Unions Urged To See Fire Drill Carried Out

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30448, 23 May 1964, Page 1

Unions Urged To See Fire Drill Carried Out

The trade unions might well bring pressure to bear to ensure that workers in multi-storey buildings in Christchurch were warned and left the buildings when the fire alarm sounded, said Mr T. H. Boyle, a member of the Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board and former fire officer, last evening.

"The sight of girls leaning from upperfloor windows in Millers, Ltd., and laughing and waving as the fireengines pulled up, with smoke ascending through the building to the upper floors, was so idiotic it would have been funny if it had not been so potentially tragic.” Mr Boyle said.

Mr Boyle was referring to a fire in a lift well at the premises of Millers, Ltd., on Wednesday. The fire was quickly put out, but a fire which broke out at the same time in Sydenham destroyed a caravan factory and caused £50.000 worth of damage within minutes. “The third recommendation of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Ballantyne's fire, published on August 19, 1948. was that evacuation drill be compulsory. “But today wc still have this apathy which enables persons to laugh and wave from windows well up in multi-storey buildings when there is an alarm ringing, fire engines arriving, and smoke spiralling through the building. “There seems to be some Confusion between evacuation drill and quitting the building when there is actually an alarm call to it. Some [firms appear to be concerned I about money being wasted by [evacuation drills in working, [business, or shopping hours, i “Surely the unions—factory,

clerical, shop assistants and others —should insist that the management order workers to quit a building when the alarm is sounded,” Mr Boyle said.

“If managements cannot see the danger, surely the unions can. Why do alarm bells ring on the outside of buildings, and not all through it? Quite frequently, persons in a building the brigade arrives at, appear to think the alarm is being sounded in the nextdoor building, or one across the road."

The fire board encouraged firms to have evacuation

drills, and helped those which had such drills to plan them “If the City Council, local authorities, fire boards and the Government have no authority to insist that all buildings where persons are working or about their business be evacuated on the sounding of the alarm, surely the unions could bring pressure to bear in the matter.

“Persons were laughing and waving from upper-tioor windows of city buildings before the tragic fire at Ballantyne's. Today they are still doing it Firemen shudder to think of tomorrow,” Mr Boyle said.