FIRE BOARD.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 June 1923, Page 11

FIRE BOARD.

ANNUAL MEETING

I The annual meeting of the Hawera Fire Board was held in the Borough Council Chambers yesterday, when. ' there were nreseiit: Messrs. J. G. Os-

borne (chair), L. A. Bone, H. L. Spratt, R. Welsh, G. Duncan, and D. H. Thomson. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT The superintendent (Mr. F. W. Pettett) submitted his annual report as ' follows: In presenting my tenth annual. report 1 beg to state that the discipline of brigade members has been maintained throughout the year. Inspector Hugo inspected the brigade on October 2, and was very pleased and quite satisfied with the work carried out by and the general appearance of brigade members. Members have mustered on 33 occasions during the year, five being for fire calls, 11 for practices, two for daylight parades, and~ls for inspection. On all occasions ihe men have carried out their duties in a very satisfactory f manner.

I Fire Calls.—There have been five calls on the brigade during the year, only one of them being of a serious nature. Particulars are as follows: Out of fire district one call, motor bike on fire one call, to business premises two calls, 1 chimney one call. Particulars of fire losses are: Insurance carried on buildings on fire £1300, insurance carried on contents, value of uronerty on fire £2200, value of contents £835, amount of damage on buildings insured £372, amount of damage On contents insured £257 Os 9d, damage on buildings not insured nil, on contents not insured £1 16s. Total fire loss for year £630 16s 9(1, loss to insurance companies £629 OsQd.

Plant and Gear. —This is all in good order. ' I would ask that 500 feet of canvas hose, one standpipe, and two branch pipes be placed ~on the estimates for the coming year. | Membership.—This now stands at 22 j members. During the year 10 have j left and eight joined. 1 am very i pleased with the class of men L have jat present. Station staff consists' of •j superintendent, five firemen, and one | messenger. One of the station staff is j away on leave. I Water Pressure.—This has been fairilv steady throughout the year, but I during the summer nionths it gets very low. The time is quickly coming when something will have to be done : about the water pressure, and if my ' recommendation in connection with the motor pump is viewed with favour our ( troubles over water pressure will be at ■an end. Uusual gaiige readings are enclosed for the past quarter, showing the lowest pre?sure at 9 p.m. as 651b and ; the highest 751b. ! Alarm System. —I am just about ' satisfied that our present system has about seen its best days. With a lot of attention it will pa-obably be all right for the coming year. Brigade Subsidy.—This now being due, I would apply on behalf of the members for the' sum of £54 6s, being balance of yearly grant, making a total of £70 for the year. Street Hydrants.—These have been inspected throughout the year and are all in first-class condition. Motor Tender.—This is still in firstclass order and condition. I would like to mention that quite recently we had a demonstration of a Dennis motor pumping engine here, and after seeing | what this engine can do with our presi sure, I would ask the board to seriously consider the advisability of procur* , ing a machine of this type for our | town. The price of the motor demon- ; strated here is £1550. This may appear high, but^ against this we could probably obtain £600 for our present machine. To my mind this machine opens up great possibilities in connection with fire fighting in this town. I could mention several pla-oes where the fire risk is very grave. Very likely the most important place would be the public hospital; which has been a great worry to me since first I arrived here. The hospital is served with a four-inch dead end main, from which we could only draw off one lead to obtain anything like a decent pressure. Th^v.ofore. unless we reeerred an early call we would be- helpless should the lire obtain a good hold on the building. Under the same conditions, the motor pump would enable us to beat the fire, even should it have obtained a good hold.

11l conclusion, gentlemen, I consider the town, is to be congratulated on the small number of fires during the past year and the small amount of fire loss. — Adopted.

Mr. Duncan urged that an outside man be engaged to report on the alarm system. He said he understood that

the present system was a more or less

home-made one and was subject to certain defects, climatic conditions included. The board wanted to know if the moment for scrapping had arrived, or whether the present system

would last another twelve months. He moved that an outsider be asked to report. Mr. Spratt, in seconding, suggested that the man who- reported should attend in person when the report was placed before the board. It was pointed out by Mr. Dmu-an that such reports were often technical and needed further explanation. It was poii\ted out by Mr Welsh that if the/ board could get £650 for their present motor, a new Dennis (as had recently been demonstrated in Hawera) would only cost £900. After som« further dis^ssinn the motion was withdrawn, and Mr.- Dianca* moved. Mr. Thompson seconding, that the local members of the board be left to bring down reports on the alarm system and the Dennis engine, with power to obtain a report from an outside man relative to the- present alarm system. —The motion was carried. Mr. Welsh moved that the question

of opening negotiations ' with the County Council with regard to firefighting outside the Hawera area be left to the local members. —Mr. Thompson swonded, and the motion was carried. The chairman reported that tenders for the painting of the fire station had been received, and th«t of Mr. Pacey, whose price was £32, was . the lowest and was accented.