Open fire days now in the past

Press, 6 January 1987, Page 20

Open fire days now in the past

Gone are the days of the smoky taste of billy tea , and the charcoal taste of dampers roasted on an open fire at a scout jamboree; a fire ban at Rangiora has confined cooking to gas and spirit burners. The chief fire officer at the New Zealand jamboree, Mr Don Hassall, said that the fire risk on the site was high because of the number of tents, the dry grass and flammable materials that were stored. However, no fires had been reported and the jamboree brigade’s only job so far had been

checking that each contingent’s fire-fighting gear was available. “Most of our job is to make sure that firefighting gear 'is up to scratch," he said. Each contingent is required to have waterfilled buckets ready. Many have fire extinguishers. Five permanent volunteer fire-fighters are based at the site and two others are available should they be required. A loud siren would sound in an emergency. Three of the volunteers have sons staying at the camp.