The Hull Home Fire (15 page)

“Mom shouldn’t have told you.”

“She did the right thing.”

Mary pulled the quilt up around her. “How do you feel about it ?”

Henry dropped into the armchair facing the couch. “Shocked,” he said quietly,
and stared down at the floor.

Mary glared at the top of his head. “Shocked,” she said with a slight catch to
her voice. “That’s all ?”

“I spent hours thinking about what you said that night outside your house. You
said I used you. It winded me.”

“I’m sorry you felt slighted,” Mary said, her face a canvas of unreadable
emotions. “It’s what I believed and still do.”

“It must’ve seemed that way when I applied to medical school. In truth, I just
didn’t think about our relationship.”

“You’re free to leave Newfoundland anytime.” Mary rested trembling fingers on
her stomach concealed by the quilt. “I won’t burden you with any of the
responsibility for this child.”

“Please, Mary. Hear me out.”

“Like I told you that night. There’s nothing left to discuss.”

“The fire put my feelings for you in perspective,” Henry
said,
as if she hadn’t spoken. “I understand now what’s important to me.”

“Don’t you see that it doesn’t matter ? You planned a life that has no room for
me.”

You’ve lost weight, Henry thought. You look like a truck ran over you. He
sighed. All that hasn’t touched your beauty. “We have to get married,” he
blurted.

Mary glowered at Henry. “I’ll marry one day because I want to, not because I
have to.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“There’s nothing on this earth that could ever make me part of a shotgun
wedding.” Mary’s voice pitched higher when she continued. “Look where it got my
mother.” She turned her head into the couch. “Goodbye, Henry.”

“Mary, how can you expect me to forget about our baby ?”

“Henry,” Flora said, her hand gently on his forearm. “You should go for now.”
He hadn’t noticed her come back into the room. “Mary’s exhausted.”

Henry turned to Flora, his limbs unsteady, the world tumbling away from
reality.

“Take some more time to absorb the news about the baby. It’s a lot for anyone
to take in.” Flora smiled. “I promise after a few days’ rest, Mary’s thoughts
will be clearer, more reasonable, and sensible.”

FEBRUARY
 2 1 
DAWNED ANOTHER BITTERLY
cold day.
The first rays of sunlight filtered through the frost-covered window touching
Henry’s face, wakening him from a dreamless sleep. The plastic wind barrier
ballooned out, in, out. Henry sat up. He shivered, jumped out of bed, and
dressed. His stomach groaned like a beagle snared in a trap as he hurried
downstairs into the warm kitchen.

Tom was halfway through a bowl of porridge he had sprinkled with cinnamon.
Alice pulled a handful of bread dough from the pan on the sink, moulded it into
an oblong shape, and placed it in the heated pan on the stove. Hot melted butter
sizzled and spat into the air. Henry helped himself to a small serving of
porridge while he waited for the toutons to fry. He dumped in four spoons of
sugar, topped it off with tin milk, and mixed everything together.

“The judicial inquiry into the Hull Home fire is a mere hour away,”
the
radio announcer said.

Alice wiped her hands on her apron and turned up the volume.

“For the last ten days the topic of every conversation everywhere
I’ve gone, including the barbershops, friends’ homes, and businesses has been
about the tragedy. Even Confederation has taken a back seat, which I never
dreamed would be possible. On the way to work I passed by the courthouse to see
what was going on. There’s already a lineup to the doors. It looks like any
newcomers won’t stand a chance to get inside.”

Alice switched off the radio. “I wish it was all over with,” she said.

“It will be soon enough,” Tom said. “I’ve heard real good things about Sir
Edward Emerson. He’ll get to the bottom of the fire without dragging the session
on forever.”

Henry finished the porridge. “Gordon Higgins is representing Mr. Hull.”

“Figures,” Tom said. “Hull can afford one of the most influential lawyers in
the city.”

“Harry Carter is the Crown prosecutor,” Henry continued.

“That’s good news, at least. Higgins won’t get over Carter’s time, that’s for
sure.”

Alice turned over the toutons. Tom and Henry liked them fried to a dark brown.
“All the poor residents who died are buried and gone forever. What good will an
inquiry do now ?”

“Well, love, maybe it’ll help save lives in the future. Perhaps even result in
passing laws to make fire escapes mandatory.”

Alice placed four toutons onto a plate and sat down.

Henry took two, sliced each one down the centre, and drowned the insides with
butter and molasses.

“You’d better get going, Henry,” Alice said. “Didn’t you say that Mr. Carter
wanted to see you before the session began ?”

“There’s time. He’s not sure if my testimony is necessary.”
Henry picked up his touton. “I hope he doesn’t call me.” Molasses dripped onto
his fingers.

Tom opened the
Daily News
. “If he does, all anyone can ask is that you
tell the truth. Is Mary testifying ?”

“Yes,” Alice said. “Flora told me she’s scheduled for this morning.”

“I saw her go for a walk up and down the street yesterday,” Tom said. “The
child’s colour is still poor.”

Henry shoved the last morsel of touton into his mouth. He rose, still
chewing.

Tom gave him a curious look.

Henry turned quickly to conceal the blush rising up his neck. “I must be off,”
he said, and hurried out of the kitchen. The cold wind struck him like a punch
in the face. He looked toward Mary’s house. The desire to talk to her, to see
her lovely face, tormented him. He wondered if she had already left for the
courthouse. She hadn’t shown up when he caught the streetcar. People were jammed
together in the aisles, and the driver drove past several stops to shouts and
calls from unhappy patrons on the street. Most of the passengers disembarked at
the courthouse to join the already massive crowd. Henry stood back and watched
people push their way inside. As a potential witness, he was admitted through a
side entrance.

Everyone scrambled for the scant few rows of seats, the benches creaking as men
and women pressed together to make room for others. The floor under their feet
was wet from melted snow. Voices electrified the air, a steady hum that slowly
diminished when Emerson called the session to order. He sat high up behind the
desk. A distinguished-looking man with an honest face, Henry thought. Two
policemen stood watch at the back by either side of the door. Henry looked for
Mary
and spotted her in the last seat with her mother. He caught
her eye. She looked away. Without any delay Crown Prosecutor Carter got down to
business and called Fire Chief Baker to the witness box.

“Chief Baker,” the prosecutor began, his hands behind his back. “Tell us what
you saw upon arrival at Hull Home the day of the fire.”

Baker faced the spectators, a stoic expression on his face. “Smoke billowed
into the sky. People hovered in the windows of the main building, trapped in
their rooms, flames licking at their backs. I ordered two ladders up. We saved
some of them.” He closed his eyes.

Henry counted the seconds before he opened them. Five.

“Unfortunately, several jumped when the flames came too close. The fire and
smoke were so intense, my men couldn’t get in through the windows to rescue
anyone.” The chief coughed.

Henry had heard that most of the firemen suffered from a cough since the
fire.

“The Annex faired a little better, so I ordered water to be sprayed on it to
help control the fire. As soon as the water touched the building, it froze into
icicles.”

“What happened next, Chief ?”

“Fire Chief Cadigan and two firemen had to break in the door to the Annex. They
found most of the residents huddled together just inside the door.”

“Where did most of the survivors reside ?”

“In the Annex. It was the farthest away from the source of the fire.”

Emerson excused Baker and called Fire Superintendent Vivian.

“You and Fire Chief Baker made a lengthy inspection of the
Home
after the fire was extinguished,” the Crown prosecutor said. “Please relate what
you encountered.”

Superintendent Vivian gripped the box rail and glanced in the direction of
Isaac before he began. “It was the most gruesome sight of my entire career,” he
said. “In the main building, some residents had died in their beds, victims of
smoke inhalation.” The superintendent’s voice kept its professional tone. “Some
had rallied enough strength to get one leg to the floor.” His face grew more
ashen as he recounted the details. “Others were found in a kneeling position,
their hands joined in prayer.”

The spectators listened. Not a squeak or whisper could be heard.

“The second and third floors were gutted. Water was everywhere. Charred wood
and debris of every sort flowed down the stairs. The walls to the majority of
rooms had burned down. Icicles hung everywhere, water dripping from them like a
rain shower.” The superintendent gently touched an earlobe that had been
frostbitten during the fire. “Burned furniture, clothing scorched almost to dust
lay scattered everywhere. The roof sagged in several places. Most floors were
all but destroyed. The kitchen stove was nothing more than a clump of black
material.” He cast another look at Isaac. “A mattress caught fire when one of my
men attempted to remove a deceased resident from it.”

“Tragic indeed,” Carter said. “You and Mr. Cahill, a city building inspector,
inspected Hull Home for safety issues before the fire.”

“Yes.”

“What were your findings ?”

“The condition of the kitchen stove and the lack of fire escapes were my main
concerns. I noted that several of the rooms were overcrowded.”

Henry glanced back at Mary. Her eyes were fixed on Inspector
Vivian, her face grim.

“To your knowledge, Inspector,” Carter said, “had the Hulls complied with any
of your recommendations ?”

“No. The report was published in both local papers. I assumed City Hall would
send the Hulls a copy and enforce the required safety regulations. The
Department of Health and Welfare proceeded with their own inspection following
my report.”

A representative from City Council testified next that they were not aware Mr.
Hull’s establishment had been converted into a nursing home. The Health
Department witness claimed the city was responsible for enforcing safety
regulations.

“A scandalous situation,” the Crown prosecutor said. “It would appear that no
official department felt the need to make sure our elderly were looked after
properly.”

Emerson leaned forward. “To which I wholeheartedly concur,” he said.

The spectators applauded.

Gordon Freeman, the stove mechanic, took the witness box and spoke about
leaking oil, the number of times he had repaired the stove, and the many
occasions he had warned Mr. Hull against tampering with the carburetor.

Henry saw Mary nod in agreement.

Ronald Cave, the man who painted the Home prior to the fire, came next. Carter
asked him about the scorch marks behind the stove.

“Well, sir,” Cave said, looking at the prosecutor while picking white paint
from under his fingernails. “To my recollection, there weren’t any scorch marks
behind the stove when I painted the kitchen.”

Frank Wylie, the businessman who occupied the first floor of
the Home, gave his testimony next. He adjusted the lapels of his jacket before
answering. “I was sitting at my desk, working away, when I smelled oil. Couldn’t
believe my eyes when it dripped from the ceiling onto my goods. We had to move a
load of boxes and put a bucket under the leak.”

Two former residents of Hull Home gave testimony. One said the living
conditions were very comfortable, the food healthy and abundant. The other swore
the rooms were overcrowded, the food sparse and poorly cooked.

Nurse Jean Baker, dressed to perfection in her uniform with cape and hat,
proclaimed the care at the Home second to none. The remaining two nurses agreed
the Home was beyond reproach.

At twelve sharp, Emerson called a recess for dinner. Many of the spectators
chose to remain so as not to lose their place. Henry headed toward the door.
Mrs. Norris smiled at him and followed her daughter outside. Henry saw them
descend the many steps at the side of the courthouse which led to Water Street.
He turned in the opposite direction and went home.

“How’s it going ?” Tom asked when the family was seated at the table.

“It’s hard to tell. Half the witnesses praise the Home. Half condemn it.” Henry
paused in his eating. “My impression is that City Hall and the Health Department
will share in the blame for the fire with Mr. Hull.” He explained what had come
out at the inquiry thus far.

“My mother and all the others died horrible deaths because of a group of men in
high positions,” Alice said. “Men who didn’t give a damn about old and sick
people.”

HENRY RETURNED
to the courtroom at 1:30 p.m.
Mary and her mother had already retaken their seats. The first witness called
was Isaac Hull. He wore a brown suit with a brown shirt. His hands were
bandaged, injured during the fire. Henry noticed he seemed unsteady as he walked
to the witness box.

“Mr. Hull,” Carter began. “Do you deny that you tried on numerous occasions to
repair the kitchen stove yourself ?”

Isaac cleared his throat. “I did a little tinkering, nothing serious.”

“What did you do when you discovered the fire in the kitchen ?”

“Flames shot up around the kettle and from the back of the stove. The heat was
unbearable and the smoke stung my eyes. I couldn’t see a thing.” Isaac glanced
around the room from under heavy brows. “Even so, I tried to get a bucket and
fill it with water.”

“Did you succeed ?”

“No. The fire had spread all through the kitchen.” Isaac lowered his
head.

“Go on, Mr. Hull.”

“I ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted ‘fire.’ I met Howard Pike and told
him to call the Fire Department.”

“What did you do then ?”

“I... I went outside.”

A low murmur rippled through the spectators.

Mr. Carter waited for Emerson to bring order to the room. “Tell me, Mr. Hull,
why didn’t you go upstairs to warn the residents, to help organize a rescue
effort ?”

Isaac flicked his eyes right and left as if he didn’t know where to look. “I
was afraid for my life. Although I helped rescue residents from the
Annex.”

“Is that a fact, Mr. Hull ? Fire Chief Baker testified that
Fire Chief Cadigan had to break in the door of the Annex in order to remove the
residents.”

Isaac remained silent.

The Crown prosecutor walked back and forth in front of the witness box. “Why
did you not implement the recommendations of the fire inspector ?”

Isaac moved around on the chair. “I never received any formal notification from
City Hall or the Health Department to do so.”

“Did you take it upon yourself to inquire if you should implement fire
escapes ?”

Isaac seemed to shrink in the chair. “No.”