Fires during stoppage

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33739, 11 January 1975, Page 1

Fires during stoppage

Armed Services firemen and volunteer firemen attended 19 fire calls during the firemen’s strike.

Third Officer G. W. Thompson, who had only three hours rest during the strike, said that the number of calls was lighter than usual for the period. ■ The watch room was manned by Army corporals and an Army officer, under the command of Mr Thomp- ' son. The biggest fire was in 1 Ashby Bros rubbish pit in Wairakei Road about 3.50 ; p.m. yesterday, which took about 30 minutes to put out. The fire was in scrub and rubbish. Immediately afterwards, the Sockburn engine was diverted to a grass fire in Harewood Road, near McLeans Island. One of the fires attended, in the Fergusson Clinic of Sunnyside Hospital about 8.20 p.m. yesterday, is being investigated by the police. The fire broke out in the occupational therapy room, and was put out — by a sprinkler and by staff using an internal hose-reel — before it caused serious dam- ' age. Five malicious calls were : received. One to Moncks , Spur yesterday afternoon ( was traced to a boy at Motukarara. The first call received after i the firemen returned to work last evening was to a flare-up of a scrub fire at Maces Road, Bromley, attended earl- 1 ier by Armed Services fire- i men. i

The call came at 6.58 pan. This time, it was "well and truly” put out, one fireman said. The police had struck no trouble during the firemen’s strike, the head of the Christchurch police district (Chief Superintendent G. E. Twentyman) said. Policemen were stationed continuously at the Central Fire Station. They attended only some of the fires on Thursday, because of a break in communication between the fire station and the police station.