FIRE-WATCH POINTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 87, 14 April 1942, Page 6

FIRE-WATCH POINTS

ACCESS AND KEYS

REQUIREMENT IS CLEAR

The Permanent Organiser of the fire protection service in Wellington, Mr. V. E. Hampson-Tindale, cleared up certain points of importance in a statement today. The question of the availability of keys and the ensuring access is of wide interest.

There is a duty and a responsibility upon the building organiser to ensure that at all times and that to all places in the building under his control access is immediately available to watchers, stated Mr. Tindale. In the event of premises or portions of premises being vacant or locked up, access keys thereto are to be held in the _ possession of the building organiser or some responsible person delegated by him.

In his absence these keys may be held in a sealed envelope, sealed bag, or locked key cabinet, and may not be used except in event of raid or immediate threat of raid, in which case it is the responsibility of the individual in charge of the keys to decide whether or not doors shall be unlocked forthwith, and shall so remain until the raid or threat of raid is over; or, alternatively, he shall issue to watchers keys of the parts of the buildings or rooms comprised in their patrol. Building organisers are required by the Permanent Organiser to report immediately cases where occupiers of premises either refuse or fail 'to comply with the requirements as to access and availability of keys to enable a complete patrol to be made. It must be remembered, said Mr. Tindale, that non-compliance in one section of a building will endanger the whole building, possibly the whole block and the whole city. . COSTS OF MESSING. Points of doubt have continued also in regard to messing and the cost of messing. The position is: All costs involved in the support of the fire-watching service, including messing, shall be borne by the occupiers of the premises, and shall be apportioned between them upon a floor space basis. In the case of vacant premises the owner becomes the occupier. Corridors, lavatories, entrance halls, lift wells are regarded as occupied by the owner. THOSE WHO MUST SHARE THE DUTY. Those who are called upon to undertake fire-watching service are: Owners, occupiers (including tenants),