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delay. He rightly understood the brigade must be met, and, accompanied by Mr. Falkingham, went down the right-of-way at the south of Congreve's and waited there for the brigade. He was unquestionably there to give the brigade all the information he could. On their arrival he appears to have been concerned with the actions of the firemen in the right-of-way, and later led the officer in charge of the brigade to a rear goods-lift which was an alternative entrance to the basement. On his visits through the shop, and during the period just prior to the appearance of flame, and later when flame appeared, he apparently advised some hesitant employees to leave the premises, but generally he took no part in any evacuation measures. He said he notified some firemen of the plight of the girls trapped in the upper floor of Goodman's and, even though he saw no attempt being made at rescue, he apparently thought his duty ended by drawing the 'attention of the firemen to the girls. Although he said that, as assistant manager, he was concerned with the supervision of the staff, in this emergency he took little part in measures to ensure their safety. He said, after coming out of the right-of-way, Officer Burrows, the officer in charge, asked him if there was any alternative entrance to the basement, and he replied, " Yes, come with me." He said he intended taking him into Goodman's building, and actually veered towards the door, but came up against a number of people in the entrance and, by looking through the display window, it was evident that that part of the'building was well filled with smoke. It never occurred to Mr. Eoger Ballantyne to take Officer Burrows into the alleyway where, by means of a hole pierced by Luney's men in the wall between Pratt's and Goodman's, entrance could have been effected through Goodman's cellar to the Congreve cellar. Instead he took him to the lift-shaft, which afforded a way to the cellar. He said, at that time, there was a little smoke in the lift-well. Officer Burrows denied the presence of any smoke ; he decided against using that way. Officer Burrows neither asked nor said anything to him about evacuation of either the staff or customers. 71. Mr. Ronald Ballantyne, a joint managing director of the company, was at afternoon tea at the time the fire in the basement was reported to him. As the electric cable passed through that basement he jumped to the conclusion that the cable was the cause of the trouble. Finding the smoke in the basement too dense to allow an entry, he knew prompt steps must be taken to confine the fire and warn the staff and customers. Having previously seen a number of employees from the second floor of Congreve's in the vicinity of the cash-desk on the first floor, he mistakenly thought those on the upper floors of Congreve's had come down and an order for evacuation of Congreve's was not needed. He sent an employee, Mr. Philpott, to warn the staff in Goodman's. Believing electricity to be the cause, he made two attempts to enter the storeroom to draw the fuses. Unable to enter the storeroom (first floor Congreve's), he proceeded to the ground floor to find if the brigade had been called. At that time the smoke was thick at the top of the stairs, but it was clearer on the ground floor. On being told that the fire brigade had been called, he turned his attention to the already apparent smoke on the ground floor of Congreve's and came to the conclusion that steps should be taken for the evacuation of the building. Finding Mr. Novell, the general manager, at the foot of the main stairway, he said he made it clear to him to get the staff out. He did not consider any other order for evacuation was required, and indeed it is not clear how it could have been communicated other than by Mr. Novell or other departmental heads. He had previously sent Mr. Philpott to the upper floor of Goodman's to see to the staff there, and instructed Mr. Hudson to get every one under his control out straight away. Both of these employees were officers whom he could trust to carrv out instructions. These instructions to him

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