FIRE BOARDS CONFERENCE.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14600, 26 February 1913, Page 2

FIRE BOARDS CONFERENCE.

l • IMPORTANT REMITS. I The annual conference of representatives of the Fire Boards of the Domin- j ion was opened yesterday morning in the j City Council chambers. The delegates j present were:—Auckland, Messrs Horaco Walker and T. S. Jacka; Dunedin, Lawrence, Oamaru and .uaori Hill, -Mr T. Chalmer; Hokitika, Mr H. L. Michel; Hawera •and New Plymouth, Mr G. Paton; Palmerston North, Mr E. J. Armstrong; Christchurch, Messrs il. Holland and A. L. Parsons. The Mayor (Mr Holland) briefly welcomed the visiting delegates to Christchurch, and spoke of the importance of the work undertaken by the members of Fire Boards. Mr A. L. Parsons, chairman of the local board, was elected chairman of the conference. A number of remits were then considered. AUCKLAND REMITS. The Auckland Board proposed to amend section G of the Act by having a period put to the elate at which the local authority in any Fire District may apply for the dissolution of a Board, say within five years of taking over brigades.—After somo discussion this remit was lost on the voices. A remit proposing to amend section 11 in the direction of making it impossible for an insurance manager to continue to occupy a position on the Board after he had resigned from his managership of the company he represented, produced some discussion. The original motion included the representatives ot a local authority, but it was felt to be unwiso to limit the area of selection-in this direction. The remit amended to apply only to insurance representativewas carried. A proposal to amend section 22 by requiring that Gazette notices of returns of premiums required by the Government shall be sent not only.to the Boards but to tho controlling voting officer of every insurance company in eacli fire district was carried. The Auckland delegate- desired that Clause 43 should be amended in the direction of giving the Boards fu.'ther powers for making By-laws covering the attendance of firemen at public entertainments and performances. This was carried in the form indicated, after amendment. It was pointed out that tho local authorities had this power, bat the Fire Boards desired it also, should it be neglected by them. The Auckland delegates desired that power should be secured to enable a charge for electrical inspection to be made annually instead of at installation only, as at present. Mr Holland said he would oppose this, unless it were also extended to gas. The Ch.iirman said that the Act gavo no power whatever to inspect, and by-laws on the lines indicated had already been held to be ultra vires. The suggestion to the authorities could do nothing but good. The remit was adopted. GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS. The Auckland Board proposed:— '"To amend Section 21 so that the Government Bhall be liable to a greater proportion of expenditure." (In the caso of tho smaller Boards where there is very little Government property requiring protection, the Government pays l-10th. In the caso of Auckland, where there is a large valuo in Government property, the Government pays less than l-40th.)" This remit was adopted una_.i__ously. It. was mentioned that in Australia the proportion paid by tiie Governments was one-third. Here the Government paid to each of the largo Boards only £200 per year, which was held to bo absurd. It was agreed that a suggestion should be mado to the Government that the Australian system of paying one-third of the levyifor expenditure should be. - adopted here. ..'-.' OUTSIDE COMPANIES. A remit proposed to amend Clnuso " by adding to tiie interpretation of "insurance company" so as to include fire insurances placed outside tho Dominion. Mr Parker, of At.ok.and, moved the remit, and read clauses from the New South Wales Act which would serve as a model. A Christchurch remit on the samo subject was: "To compel persons or firms that place their insurance with non-contributing companies to pay to the Board's funds in respect of the premiums paid by them in proportion to tho amounts paid by the contributing companies." The motion was carriod. UNIFORMITY OF WAGES. Tho Auckland delegates desired that steps should be taken to establish a Dominion uniformity of wages. Mr Michel said he thougnt it would bo quite impossible to establish any scalo of wages that could apply all over New Zealand. Many of the smaller Boards wero dependent on volunteers, and it would be a pity to trench upon that system. In the meantime no uniformity could be secured outside the four centres. The Chairman said that conditions in the four centres wero so different that it was extremely difficult to secure uniformity. It was agreed that the subject should be dropped, as tho difficulties were insuperable. BORROWING POWERS. "That the Fire Brigades' Act be amended by the substitution of 'twenty' in' lieu of 'ten' at end of fourth lino of Sub-section -I of Section 6 of the Fire Brigades' Act Amendment, 1903, so as to increase Boards' borrowing powers to twenty 1 thousand pounds. i Mr T. Chalmer (Dunedin) moved the ' abovo resolution. His Board especially 1 desired increased borrowing powers because the capital expenditure had already been £10,000. Tiie proposal received unanimous support. Both tho Auckland and Christchurch delegates said it was required j for their purposes. Christchurch had already borrowed to the limit, and tho | Board was getting tied up by the exist- | :ng conditions. Borrowing on debenture mean* no ove.draft or other assistance could be secured. Tho remit was adopted. EXTENDING BOUNDARIES. Tlio Dunedin delegate moved • "That power be given to Fire ' Boards to contract with neighbour- i ing local authorities for the protec- ' tion of the whole or part of the area under tho jurisdiction of the contract- ' ing local authority and where such contracts are entered into all the ' powers and rights vested by the _ct 1 in superintendents shall apply to such 1 areas contracted to. bo protected as Si V *%./ fi hG s , ald areas f °nned \ part or the fire district." ] r.if + PPort ' Mr n Cha{ni,r said this ap- 1 pealed to many Boards. The brigade i fc.Wv T.° P £h ° rt at an artificial i te3£™ i i en . was P° wer for thG i i dfstrict m h_? by ;! aws t0 g°.° its i ! r«™ _•_. \ c i. he superintendent's r ■ powers did not follow him. and trouble . might possibly arise. The proposal made would meet the difficulty. j by dele -»*« wa3 < Chai 7nan said the Christchurch ] ; brigade would not go outside it s bounj da l' cs exc <:Pt on guarantee, iho remit wa3 approved MISCELLANEOUS REMITS ! j A christchurch proposal "to amend \ legislation and provide that debentures ' :ssued by tho Board under the Firo * Brigades' Act shall be held as security c under tho Trustees'. Act," was agreed to. * On the motion of the Christchurch ; Board the remit was agreed to that in placo of '•actual expenses," travelling •, members should receive £1 per day i s and first-class railway, coach, or j a steamer fare. j t "That Fire Boards take action in the li matter of approaching the Government r , for a reduction in telephone rents, wir- {

ing, and maintenance charges for fire alarm wires," was a remit from New Plymouth which was agreed to. It was agreed to forward tho remit that "Travelling expenses incurred t>y members attending the Conferenco of Fire Boards should be mado legal under Section 41 of tho Act." Tho Dunedin Board advanced a remit to permit of expenditure of larger sums of money on unauthorised expenditure. It was agreed that this proposal should be withdrawn and the request be made that Section 121 of the Public Revenues Act (which permitted the expenditure of ono per cent, of the general rate in such directions) should bo extended to apply to Fire Boards provided the sum did not exceed £'30. From Palmerston North camo this remit :— "That tho Government be asked to extend the provisions of the 'New Zealand State Guaranteed Advances Act, 1908,' to. Fire Boards, enabling them to borrow sums not exceeding £20,000 for the purpose of acquiring land, erecting or making additions or improvements to Firo Station buildings, or of purchasing up-to-date plant, or appliances for the equipment of their respective brigades." Mr Armstrong, in support, said the Government had not given the Boards the means by which to raise money. Tho motion was approved. The Palmerston North delegate, Air Armstrong, moved that section 46 of the Act should bo amended in the direction of allowing fire brigades moro freedom in the cross-examination of witnesses at Coroners' inquests in respect of fire. Mr Armstrong said the Coroner in an enquiry there refused permission for counsel to attend and for a certain cross-examination to be made. Other delegates pointed out that according to the Act itself the ruling of the Coroner was wrong—the Act gave permission for counsel to attend. Tho remit lapsed, as nothing could be done LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE. Mr Armstrong, for Palmerston North, moved that section 35 be amended ;o as to provide that damage done to uninsured property by the brigade when repressing fires, shall bo deemed to be damage by fire, and as such, not liab'e for settlement by the Board. Atr Chalmer (Dunedin) read a legal opinion that for any such damage inflict »d on uninsured property, the Board would not be liable, out the third party surfering the damage. Mr Michel said the present position was plain—any such 'oss would be a ?oss by fire, nnd the sufferer, if uninsured, would have to bear the loss. It was agreed that the remit should go forward in the form of providing that neither the Board nor any of its servants should bo liable for damages occasioned at or in any fire attended by the fire brigade ; but where such property was insured, the damage sustained should be held to be damage by fire within the meaning of any insurance policy. REGULATIONS WANTED. A long remit from Palmerston North embodied the suggestion that the t'o-vernmei-t should be asked to make regu'ations with respect to public buildings on various lines suggested. It was pointed out that the local authorities already had the power to tnake by-laws dealing with the subjects mentioned, and it was felt that it would be better to draw their attention to the subject where they did not already obtain. ■ , , , -. • Tho Chairman said he was afraid a number of the smaller municipalities were not alive to their responsibilities in the matter. Mr Michel suggested that the Government be asked to frame a mod_l set of by-laws, to be published as an appendix" to the Act. The local authorities then could adopt these as they liked, or alter them to suit their special needs. . The remit was witcdrawa.

» ( A MATTER OF LIABILITY. ' The Christchurch Board advanced the . 1 following remit: — I b "To define the Board's liability for I y damage done by or to its plant when * same is proceeding to or from a fire [ upon an alarm being given." Tho Chairman referred to the recent t caso, and the judgment given by Mr 3 Justico Denniston, and tho advice given by counsel that leavo to appeal _ should be applied for to the Supreme a Court. The point arose as to whether . j the superintendent, being in command 1 under statutory authority, and not then . I under the command of the Board, was a I not himself responsible rather than tho Board. Another point was that, granting the liability to bo the Board's, its extreme liability should bo denned in amount. Mr T. Chalmer said that in Dunedin ' the Fire Brigade had the absolute * command of the road, and was not J governed by the by-laws. ' The opinion was expressed that this , » remit wiis the most difficult of all thoso * brought up. 1 Mr Chalmers suggested that the remit should be amended to read: — ' "To limit the Board's liability for damage done by or through tho negligence of its servants to a sum not ex--3 ceoding £500." 3 This was agreed to and adopted. OTHER SUBJECTS. r The following remit from Palmerston f North was approved : — "That it is desirable that the J.'ire Boards' Act be amended in the direction of giving to Fire Boards the . same powers as aro enjoyed by Borough Councils with regard to the matter of overdrafts, -so that rire i Boards could, in case of necessity, anticipate a proportion of the fol- : | lowing year's levy by way of an j f overdraft at the Bank." > A remit from Whangarei read: — ) "That a standard of Fire urigade apparatus be established throughout the Dominion.'' The subject was dropped as being ■ outside the scope of the conference. > Mr Michel advanced the suggestion * that men actively serving in ure brii gades should be exempted from thecom- > pulsory clauses of the Defence Act. ' Mr Chalmer said he believed the ex- ' emption was already given in uio Amended Act. ' The suggestion was approved, providing the amendment had not already * been made. It was agreed that the chairman. Mr A. L. Parsons, should lay all the remits before the Minister for Internal Affairs at Wellington next week. The Conference closed with the passing of votes of thanks to the (My Council for the use of tho room, and to Mr Parsons for his conduct of the proceedings.