RESPONSIBILITY FOR FIRE APPLIANCES IN SCHOOLS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29227, 10 June 1960, Page 9

RESPONSIBILITY FOR FIRE APPLIANCES IN SCHOOLS

A report that the Canterbury Education Board now allegedly takes no responsibility for the provision of fire-fighting appliances in schools caused a stormy discussion at the annual meeting of the Canterbury School Committee’s Association. The outcome was:—

(1) An undertaking from Canterbury Education Board members that they would investigate forthwith.

(2) A decision that the president and secretary should verify the complaint. (3) Agreement that if justified the association should report the situation to the Christchurch Fire Brigade for report to the United Fire Brigades’ Association. “No Responsibility’’

The Wairakei School Committee said it had written to the Education Board asking about the provision of fire extinguishers in schools and received a reply that the board took no responsibility in the matter. Most school fires occurred outside school hours. In the event of a fire in school time, cleaning buckets would probably be available for emergency use. The Wairakei committee said it then consulted the Chief Fire Officer who asked that a full report be furnished—preferably through the School Committees’ Association—as a meeting of the United Fire Brigades’ Association could be held soon.

Then the retiring president (Mr E. F. Wilde) moved that the executive investigate the act, Mr F. G. Briggs (Lyttelton) protested strongly. There was something wrong, he said, when a committee was “put off” over a reasonable inquiry and the association itself proposed to put it off when the situation demanded immediate action. The Government imposed all sorts of fire precautions on other bodies and yet apparently made no provision for educational institutions. The secretary (Mr R. W. Taylor) said this problem had cropped up before. From memory, he thought the contention was that most schools had a telephone to call help and that the school’s first duty was to get the children out of the building. Fire Drills Most schools now had regular fire drills, said Mr R. K. Milne (Wharenui) and he had recently seen has own school evacuated in about two minutes.

“I intend to see the board’s reply,” said Mr A. Greenwood (a life member, who is chaiirman of the board). He felt sure that

its content had not been fully reported. The Wairakei committee asked no more than that its inquiry about the standard provision of extinguishers in schools be referred to the Chief Fire Officer through the association, said Mr Briggs. Members no doubt had their own views, but such an official inquiry would get the facts.

A delegate said he thought two extinguishers would be adequate for any school. “My impression is that a survey some years ago showed that in schools which had them few of the extinguishers would work and that nobody knew how to work them,” said Mrs M. Rae (Christchurch East).

Mr Taylor then read the Education Board’s by-law which instructed all schools to take full precautions against fire, hold fire drills, ensure that extinguishers (where supplied) were inspected regularly, see that chimneys were swept regularly, and insist that buildings be made secure and trespassers kept out of the grounds after school hours. Bishopdale bad a rather nasty fire recently on the night a term ended, said Mrs K. Greenwood. A major cause of the trouble was that nobody knew where the water main was. There ought to be clear notices on the whereabouts of any fire appliances. The meeting then agreed on the action reported above.

When Mr W. P. Spencer, secre-tary-manager of the Education Board, was invited to comment on the letter reported to have been sent to the Wairakei School Committee, he said the board would reply to the School Committees’ Association or make a public statement at its next meeting.