ABSTRACT
In the early morning of April 26, 1978, a fire occurred in unit 512 of the Elizabeth Towers apartment building in St. John's, Newfoundland. The apartment tenant, Dr. Thomas Farrell, a physician from Cornerbrook, was a member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly and minister of industrial development in the cabinet of Premier Frank Moores. The fire commissioner thought that although the fire was confined to the bedroom, the damage was more than he would have expected in a fire of such duration. He therefore asked the Newfoundland Constabulary to assist with his investigation. The full-scale fire simulations were performed in October in an old house scheduled for destruction in York Region north of Toronto. Electrical wiring had been ruled out as a possible source of ignition; there was nothing liable to spontaneous combustion in the room, and thus the most likely initiation of the fire was either a smoldering cigarette or direct ignition with an open flame.
