EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS SCHEME

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 43, 20 February 1942, Page 4

EMERGENCY PRECAUTIONS SCHEME

FIEE-WATCHING SEEVICE,

Orders and Directions of Chairman of the "Wellington EmergencyPrecautions Service for Protection of Buildings from, Fire Arising from War or Any Other Cause. ' In pursuance and exercise of the powers vested In me by the Emergency Reserve Corps Regulations, 1941, Serial Number 1941/1/194 (hereinafter termed the "said Regulations") and particularly Regulations 10 and 16 thereof, I Thomas Charles Atkinson Hislop, Chairman of the Central. Committee of the Wellington Emergency Precautions Service, hereby give to the persons and classes of persons hereinafter mentioned and indicated the following Orders and Directions (hereinafter termed "this Order") which are deemed necessary for the purpose of protecting within the City Of Wellington buildings from fire arising from War or other emergency as follows:— DEFINITIONS. 1. The following words shall have the following meanings:— "Commercial building" means any building which Is not used solely for. residential ■purposes." "Occupier" in relation to any building means the person by whom or on whose behalf the building, or any part thereof, Is for the time being actually occupied; and "to occupy has a corresponding meaning. " "Permanent Organiser" means the official appointed to carry out the operations of the [Wellington Emergency Precautions Scheme in connection with the Fire-watching Service. Words importing the singular number include the plural number, and words importing the plural number include the singular number, and words importing the masculine gender include females. AMBIT. 2. This Order shall apply:— (1) To the following buildings, or parts of buildings, situate in the areas described in the Schedule hereto, or In any other area from time to time prescribed by any supplementary Notice under■ the said Regulations:— (a) To all commercial buildings; and - (b) To every.other building, orpart of a building, specified from time to time.by the Permanent Organiser by notice in "writing to the occupier. . • (2) To every other building In the portions of the City of Wellington outside the areas described in or prescribed under the above provisions of this Clause that the Permanent Organiser may from time to time specify by notice in writing to the occupier. " . Provided that this Order shall not apply to any buildings or classes of buildings which may be excluded from the' operations of this Order by further notice given by the Permanent Organiser, to. whom I hereby delegate the power to give such notices. DUTIES OF OCCUPIERS OF BUILDINGS. % 3. (1) The occupier of every building, or part of a building to which this Order applies on the publication of this notice shall on or before the 25th day of February, 1942, supply in writing to the Permanent Organiser, Colonial Mutual Life Society Buildings, corner of Customhouse Quay and Willeston Street, the name of a responsible officer to organise with respect to every such building a Fire-watching Service. '. . i ■ (2) The occupier, of every building to which this Order shall hereafter become applicable shall within rive days after this Order shall become so applicable, whether by publication of a supplementary Notice, or by receipt of notice in writing from the Permanent Organiser, make the same notification to the Permanent Organiser. - .-.-■■■- (3) . Such nominated persons shall, when approved by the Permanent Organiser,. be and be known as the "Building Organiser." ,»-«_,«, . (4) If any person nominated under Subclause (1) or Subclause (2). of this Clause is not approved by the Permanent Organiser further nominations shall be made until a nominee is approved by the Permanent Organiser. . (s)'lf any Building Organiser dies, or is removed from office by the Permanent Organiser, or for any reason is unable to carry out his duties, the occupier nominating such Building Organiser shall from time to time nominate another person in his stead, until a nominee is approved by,the Permanent Organiser. . <■ - .„ (6) Notwithstanding anything above stated in this Clause, If different nominations are made by different occupiers of different parts of one building the Permanent Organiser may select any such nominee to be the Building Organiser for the whole-of the building-. DUTIES OF PERMANENT ORGANISER. . 4. The duties of the Permanent Organiser shall be:— (1) To ensure, as far as possible, that there shall after a date to be fixed by public notice given by him, be available for all buildings, or parts of buildings affected by this Order, or any supplementary Order, sufficient fire-watching personnel to provide a continuous patrol of such buildings. (2) In arranging for such patrol to provide as nearly as possible that every room, staircase, basement, roof, and celling of every building, or part of a building affected by this Order, and every open space used In connection with any such building, or part of a buildIng, shall be inspected not less than once every two minutes during any period of actual patrol. (3) To require the occupier of any premises, or part of premises situate within the areas described in the Schedule hereto, or In any areas from time to time added to such Schedule by any supplementary Order, to remove any accumulation of material on such premises that, in his opinion, causes danger from fire. DUTIES OF BUILDING ORGAN.SER. 5. The duties of every Building Organiser shall be as follows:— (a) To prepare rosters for duty for all flre-watching personnel under his control and to post same in a prominent position within such building, so as to give, if possible, at all times four days' notice to each of the flre-watching personnel of the time when he is required for duty. Such rosters shall provide generally that when any alarm is sounded all watching personnel on duty shall remain on duty until discharged from duty and that, in addition, all the personnel on the roster for the next succeeding watching period shall be required to attend on the sounding of the alarm, and that the attendance, of further personnel .may be required at such alarm times to such extent as is required by the Permanent Organiser. (b) To prepare sleeping accommodation for all flre-watching personnel under his control in such a position that all such personnel can be on patrol within one minute of the giving of any alarm signal. (c) To provide sanitary facilities for all flre watching personnel. (d) To provide for all such flre-watching personnel light refreshment. (0) To arrange for keys of all access doors to be .available and kept in some Bare central position. i ■ . (f) To ensure that each flre watcher is familiar with any patrol assigned t o him. (g) To. ensure that all flre-watching personnel are adequately informed and trained in the treatment of incendiary bombs and other flre hazards. (h) To ensure as far as possible that sufficient illumination is available to all fire-watching) personnel to enable them to carry out their duties, such illumination if not provided by ordinary lamps to be provided by way of torches, hurricane lamps, or. lanterns. (1) To take such steps on his own judgment and initiative as may be necessary fully to organise the flre watching of a building, or part of a building over which he has control. (j) Such other duties as are from time to time imposed by the Permanent Organiser. AH the above duties prescribed in this Clause shall be carried out to the satisfaction c.f the Permanent Organiser. ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES. 6. Where a Building Organiser is appointed to act for the whole of a building of which there is more than one occupier, the occupiers shall apportion the cost of carrying out his duties according to the floor space occupied by each occupier and, in the event of any dispute arising between the occupiers, such cost shall be apportioned by the Permanent Organiser, whose decision shall be final, conclusive and binding on all the parties. FIRE-WATCHING PERSONNEL. 7. The Fire-watching Personnel available for duty pursuant to this Order shall consist of such persons as may be selected by each Building Organiser for the building, or part of a building, under his control from the following: v (a) All persons other than females employed, whether as employers or employees, in any building situate in the area in the Schedule hereto, or any additional area specified in any Supplementary Order. • : (b) All Emergency Precaution Service Workers who do not hold certificates of exemption from this service. (c) All females who volunteer for such service. Provided always that this Clause shall not apply to any member of the Home Guard, ©r to any member of the National Military Reserve, or to any other member 6f the Naval Military, or Air Forces that Is on Active Service, or to any other persons who are specifically exempted from Emergency Fire Service by any competent authority. SPECIAL PROVISIONS WITH REGARD TO LOCK-UP SHOPS AND OTHER SMALL BUILDINGS. 8. (1) Where the organisation of flre-watching patrols under this Order of small lock-up shops, or other small buildings adjoining a larger building in the opinion of the Permanent Organiser could be more efficiently or more economically carried out by one Building Organiser, the Permanent Organiser may appoint the Building Organiser of the larger building to be the Building Organiser of all such buildings, in preference to any persoa nominated by the occupiers of the smaller buildings. (2) Where a number of small buildings affected by this Order are adjacent to one another and the organisation of Fire-watching Patrols for all such buildings can, in the opinion of the Permanent Organiser, be more efficiently or more economically carried out by one Building Organiser, than by Building Organisers appointed, for each of such buildings, the Permanent Organiser may appoint one Building Organiser to organise the patrols of each such building. (3)'ln any case where action is taken by the Permanent Organiser under the provisions of this Clause, the cost incurred by the Building Organiser in carrying out his duties shall be borne between the occupiers in proportion to the floor space occupied by each of them, and in the event of a dispute between' such occupiers the cost shall be apportioned by the Permanent Organiser, whose decision shall be final, conclusive and binding on all the parties. (4) The Permanent Organiser may for any reason that he thinks fit remove from office any Building Organiser. GENERAL. 9. (1) No person shall be exempt from the service required by the said Regulations or this Order by reason of the fact that his ordinnary employment necessitates his attendance thereat at sucfa times during the day, or at such periods of the day as prevent him from carrying out Fire-watching Patrol duty at any time after the hour of 6 p.m. in any day or before the hour of 8 a.m. in any day. ........... (2). If any person is so employed he may be required to carry out his Fire-watching Patrol Service on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays, in such manner and to such extent as may be directed by the Permanent Organiser. • (3) (i) No person shall absent himself from his duties of Flre-watching Patrol without the consent of the Building Organiser, unless he is absent through illness, or some cause over which he has no control that prevents his attendance. (ii) If any person is absent. with leave he may be required by the Building Organiser to carry out additional service to his roster service at any other time. (iii) No person engaged in Fire-watching Patrol shall be on duty, or report, for duty, In an intoxicated condition. PENALTIES. 10. The penalty for breach of these Regulations is imprisonment for a term, not exceeding three months, or a fine not exceeding £50, and in the case of a continuing offence a further fine of £5 a day. . SCHEDULE. ALL those areas known as E.P.S. Wardens' Districts Numbers 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, IS, and 24 shown on Plan Number F. 176 deposited in the City Engineer's Office at Welllngotn. DATED at Wellington this 19th Day of February, 1942. c HISLOPj Chairman Central Committee. NOTE.—The above areas may be described as generally comprising the following localities*— , 1. Kaiwarra. 3' The'central business area of the City and adjacent areas extending from Bunny Street on the north- on the west to the Town Hall; on the south to John Street and the Hospital Reserve and on the east to the top of Mount Victoria Hills. i 4. The suburbs of Roseneath and the northern end of Hataitai. ' 5. Miramar. (Property-owners are' requested, if they have any doubts, to examine Plan Number F. 176)