HASTINGS FIRE BOARD.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 242, 29 September 1911, Page 3

HASTINGS FIRE BOARD.

QUARTERLY MEETING

The quarterly meeting of Ihe Hastings l ire Board was held in tlie Council Chambers yesterday afternoon. Present : Messrs. I . Styles (chairman). James Garnett, J. J. Mallard. T. B. P. Ching. B. U. McCormick. I). I) Reilly. Lcaxc of absence was granted to Mr. Marshall. Th- annual report ami balane. sheet (already published) ' adopted. CHAIRMAN’S RF.I’OI The chairman’s report fo; me : ■’ quarter was as follows: authorised at previous meeting: ± 5110 feet of hose authorised to b<: procured at last meeting lias come to hand and has linen installed at the station. The ladders haxe been repaired and painted. The matter of uniforms has been gone into, prices obtained. etc., and now awaits your final decision at this meeting. The various recommendations and requests to the Borough ('otincil were considered al a meeting of that limly and satisfactory decisions arrived at. in ail eases.

Balance-sheet and Report. Owing to a late audit the aboie was only to hand from the printer on the i!)th inst.. when copied were at once forwarded to the Insurance Companies. l ire Boards and members of Loe hoard. You will be asked to adopt the balance-sheet and report at this meeting as I did not think that they, this year, called for a special meeting for that purpose. You will notice that we were successful in making a draw 011 tlie loan from the Building Society sufficient, to refund the general account for the amount paid for the section for the new station. M c were thus enabled to make u much smaller call on the contributing bodies.

i Laying foundation stone of new I Station. - On Wednesday, July sth I this ceremony took place, the stone : being laid by the past chairman, Mr. i J. A. Miller, and there being a re- | presentative attendance. i The building of new station. — i This work is now proceeding and it I is to be hoped that the brigade efi fects will be installed there in the next three months. I will be pleased to receive a recommendation from the board as to the course to be 1 taken for temporary housing of efj Teets should this new station not be | complete,! by the time it is neces- [ sary to relinquish the old building.

1 Amendment to Act. The circular 1 letters sent out l»y the secretary 1 have met with promised support 1 from a number of other boards and i the Minister for Internal Affairs is 1 being also petitioned by them to make the desired additions. The support of tlieli member tor the district Las .also been solicited. Local Committee. I would suggest that a local committee lie elected at this meeting with authority to ideal with any minor matters which ; may crop up (hiring the year. I would also suggest* that a motion 1 carried at a meeting in June. 1910. i be given effect to. to wit. that by--1 laws be drafted for the conduct of i affairs.

i Unauthorised Expenditure. The i following is a list of cheques drawn i and cash paid since the last meeting of the board; State Fire Insurance: Insuring effects. £5: Ilasti ings Building Society: Ist instal- ! inent. principal and interest. £3l I JO - : Hastings Building Society: 2nd : instalment, principal and interest. £lO 5 - : Hastings Building Society ; Jnl instalment, principal and interi est. £3l 10 : Alliance Insurance i Co. : Insuring (accident), firemen’s policy, £25 10 - ; Mallard. J. : Travi eiling expenses and petty (’ash, £‘2 tl3 3: Audit Office: Auditing past i year s accounts. El 6 3. (Jutgoing Correspondence. I have i instructed the secretary to put a list i of the above correspondence on the | Order Paper. | The local members of the board i were appointed to deal with minor I matters arising during (lie year. i Ihe secretary was authorised to I write to the other boards for I copies of their by-laws, and it was (decided that the local members of i the board should confer xvith reprei sentatives from the Hastings BorI ougli Council regarding same. i The report was adopted.

SI PERIN TEM >ENT’S H E]'()l?T.

I In forward mg my quarterly report il big Io state ihai the plant is in I good order, and that we have reccivj cd simi feet of new hose, which has I been cut into looft lengths and couplings fixed on same. Repairs to ladders ami the painti ing of same have been put in hand lint are mu completed yet. ! Fires. There have been three ’ fires, but no fire alarms given. Two ! of these fires were at the back ( f I shop premise s in the main street. I through packing cases being filled ■ with paper and other rubbish ami 'lift standing. These fires were ex- , tingui.-lii’d by the proprietors and the ■ nightwatchman. The tliird fire oci eurred in a cottage next to the Lire j Station .and was quickly extinguisli- ! cd bx ni( tubers of the Lire Station xvith. verv slight damage to contents I anil building. ■ In inspecting the back of shops in ‘ the main streeet I have calleci the attention of the Inspector of Nuisanccs to several shops where cases of waste paper have been alloxved t<> lie. and also waste paper lying under tb.e buildings. Also in the back of one shop where the proprietor makes a practice of manufacturing lollies on an open .fire place in a small woediii shed. This in particular is a dangerous practien. Inspection of public buildings have been made from time to time by the depute -Mipi ::ntea (’em ami mx si If, all proving satisfactory xvitli the exc( ption of the Roman Catholic schools, to w:. .(i: m>: king has been d<>:k' -int-e notice h:i' Li’tii given t’nt-m by the Secretaty rf the Fire Board. It wa, d( <-i(i( d that the attention Ht tlie Hastings Borough (. otincil -.1i.-r.ld be d: awn to tlx- st rioti, min-ai-e causid be -iiopkeepi rs allowing liiblii-h to aiwiimiilatc al the rear of ■thr ir pi em 1--CS. 1 Sp.aking to the clans.’ r. uardmg i tlie Catholic Schools, Mr. Garnett

stated that the necessary alterations would be carried out. —Superintendent to report to the next meeting. The report was adopted. CORRESPONDENCE. The Minister of Internal Affairs wrote approving of the estimates for the current year.—Received. From same acknowledging receipt of the board's annual report and balance sheet. The Hastings Borough Council wrete stating that the requests made L.., the board had been dealt with : j that in future the charge for the .-e of the Council Chambers for meetings of the board would be 1 6 with gas and 5 - without gas. Received. It wuis decided to write thanking tlie council for their offer. The Hastings Borough Council gave the board notice to quit the present fire station within six weeks. Received, the matter of securing temporary housing for tl’.e engine and plant to be left in the hands of tlie local members of the board.

Superintendent Hugo notified that the proposed amendment to the Inc Brigades’ Act. to enable Fire Boards to obtain loans under the Loans to Local Bedies Act was being considered by the Minister for Internal Affairs.- In connection with the above, eight r ire Boards wrote agreeing to support the proposal. Received.

Messrs. J- J. Niven and Co. s tender of £5l for the installat’on of electric light in the new fire station was referred to the residential members of the board. QUARTERLY MEETINGS. Mr. J. Garnett moved that a date be fixed on which to hold the qn’’ tcj-ly meetings.- Mr. Garnett that all the members of the I.'. m i had their own businesses to atii mi to and some particular time sl.'.'tild be decided on. Notice of the mel tings at present was too short to al low arrangements being made. 11. garding the annual meeting, he had not received notice till within a couple of days of the meeting when he was 69 miles away. Mr. McCormick seconded, and eßdcrscil M. Garnett’s rcmaiks. Mr. Mallard explained that the present meeting had been postponed for two days at his instance to suit the convenience of the chairman of the Dannevirke Fire Board. -Mr McCormick replied that the present meeting had been put back for Mr. Mallard and yet the annual meeting could not be adjourned for one hour to .allow Mr. Garnett .and himself to be present. Mr. Mallard said that Mr. Me Cormick seemed sore <> vc r the annual meeting. Air. McCormick: Yes. and I do not deni' it. In replv. Mr. Garnett asked what on earth the chairman of the Dan ruvirke I'ire Board had to do with the Hastings Board. Mr. Mallard replied that it was only a ease of give and take. The motion was carried, and it, was decided that the quarterly meetings be held on the second Wednesday in Marell, June. September and December. GENERAL. On the motion of Messrs McCormick and Mallard, it was decided that rill officers and men of the brigade should give the Superintendent 1-2 hours' notice of their leaxing the town, the superintendent to give similar notice to the chairman and deputy stipei ini endent. The tender of Mr. M. G. Jaeger for the supply of five uniforms at £3 each was accepted. Accounts amounting to £-191910 were passed for payment. Tile meeting then rose.