The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-06-27
OFFICIALS TELL HOW THEY
DID IT.
The Order From the Board of Health
and Its Executive Described in Court
Spread of the Fire.

The story of the causes of the great
Chinatown fire is being told in Judge
Gears court by witnesses in the case
of Choy Look See ag1iftt the Royal
Insurance company, who had to do
with the causing the cOnflagration. The
case is similar to many others on the
calendar in some respects.
Superintendent Andrew Brown of the
water works, a member of the fire COM
mission, yesterday afternoon told of
receiving the order to burn the block,
known in the quarantine as number Is,
in which Look Sees buildings were To-
Gated. Brown read the following order
which was introduced in evidence:
Andrew Brown. fire commissioner:
Xou are hereby authorized by resolution
of the Board of Health to destroy by
fire all the structures within the limits
of the area described as follows: Be
ginning at the Beretania street corner
of the Waikiki side of the Kaumaka-
pill church premises and proceeding
along the Waikiki boundary of said
premises and following the same
straight line thence to Kukui street,
thence along Kukui street to Nuuanu
street then along Nuuanu street TO
Beretania street, thence along BeTeta-
mia to the starting point, all OF these
structures inclosed in the above boun-
daries having been condemned by the
dered destroyed by fire.
&C. b. WOOD,
pres. Board of Health"
The defense also introduced in evil
dence a certified copy of an extract
from the minutes of a meeting of the
Board of Health on the morning of
January 20, 1900, in which appeared the
following:
Upon motion of F. NJ. Hatch second
ed by G.. w. Smith it was unanimously
resolved that all of the buildings in
Block number Is, bounded by Nuuanu,
Kukui, River and Beretania streets be
considered infected by plague, the same
having been inspected by the Board,
are infected with plague by reason of
many cases of plague having been
taken from said block, and in conse-
quence of proximity to a place where a
case of plague had occurred and that ii
is necessary for the public health and
safety that the buildings on said pre-
misses should be destroyed and that it
is imposg gible to render them safe for
occupaneS by fumigati tiOu or other
means and that such destruction shall
be carried out forthwith"
a copy of a resolution adopted on
January 20 at 10 o'clock a. m. was also
introduced, to the effect that block 10
was "insanitary, a source of filth and a
cause of sickness and incapable of
being rendered sanitary by fumigation
or any other means"
Fire commissioner Charles Crozier
took the stand and testified about the
starting of the fire, giving an eXplana-
tion of its spreading that will affect
all the insurance cases. He stated
that a meeting of the board of fire
commissioners was held on the morn
ing of the goth and the advisablity of
going ahead with the burning was dis
cussed. The day was a clear one. with
little wind, and the board decided to
carry out at once the order from the
doctors, which finally caused so much
trouble After the fire had begun"
said Crozier. there came a sudden rise
in the wind, which carried sparks about
and soon sent the fire all over China
town"
The plaintiffs introduced much testi-
mony to show that the destruction of
Chinatown was due to the sudden rise
of wind and not to the order of the
authorizes. Fire Chief Thurston took
the stand and gave an account of the
work of the fire department. In reply
to question from Attorney Thompson
he said that if the wind had not risen
the fire could have been kept within the
bounds of the area it was intended to
cover.
Testimony was given by / II. Case,
who was stationed at the Kaumakapili
church quarantine station the whole
story of the fire being gone into. Board
of Health records dealing with the fire
are being carefully gone into, and the
case is being hard fought. The attor-
neys for the defense, l.. A. Thurston
and A. G. NJ. Robertson, contend that
all the destruction caused by the fire
was due to the order to burn block
fifteen.