SUBURBAN FIRES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 164, 13 July 1945, Page 6

SUBURBAN FIRES

INADEQUATE WATER

PROBLEM NOT NEGLECTED

Striking feature of the fire at K.D.V. Boxes, Limited, Morningside, last evening, was the inadequacy of the' local water supply, as a result of which hoses had to be run across the road and the railway line, causing a delay to suburban trains. Even with four leads being taken from the feeder main on the New North Road, additional pressure being turned on at Khyber Pass Road, and the pressure further increased by passing the water through engine pumps, the volume warf still inadequate for the intense blaze;

The methods used to obtain the water were far from satisfactory. This morning wooden protectors were placed over the hoses to facilitate the passing of motor vehicles. Similar conditions obtained in other suburban areas, the superintendent of the Auckland Fire Brigade, Mr. W. L. Wilson, explained this morning, and had been brought to. the attention of those concerned, not only as a result of experiences during fires, but also following tests carried out by the brigade. The question was not one of pressure so much as volume of water, and it could only be solved by the replacement of smaller mains by larger systems.

The matter was not being neglected and improvements had been and were being effected both in the city and in suburban areas. It had to be realised that the undertaking was a considerable one and could not be carried out overnight. It had been further complicated by wartime labour and material shortages, he said.