, aged three years, was still in the house. Her husband rushed back into the house through the kitchen door and did not come out. She was standing at the back door with the other three children. The house was partly destroyed and most of the contents were burned. When the fire was first noticed it appeared to be mainly in the front room. When they went to bed there was not a great deal of fire in the grate and she put a fire-screen in front of it. They were not absent from the house during the evening.
Alice White, a widow, of Clyde street, Winton said that she was employed by Mrs Fraser as housekeeper for two months before the fire. She occupied a room at the rear of the house. About 5 a.m. on the morning of the fire she awakened and discovered that the house was on fire She heard a noise in the kitchen, but thought it was Mrs Fraser making a cup of tea. She heard something fall in the front room and, on getting out of bed, noticed smoke in the house and a smell similar to burning rags. She went into the room where the children were sleeping and got them out of bed. The two eldest children followed her out to the back door, but the youngest walked towards the bathroom where, she understood, the firemen found him. She then went into Mr and Mrs Fraser’s bedroom and roused them with considerable difficulty. She had to go back a second time before they got up. Mr and Mrs Fraser were out of the house before the brigade arrived, but Mr Fraser must have gone back into the house again. Mr Fraser was in his pyjamas when he came out of the house. She did not know why he went back. Mrs Fraser, the two children and she went to a neighbour’s house and were given beds there. She did not know what time the visitors left the evening before or what time Mr and Mrs Fraser went to bed. She could not say if any liquor was consumed during the evening. She had gone to bed at 10 p.m.
Dr J. D. Thomson, house surgeon at the Southland Hospital, Kew, gave evidence of examining Fraser at the hospital. He found that Fraser was dead. The body had numerous superficial burns and also exhibited signs of asphyxiation. In his opinion death was due to asphyxiation.
ARRIVAL OF BRIGADE
The deputy-superintendent of the Invercargill Fire Brigade, Robert Alexander Robertson, said that the call was received at the station by telephone at 4.37 a.m. He was on duty at the fire at 147 Lewis street. On the arrival of the brigade the fire was coming through the front windows and door and it had a strong hold. After the fire was under control Fraser was found, unconscious, in the hall near the kitchen door, which was closed. Artificial respiration was carried out by the brigade until the ambulance arrived. On a further search being made John Stewart Fraser, aged three years, was found in the bathroom passage. He was also unconscious and artificial respiration was carried out on him until the ambulance attendant arrived and took charge of both cases. This concluded the evidence and the Coroner found a verdict as stated above. -Southland Times, 25/3/1939.
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