LAST YEAR'S FIRES IN THE CITY UNDULY LARGE PROPORTION IN WELLINGTON.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 57, 9 March 1905, Page 6

LAST YEAR'S FIRES IN THE CITY UNDULY LARGE PROPORTION IN WELLINGTON.

! DKFKCTrVK CONSTRUCTION THE I PROBAULK CAUSE. In his, i"cs|tonho In (ho toast of the Wellington Fire Brigade, ut the L'iie lirig.uli''.i diniiL 1 ! lIIM evening, Superintendent Illicit leportcel on tho woik of tho hist year, 01 rather the last cloven mouths. He stated that dining thut peuoel there luul been 161 ciillh, 25 lalsc alainis from vaiious cuii.sch, 12 maUcinus t.dso alarms, 12 jjoi.mj and ruhbihh liics, 2o chimney lires, and 89 actual liivs. BAD ELECTRICAL WORK. -FAULJT CONSTRUCTION. That wa.s a bad recoul us to the number of call* and the liie mils to in the city. Jle would quote a few liguics, fiom other cities, taken from IntviuL rcnoits, Id piovc tliih. Sydney, with a population of 502,000, had 458 tires during the la.st year, f-o that on v population basis the propoition of fires lii'io to liie.s in .Sydney was 2 to J. Molbouino, 49-1,000, <il2 lin-H, proportion over 2to 1. Adelaide, 160,000, 53 fires piopuition 4 to I And at Home — Suiuierlaud, 151,000 (a rikky town), 86 lire.", 3 to 1. .Nottingham, -.50,000, 106 fires, 4J to 1. Brighton, 121,000, 06 liics, 2 1-5 to 1. Ipswich, 53,000, ib lireo, 2i to 1. The Inet of theie bfing fo large ;i proportion of fuus in Wellington hliowcd there was something radically \uong. They were due in some eases to detective construction, in other cases to gas, in othets to electric lighting. Tho unknown cau.^s numbered 34. A suggestion — and a. vciy good one — was made (he other day that an inspector of electric lighting bu unpointed. Such an inspector .should bo empowered to enforce the remedying of electric lighting defects whoie necessary. There lud been, and thcro were, a number of installations in thii> city that were defective, and were not being remedied. The lire loss in New Zealand during the pabt twelve month. 1 * must closely approach £400,000. Suppow a staple indu.stiy receded £400,000 in a year, how quickly would wo be calling on the (iovemmeiit for a commission to iind out the cause and remove it. Yet to a great extent we alieady knew the remedy for this firo loss. It won a great deal due to tho defective eoiuitiuetion, and defective design, of buiUlingft. Tho largo cubical contents of buildings going up was becoming a subject for restriction. Other count ih\s alieady had restrictions in this icspcct. SCR I M-A N JJ-I> A l' lilt R INKS Tho privwno) of so much scum and l>u;;er in hcnw.s piouioted lires, and was ii very gieul danger to life too. It was a matter of stirpiise to anyono not experienced in firt-H in sciim and paper hoiihes to .soo how quickly they ppicad. lv' h.id been astonished when ho cumo heio llrot to hi'o a liio run rapidly through live, Mix, or se\on looniH of a hou*i, and one mom su.sluiuing not much gvdtU'i* damage limn another. Standing in r, loom where the firo wiu coming in, ho hud Been the liro walk across the ceiling oh fast us ho could walk across Lhu ronm hiuwlf. In the old Oriental Hotel, the file just wull.cd down l'»e nidi) of tin; building, owing Ui the vrnn mill pa pur. The temedy would bo to make the lining of toiigucd and yiooved boarding or of [ l.wter. His colleague in Auckland hail expressed the same vieww. Thow> w.-s tho matter of d.-rnger ti; life, •i» iVell li. m tin: loss. How often did pun|>lo wy that they had "only just time {o get out ti '.ho lioiiho." That ought not to be. Ordinarily, one could often go into n house and have a look "ound firnl to see what to do — whether to uso tho hand-pump or something elso. They daro not do thai m a scrim and ujper holme; if they wailed for th.it," the jiluco was gone, lio did not \vis.'i t > ; > at Ipngtli nt) tho mutter of ilividiu' wa»l • m largo luildings, l)in f.l otl'tr count lies weie making u-gulnlunis in thb inspect, and "by veto wo behind? D.l.cj. KIRK— II HiII i I>AISK. .'■ . I.. 1 time, of he D.I.C. fit-, « mini-bt-r <*. general •linnagi'is <.t iiimuiuk-o comp. ri"_ lioui i.l' parts <.' Aiibtii.l asiii \'fir-) in U>\. n. Thoso {.ji-ntlonu 111 1 ivn s (-.I" 1 .", (I to .•onio and roii|j;rntulnto l|ti : on {'' t.'iflfJH'y of tho |tp:»a(le, anil on tho ...-nut: :i: i- which tl .-.re was vvorkffl. >no gentleman vniit ho far (is t(- .«' y <\u.l tlio Perth Bi'i'ido w;is tho nil. .i r'" \ A in Au.strala>>i „ and ho rnntci'f! U;- \ '••Ilington Mnga.'. next to it. Thr>s. i ii"i worn experts n t tint purticulai !-'.' ! ,M?3t, t hoy had •>. > c all the wa\ i.'^o /-iTriiilm, and tin utletl Mr Olmrio l'(.'\r, who ho belun v ho wr, right i!. ta'i'i^; >. as looked u^.oti as tl.-t lending .... Lrjiuy in fin> insuriuHo iv.v\trrs in A-i.^'.r.vfia. These iinna;n^>..i'.'.lo'i i nna;n^>..i'.'.lo'. 1 , cmiuim as '". .jy did from these . 'i !.'• men irn!iit>iiiat«ly upon a lnv y \.<f, wero high pi\ii:io indeed for tK • i'rigado. Thej wero all agreed on oil.- i sinij- - that wo wanted moru num. ''• li.xd not so far cured nbotn- asking tor ».;•:« nien, huping that tho Govoriiinent would '.\ws brought in somo schemo of nssist^uci. in tho tnnin(ot)Hnci) of Firo Bnj.;.idas ; coiiseqiitMrilj 11 , h>i !iad had to depend, .it laigo (ircr, vc-ry largely on the iI-.mu*.-iinco of Uu I'iw Police, which w.v, v.'illingiy ,;i.< l i!. With M>n-.i>-d to tho DI C. !nn, it h.i'il been .-i ■<i .' "h 1 p. '-■}.» tivst the liri -,..iu wan t.'ii in.,.-: . v. ri;i.;.f|wif, Ut i tii! alarm. lio could only b.r, he v,is very glad they did not say hnti .in hour. The Brigadu turned out in i\> to 14 seconds by day, and 25 to 30 :i. ioiuls by night (it was not often 3D seujuda). Ono day lio was showing threo goritlonien round tho station, ana there war. a turn-out. Uno of the gentlemen expressed surprise nt tho quickness of it, anil said : "1 don't bolie\e they took moro tliun two or three niimilos." He wan sine that on lint, occaiiiou tho turnout did not take moro than 12sor. Thij gave nn idea of how some, people judged time. COMPARATIVE COST OF BRIGADES. Brigades were often powerless to t,avo big draper v buildings like ,Jho D..1.C, even thougli tho (ire's started in tho day tinii'. Ho instanced tho following total losses: — Hordern's, Sydney, seen to start at 8 a.m. ; Ovoreli's, Brisbunp, seen to start at 9 a.m.; Martin's, Adelaide^ scon lo stint nt 11 n.m. lio would give a comparison bntween the cost of tho Wellington Drigado nnd that in other towns, starling with Ihe Perth Hrigndo, about which ho heard n groat deal, but had not soon it for yours. Tho population of Perth was 37,000, tho Brigade costs £4563 per nmutm lor maintenance only, or 2s 5 6-10 d per hend — nearly double what tho Wellington lirigude was costing, lv Sydney, population 502,000, the cost was '£48,400, or Is 0.1 l-10d per head; Melbourne, 494,000, £41,900, Is 81-8 d; Wellington, 50,083, £3300, Is 3 8-10 d. Comments by various speakers on tho Brigade's >york nro .eportcd in another column. Speaking on behalf of tho "Insurance Societies," Mr. Brindley, manager of tho State Firo InaunuK'u Dopnttment, said tho Wellington Hrigndo was hardly estimated in Wellington at its truo vnluo. Tho inspection of electric lighting should bo not under tho insurance" companies, ns nt present, but under the Municipal Councils. (Tho Mayor: Thorn is no power.) The companies wore met cunt ile. concerns working at a profit, and this matter should bo under the supervision of tho representatives of tho community. Police Inspector Kllison, after gonornlly commending tho Hrigndo, said its work nt the D.I. C. lire, was magnificent. Tho men stood tv their work fearlessly, and not a word too much hnd been said in thoir praiso.