School fires cost $1M in half-year

Press, 14 November 1977, Page 6

School fires cost $1M in half-year

PA Wellington Fire damage to New Zealand schools has cost almost SIM since April—and more than half the fires are suspected arson.

School vandalism between April and September is estimated to cost $260,000. Both fire and vandalism damage is concentrated in the Auckland area.

Mr D. T. White, th. Education Department’s director of buildings, said yesterday that estimated damage to primary and secondary schools in the northern region between April 1 and September 30 was $190,000.

In the central region—which includes the Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Wanganui, Taranaki, and Nelson education boards—the figure was $50,000, and for the southern region—all the South Island except Nelson—sl9,ooo. Repairs to this damage in the 1976-77 financial year cost a total of $524,000. Mr White said the depart-

ment had gone out of its way in recent years to step up security in schools. New security measures, such as burglar alarms, outside lighting, and in some cases security patrols, had been authorised.

Damage caused by fires in schools between April 1 and November 8 was $736,000 in the northern region, $119,000 in the central region, and $132,000 in the southern region.

Of the 52 fires that had caused this damage, 28 were suspected arson. Mr White said. School buildings were regularly inspected by Ministry of Works fire prevention officers, and standards were higher than in most other buildings. Mr J. Lelliott, general man-

ager of the Wellington Education Board, said vandalism in Wellington schools was running about the same rate as last year.

Between February and October, damage amounting to $60,000 had been done to the 245 primary and intermediate schools under the board’s control. “It is all in the urban areas, where there is high-density population,” Mr Lelliott said.

Some school committees made sure a watch was kept on their schools, and this was a good deterrent. Mr Lelliott said the installation of burglar alarms in many schools had succeeded in reducing the amount of equipment stolen, and most of the vandalism was now of a petty kind, such as throwing stones through windows.