The Acton Free Press Wednesday Mar 17 1962 Dominion Hotel fire second degree murder trial Continued from page 1 Monda Removed rubble may be evidence In removing the rubble of the northcast end of the Dominion Hotel August some very evidence as to Ihe cause and origin of the fire ma ha been des So says defense counsel Michael Moldaver during his cross examination of Fire Marshal investigator Tom Den hurst Monday In his second gruelling day in the witness stand admitted that the removed rubble may further evidence However he stood by his story that there were at least two fires possibly more burning in the building charged Dewhurst had made a mistake when saying a fire ran from east to west right under the wall separating Cnpps room from ire tor Tom Dewhurst said the photos which led to believe the fire wall was located farther to the north scene and knows for a fact the Tire divider was directly under the wall said testimony given by firefighter earlier in the trial that he felt debris falling on his head at approximately 3 15a while in the bar area below Cnpps room led him to believe that indicated the floor had caved in at that insisted had the floor caved in that car In the fire Cnpps room would have been totally destroyed by fire because of a gapping hole which resulted admitted there was little damage to the room with the curtains still untouch cd and a sofa bed intact The only intense Tire he said was against the east wall between the two win dows In the room pointed out the small fire in the room directly above Cnpps room at a was put out shortly after it broken through The defense counsel pointed out the fire the Crown is saying started at in the room below took two hours and 15 minutes lo burn up Dewhurst said it was possi it cavity The fire Investigator said the decision to remove the rubble of the hotel Sunday was made by the police and himself While addressing himself to the possibility of flammable liquid being poured down the inside of the wall pointed out the Centre of Foren sic Science had examined samples of the hotel and did not find the most minute amount of liquid He noted their equipment is able to find traces of liquid if it existed pointed out that during the invest gallon was extremely helpful in providing information to help in any way he could Mercun told his records had been destroyed in the fire but at that time he could have believed that only lo find them later In the rubble said pointed out had four days between to do something to the budding lo make further investigation impossible Defense law John Smith wondered if Dewhurst went into the second investigation with an arson theory already in his head Dewhurst said he was suspicious Smith charged that during the second in i estimation w hat be saw was affected by the way he thought Friday Fire investigators have day in court Michael Early Spring kg 1 Fresh Ontario Pork Regular Loin Chops Centre Cut Chops Brown n Serve Chops Burn Pnde of Canada Pressed Boneless dinner shoulders kg 208 U 140 Mill St Acton Ontario Pnces March IB 19 Wo resor trie to limit Fresh Meaty Side Spare Ribs 3 Sweet Sour Oils Peameal Back Bacon End Cut 4 Centre Cut Store si lean cooked ham 4 Devon 7Q kg1 bacon J Stole pak small I breakfast sausage 204 Schne s lb pkg skinless wieners 69 FRESH PRODUCE arrives daily at the lowest possible priced ROYALE 100 ply colours facial tissue lAURASECOro4o I puddings marg arine AVUERSOOm raspberry or strawberry I jam pectin DIETRICH 100 whote wheat bread liquid Weston of track buns WESTON of raisin bran muffins ALLEN 48 I Nectar BLACK DIAMOND 500 g single Canadian slices BRAVO plan ml with rigger spray liquid 119 169 329 OLD SOOTH 125 frozen unsweetened Ftonda grapefruit or orange juice BLACJilUJONOW asm 2JB9 LEE 13 kM DIETRICH of 12 scone rolls 335 1j 89 der trial of Mercun Leonard Cnpps and Michael McCnstall Donald Bryan fire research engineer from the firecoUegem Gra testified that he believed the door Cnpps room was caving in when ire- fighter Chns Tennant attempting to put out a fire in the bar area one floor below Tennant had testified earlier in the week he left the room when debris started falling on his head at about a August Defense lawyer for M questioned lheahdity of this He ponied out if the ceiling collapsed about 3 why then was there not more fire damage in room In photos taken at the scene he pointed out a number of items in the room which received only smoke and water damage Moldaver suggested the floor col lapsed closer to five a John Smith counsel for reminded Bryan of the theory that Cnpps punched a hole in the wall and poured flammable liquid down between the walls Smith pointed to boat explosions where becauscofimpropcrvenlilation boats explode If one poured a flammable down the wall Smith inquired the fumes be down in there He continued anyone who puts a match through the hole would be found in the back yard Bryan said not if the fumes had set Smith said in most cases there would be an explo sion He noted there was no evidence of an ion It was only after the ravaged hotel was relumed by authorities to its owner did evidence of arson crop up accord to Tom chief fire in vesti gator told the court he arrived on the scene at the morning of the fire and carefully examined the remains He said the main concern at that time was to recover the body of Howard Gibbons Later that morning the body was found approximately feet south of the north end an the first floor seven feet west of the sidewalk Because of continuing safety hazards the fire marshal ordered the clearing of in the north end of the building Possible accidental causes could not be ruled out because the roof had been consumed he told Crown Attorney Paul Stunt Drop burning where burning embers drop between walls could have taken place On August the day after the fire took a statement from and spoke to fire- On August the hotel was returned to Mercun told the witness told the court of various repair works which had been done in months preceding the fire The hotel owner said all his records had been destroyed in the fire testified in the next few days he learned McCnstall had been been leaving the main lobby and touching the air conditioner and he was con how the fire could spread as fast as it ap peared The investigator said Mercuri had been seen coming out of the southeast door of the hotel and placing something in the trunk of his car And Dewhurst said McCristall had been heard saying we only have to cover up for Cosimo a little while longer testified the focal point of one of the fires was on the six inch ledge the ceiling level of the first floor or the floor joist of the room above and spread from there That fire he said was con fined to the cast wall of the south end or the main beverage room area The fire marshal said there were primarily two fires One in the north end of hotel and the other in the northeast corner of the lobby On August was asked to give a state ment to the Halton Regional Police Dewhurst said Reading from that statement revealed to the court Mercuri expected an offer to purchase the hotel the day after the fire many of the fuse boxes were making overloading possible It was explained means having a or amp fuse a space made for 15 amp Crown Attorney Paul Stunt on questioning Hydro electrical inspector William learned none of the electrical panels Inspected by the man on August showed evidence of malfunction said be paid partic ular attention to the kitchendining room areas where it is believed one of two fires in the building started All panels he said were In satisfactory condition Including the main panel in Ihe basement Stunt asked the witness if there was a mal function anywhere in the building could he tell from looking at the main panel Postclthwaite explained there would be a ruptured or breaker He test ified he was unable to find anything like that but admitted he was unable to determine the condition of the breaker panels because of fire damage Defense counsel for Mercuri Michael Moldaver pointed out to that when he at Ihe scene the following day August much of the debris from the northern end of the building was cleared aw ay In terms of doing a proper investigation it is important to have as much of the scene intact as possible he stated and said the inspector did not have an opportunity to do a proper investigation of the northeast corner Had ail this not been removed you might have found something electrical the lawyer It is iblc Postlclhwaitcrephed Cosimo Dewhurst also read a statement made by Mc Crista 11 He said he and went to his room about 130 pm He heard Mcrcuri car leave the area he could tell whose car It was because it had no muffler At the time of the alarm Ihe statement read Cripps and McCristall were having a beer He saw no smoke or fire until he opened the washroom door He started running through the halls of the hotel banging on doors to rouse people awake and subsequently save their lives He rushed outside and saw smoke coming out of the foundation of the building The hotel was returned lo Mercuri September Accusations of bias in the investigation of the case were launched against by defense counsel Moldaver charged that entered the sec investigation looking for evidence against Mer instead of having an open mind Thursda Faulty wiring not disproved as cause Faulty wiring has not been disproved as a pos cause of the fire which levelled the Dominion Hotel August 19 1J79 in which Howard Gibbons died Thursday these degree murder trial of Cosimo Mercuri Leon Cripps and Michael McCnstall he jury learned Canawinner Ceramics 81 Mill St East Acton 853 2522 Chanct For Chtm Until Ml Register BEGINNING MARCH WEDNESDAY NIGHT CLASSES BEGINNING MARCH 10 Weeks 25 I Cripps counsel John Smith pointed out to the witness a lot of people living in the hotel were carefree individuals He continued to say the rooms were not intended to cook in with crock pots hotplates etc Would you sleep in a hotel knowing someone was using these things he asked The in he would not James Stevens of the Ontario Fire Marshal of also testified there was a lot of effusing throughout the building He told the court he examined the kitchen panel and found no blown fuses All the cables as Tar as he could see going into the box were also in tlon He also found a panel in the kitchen that he had been originally came from the north cast sec tion of the building and had been left there by another investigation team He said he could not ex amine it because it was severely damaged by fire He could not tell if the breakers were on or off In the south end of the second floor Stevens said the panel box contained four fuses Only one was 15 amps two were 30 and one was amps All holes required 15 amps Moldaver was upset over the fact Stevens did not follow the cables after they disappeared into the walls If there was some damage within the wall Stevens made no effort to find ft Moldaver charged Stevens said any indication of overloading would have gone back to the fuse box Lawyer Smith wondered if any Tom Dick or Harry could have put bigger fuses in the fuse box on the second floor Thus would enable more hydro to enter the individual rooms Stevens said he was unable to rule out one of the Dominion Hotel fires was an accidental electrical fire However fires occurring the same building was almost something like winning a lottery Acton firefighter Randy Ridley testified he fought a fire in the area of the bar and saw a glow over the bar When he first arrived at the fire he went in the building and up the stairs On the second floor there was not that much smoke but the third floor was completely full of smoke Ridley also told the jury he fought a fire in the kit near the door to the dining room He presumed it was an electrical switch because of its position so close to Ihe door Gordon of the Canadian Standards Assoc testified he examined the air conditioner and a receptacle cable He said he could find no malfunction of the air conditioning unit He said there was damage to the compressor wiring from the heat of fire but none beyond the evaporator sec Hon and compressor Stunt asked about the or gin of thick black smoke from the unit explained could come from burning insulation around internal wiring There was no evidence of f re inside the unit he said James Brown also of the Canadian Standards Association testified that he too examined the unit He said there was a lot of damage to the portion of the unit Inside the building but little to the outside He testified smoke seen coming from the unit could have been coming from inside the building and escaping through the unit In his first day on the stand Donald Bryan fire research engineer from the Ontario Fire Marsha office in said he became involved much later in the case and relied on testimony of firefighters and findings by investigators to come to Ihe conclusion the fire was deliberately set Bryan told Stunt the findings showed the fire started about IB feet from the south end of the build Continued on page Acton Photo fir Camera LaattMrtown VOtotfa Acton 1ST US with your pfaciouiplctur BEAUTIFUL Ml COLOR ENLARGEMENTS special