Page 192 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

3740. Was that possible; could you do it? - We assisted to do it. 3741. As I understand it the watertight doors had been closed from the bridge? - Yes. 3742. Could you open them from below? - One leading from the engine room to the stokehold was lifted up high enough by hand to let us get underneath. 3743. You could open them by hand? - Yes, by a pump. 3744. (The Commissioner.) By a pump; what is the meaning of that? - The pump wheel. 3745. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) Did you open the watertight doors? - Yes, I assisted to open them as far as we could forward. 3746. And did you go into the stokehold? - Yes. 3747. Do you know which stokehold that would be? - The after-stokehold. 3748. The one immediately forward of the engine room? - Yes. 3749. Were the boilers lit in the stokehold? - No. 3750. None of them? - No. 3751. Did you go on to the next stokehold? - Yes. 3752. Where the boilers were lit? - Yes. 3753. What did you do there? - Opened the doors - assisted to open the other doors. 3754. Did you do anything to the fires? - No. 3755. Was an order given you with regard to the fires shortly after that? - Yes. 3756. What order? - “Keep steam up.” 3757. How long was steam kept up? Can you say? - I could not tell you how long it was kept up, but that was the order - “Keep steam up.” 3758. Subsequently to that was an order given to draw the fires? - Yes. 3759. Did you assist in carrying out that order? - No. 3760. Drawing the fires? - No. 3761. Do you know what fires it had reference to? What fires were to be drawn? - No. 3762. You do not know in which stokehold the fires were to be drawn? - I know the order was passed along to the stokehold to draw fires as much as possible. 3763. You were at this time in No. 2 stokehold, were not you? - Yes. 3764. Were the fires drawn in that? - I do not know. 3765. Was that the only stokehold you were in? - No. 3766. What other stokehold were you in? - As far as No. 6. 3767. That is in all of them. In which ones did you see the fires drawn? - I did not take notice. 3768. You have told us that you, first of all, went into No. 1 stokehold, where the fires were not lit? - Yes. 3769. And you then went on into No. 2, where they were lit? - Yes. 3770. I suppose you lifted up the watertight doors? - We lifted up the watertight doors and opened them again. 3771. Did you go on from No. 2 to No. 3? - Yes. The Commissioner: Mr. Asquith, it is not clear whether you are talking of stokeholds or boiler rooms. Mr. Raymond Asquith: I ought to have spoken of boiler sections, I think. I understand there are several stokeholds in each boiler section. What I meant was from one boiler section to another. The Commissioner: Will you put your question quite plainly to the Witness, because I am told he may misunderstand. 3772. (Mr. Raymond Asquith.) Yes, my Lord. (To the Witness.) You told us you first went from the engine room into another compartment, into one of the boiler sections. Is that right? - Yes. 3773. No. 1 boiler section? - Yes. The Commissioner: Now, in order that I may understand, will you take the long pointer, and point out to me and to the Witness where it is.