The Press FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1963. Fire Brigade Strength

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30127, 10 May 1963, Page 12

The Press FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1963. Fire Brigade Strength

Some knowledge of the nature of large buildings is a great help to firemen when they are called to a fire; and it comes as an unpleasant surprise to learn that the Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board’s staff is too small to have time to acquire this knowledge. Officers are too busy on other duties to be able to make the inspections that Mr T. H. Boyle, a member of the board, has nghtly advocated. Apparently the board is in this position because it is limited by the Fire Services Council to an establishment of 91, which is small enough for a 24-hour, seven-day watch over life and property in a city as large as Christchurch. Why should the council have this power if the I Christchurch board believes! that it cannot fully dis- j charge its responsibilities i without more men? The! board and its officers surely have a much better idea of what is needed in their own territory than a central authority could have. The whole idea behind the establishment of the national council, we have aiways supposed, was to raise standards, not to depress them. The Christchurch board should not let the matter rest, but should i make strong representations to the council, and if necessary appeal to the Minister of Internal Affairs. The inspection that the board would like to make

not only helps brigade officers to tackle a fire in the best way but also allows them to draw attention to possible dangers that have passed unnoticed by occupiers. The preventive side of the board’s duties should not be forgotten. If the Christchurch difficulty is not satisfactorily overcome it will raise the wider question of the constitution of the fire service in New Zealand. If fire-fighting was purely a local responsibility paid for locally, the board could gc ahead and raise its establishment to what it considered safe in the knowledge of past fires. But the board cannot do this because it derives some of its revenue from insurance companies and some from the central Government. As the interests of jail three parties are generally identical this partnership has worked fairly well, and occasional clashes of interest have not been important. Should the Fire Services Council, however, appear to dictate a standard of fire protection that is not acceptable to public ' opinion, the public are bound to ask whether they would not be better served by controlling their own affairs. If the present partnership which has the advantage of enlisting the active support of all concerned, is to be maintained, the council should do nothing to shake public confidence.