FIRE WATCHERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 303, 23 December 1941, Page 6

FIRE WATCHERS

IMPORTANCE STRESSED

ON Alii. BUILDINGS

"Occupiers of buildings should ask themselves whether their building was occupied by a fire watcher when the alarm went this morning," said Mr. J. J. Kingston, chairman of the fire technical group committee, E.P.S. "A cursory glance at the many large buildings this morning made it apparent there were buildings with no watcher either available to give access in case a fire bomb had entered any portion, or ready to deal with it.

"Regarding the number of guards required for each building, the Auckland committee has discriminated between watchers and guards or fighting units. The fire watching service, which will be on duty after office hours and on holidays, is not required to 'contain as many members as the fighting service. "The watcher service should be large enough to be* able to give access to buildings and to cope with fire until the arrival of the fire guard. In ferro-concrete buildings of large dimensions two to four watchers should be sufficient and for more vulnerable buildings not so large, a similar number. "The fire patrol or fighting unit should consist of three members to each fire equipment unit (pump, sand and water). In asking for three trained members df the fire guard for each equipment unit, it is felt that two will be found available at all times."