NATIONALISED SYSTEM RECOMMENDED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22728, 28 August 1948, Page 6

NATIONALISED SYSTEM RECOMMENDED

The commission makes sweeping recommendations for revolu- ■ tionary changes in the control of fire prevention and fire-fighting in New Zealand. It proposes that the present local control by municipalities and fire boards should be replaced by a nationalised fire system under a full-time, salaried commission of three members. , Other recommendations include the establishment of a training school or college for firemen, and a superannuation scheme and better salaries to attract young men of ability into the nation’s firefighting services. Compulsory fire drill and the immediate installation of fire prevention devices and alarms are suggested. A short summary of the commission’s findings is given as follows: “1. We have been unable to find the cause and origin of the fire. “2. In our opinion, all steps reasonably possible in the circumstances then obtaining were not taken to warn the staff and members of the public on the premises of the existence and seriousness of the fire, and all reasonably possible steps in the circumstances were not taken to provide for their safety and escape, first by the management of Ballantyne’s and later by the Fire Brigade. “3. The special circumstances contributing to the rapid spread of the fire were: (a) The very large fire areas with large unprotected vertical and lateral openings. (b, The high fire load in relation to the construction of the building.

(c) The late call to the Fire Brigade which allowed inflammable gases to accumulate before the arrival of the brigade. (d) The failure of the Fire Brigade to take effective action to attack the fire in the first 10 minutes after its arrival, thereby allowing a further accumulation of dangerous and explosive gases. (e) The inflammable nature of much of the stock and soft fibre board used throughout the building. “The fire hazard could have been reduced by “(i) The installation of an automatic sprinkler fire alarm system. “(ii) An automatic fire alarm system directly connected to the fire station. “(iii) The provision of adequate fire doors. “(iv) A total prohibition of the use of untreated soft wood fibre board, “(v) The provision of standpipes throughout the building with hoses attached. “fvi) The enclosure of lift shafts and stairways by smoke stop partititions. “4. In our oppinion there was a breach of the Christchurch city bylaws in that permits were not obtained for the execution of certain works, such as the making of the openings in the interior walls, and the use of soft wood fibre board for partitions and wall coverings. “Inasmuch as no requisition was served on Ballantyne’s by the Fire Brigade, it cannot be said that there was a breach of the Christchurch Fire Board fire escapes’ by-law, 1930. “We think the use of soft fibre wood in Ballantyne’s was a breach of the by-law forbidding its use and . the breach was not cured by the consent given.