DANGER OF FIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 166, 16 July 1938, Page 15

DANGER OF FIRE.

NEAR STATE FOREST.

S.M. INFLICTS £10 FINE.

The seriousness of lighting a fire within a fire district was stressed by Mr. C. R. Orr Walker, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday afternoon when Frank Peter Gill was charged with such an offence. Represented by Mr. Tavlor, he pleaded not guilty.

Evidence was given by the chief forest ranger in charge of the Riverhead forest fire district that on January 23 last a fire occurred in an old grassed paddock on defendant's property. The fire was about 30 chains from the State forest plantation, arid when witness first saw it it had a face of 15 chains and was rapidly extending, the fire raced aloh<r the fire break, a distance of 2o chains" and went within 10ft of the plantation before it was beaten out.

Gill told the magistrate it was only a small fire, and that when the patrolman approached him his attention became distracted and the fire cot out of hand. If the patrolman had told him immediately to put out the fire he would have done so. . ~

The magistrate referred to the seriousness of such a fire in the vicinity of the State foreit plantation, and said that tremendous damage could.be caused if precautions were not, taken. "I will have to inflict a penalty to sheet home the seriousness of the matter." he said, in imposing a fine of £10, costs £1 13/ and £? 10/11, the amount it cost the Department to put the fir* out.