FIRE LOSSES

Evening Star, Issue 20592, 18 September 1930, Page 2

FIRE LOSSES

A HEAVY WAST^ifiE -ti/t*:- \ [Fkom Our Parlumentabt Reporter.] WELLINGTON/September 17. The annual report bn the fire brigades of the dominion contains particulars of fire calls received throughout the fiftyfive districts during the twelve months ended March 31, 1930. These totalled 3,104, an increase of 118 over the previous twelve months. Of the total number 1.351 were property fires, 435 chimney fires, 573 bush, grass, and rubbish fires, 717 false alarms, 88 out-of-dis-trict fires. The tire loss throughout the fire districts for the twelve months (all losses quoted, unless otherwise stated, include the loss sustained on both insured and non-insured property) amounted to £410,217. The four heaviest district losses occurred in Wellington (£102,803), Christchurch (£64,912), Auckland ■ £44,154), and Dunedin (£24,285), _ , Incendiarism, or suspected incendiarism, is reported as the cause of 58 fires, involving a loss of £51,328 j 46 , fires occurred in unoccupied buildings,- with a loss of £24,084. An analysis of the causes places at the top of the list matches thrown down alight, resulting in 141 fires, with a loss of £48,029. The report discusses the high general fire waste in the dominion, but the conclusions are based on the figures to December, 1929.