FIRE-WATCHING

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23719, 18 August 1942, Page 4

FIRE-WATCHING

NEED TO MAINTAIN PRECAUTIONS

MINISTER’S REPLY TO DEPUTATION

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, August 17. Replying to a deputation of Wellington fire-watchers, who asked the Government to determine whether firewatching was necessary in its present form, the Minister of Civil Defence (the Hon. W. A. Bodkin) fully outlined for the deputation’s confidential information the reasons upon which the Government had based its determination to implement the fire-watch-ing services in Wellington. The Minister said that a fundamental requirement for Wellington called for the presence of trained personnel in buildings at the time incendiary bombs actually fell. The adequate training of fire-watching personnel would be placed upon a national basis as soon as possible, and in the meantime steps would be taken to ensure that in all localities fire-watchers were given training in the use of equipment and other instruction to enable them to cope with fires.

Misleading Building Applications The Christchurch City Council’s housing and town planning coirtmittee has decided to obtain a legal opinion as to what steps it is entitled to take against persons giving misleading information on their applications for building permits. The committee reported to the council last evening that this frequently occurred where alterations to houses were desired with the object of turning them into apartments or letting rooms. One or two cases of this nature had come to light recently.