Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1882. THE GISBORNE FIRE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6164, 7 February 1882, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1882. THE GISBORNE FIRE.

GriSBOKNE has an unenviable history in the way of fires. The most destructive conflagration on Sunday evening was the third of a similar type, and smaller fires have been comparatively numerous for so small a town. For two years Gisborne was happily free from the unpleasant experiences o£ previous times, but now one fire has done more damage than has probably been done in any one town in New Zealand for several years. We do not seek to imply that these great fires have boon the result of incendiarism - there has been no suspicion of such a tiling — but the people of Gisborne cannot hold themselves blameless iv the matter, for so much destruction would never have been wrought had even common precautions been taken to keep in order the means at hand for checking fires at the outset. There are — we should say there were — two fire engines in Gisborne. When a Napier resident visited the township some time ago he wished to inspect the engines, and he had to get a spade to dig the nettles and earth away from the door before he could get it open. This is sober fact. The incident will show in

what state of l'epair the engines were likely to be when wanted, and wlial state of efficiency miist have Existed in the Fire Brigade* It is true that the engines faereftdt Very good — they were condemned some years ago— but, kept in repair and properly handled, they might have saved many thousands of pounds' worth of property. To such a state of rottenness had they been allowed to go, that one actually dropped io pieces on the road ! Then water was scaree — in fact, everything was favorable to what the Americans graphically call the Fire Fiend — • and the fiend did his work right wofully.

The lessons of Gisborne should not fail to have tkeir effect iii Napier. Tliere is no disputing tlio fact that in Napier vre miglit have seen whole Mocks swept away, as in Gisbcriic, had we not possessed sufllcientengines, and Fire Brigades Jealous in their duty, and always ready to respond quickly to a call upon them, and to obey those in authority when at the fire. The support adedrded to the brigades has Hob been all that could be desired, and even the help afforded has sometimes been grudgingly given. A spirit of parsimony in our dealings with brigades cannotf ail to bring its own punishment. If the engines and material fail to be kept in thorough repair, or if the brigados are made less efficient and tlieir energy damped, Gisborne's experience must "be ours. We havo now Brigades which, will for real work compare favorably with those in any town in New Zealand, and it should be the aim of both Borough Council, Insurance Companies, and private citizens, to give every possible encouragement to them, and not to grudge the expenditure of a few pounds which may save as many thousands. Another question of interest which crops to the front in connection with this fire at GHsborne is tliti comparative rates of insurance there and in Napier. At the last cf Gisborne's great fifes it was freely stated— and we did notliear it contradicted — that the insurance premiums were there less tlian in Napier. Is this so still f If so, Napier insurers have a right to complain of unfair treatment. Where a town has been proved to have efficient means of checking fires, the premiums should be in proportion to the lesser risk. To make a Napier tradesman, with a steam engine, good brigades, and water supply at his door, pay the same as a Cfisborne merchant who can point to none of these things, is unfair. The agents retort " Ah, but Napier's turn is sure to come. Wait a bit." We. reply to that that Gisborne has had three " turns " while we have waited, and we should have the pecuniary benefit of our immunity. If we had left it to chance there might be some justice in the agents' retort 3 but that is just what we have not done. We make bold to say that we should have had fires as serious as those of Gisborne if we had been equally neglectful ; it is our brigades that have saved us and the insurance companies such unpleasant experiences. If a man builds a concrete store he has to pay less than his neighbor who builds in wood, and rightly so, because his risk is less. But the same principle should be applied to towns, and we in Napier, who have taken and paid for precautionary measures, should not be called upon to pay the same premiums as our Gisborne neighbors, who have neglected the means of checking fires.