HUTT COUNTY FIRES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 147, 19 December 1933, Page 4

HUTT COUNTY FIRES

ATTENDANCE OF BRIGADE

The Lower Hutt Borough has on its northern boundary a more or less densely populated area of the Hutt County which has no fire prevention system, and therefore the. County Council has an arrangement whefeby, tho Lower Hutt Brigade .receives £5 for each, fire it attends within tho county, the attendance being at tho .discretion ,■'of tho superintendent of-the Lower Hutt Brigade. , Owing to a diu'orenco of opinion as to attendance- at a recent county fire, the -Lower Hutt Borough fire pro-' vention committee recommended to tho council- last evcuing that the'brigade, should be instructed to attend'all calls from the county.

Councillor^1. Campbell disagreed with tho recommendation. The Lower. Hutt ratepayers, he said, could not bo expected to keep a- brigade for tho benelit of tho county. Councillor A. Anderson, chairman of tho committee, did not consider the decision of the superintendent not to attend a recent county fire was justified Tho brigade was guaranteed the &5, and it might havo been a'case of saving life. In any caso, the attendance* of tho brigade would have kept order and prevented any. possible stealing. Councillor Campbell agreed that assistance should bo given whoro possible, but tho county should pay a fixed retaining foe," besides the cost of attending each fire, if it was required to attend all fires.

The Mayor-(Mr. J. "W. Andrews) said that the reasons given by tho superintendent for not attending tho last fire were that the fire had half nn hour's hold before the alarm was given, and it would have been impossible to save tho house if the brigade had gone; furthermore, the only water supply was a shallow creek, the grit from which' might have, damaged the fire pumps. It was finally decided to confer with tho Hutt County representative on the subject. .