THE PREVENTION OF FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14018, 25 March 1909, Page 6

THE PREVENTION OF FIRES.

; " ,/ • "ii* 4 ■ > h . 7' A DUNEDIN DISCUSSION. ; 1 INSPECTOR HUGO'S PROPOSAL. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] DtJNEDiNi Wednesday. ( The proposal to attempt to lessen the f re- , quency of fires by holding an official inquiry into every outbreak • has been, receiving considerable attention lately, and . it was mentioned at a meeting of the Dunedin Fire Board to-day. Mr. Stronach, referring to the statement recently credited to Inspector Hugo, concerning the prevention of outbreaks of fire, remarked that the matter had been , token up by the newspapers, 1 and it was said that a remedy would be an inquiry into every fire. Ho moved, "This board is of opinion that the view ascribed by the newspapers to Inspector-Hugo, namely, that a coroner's inquest should be held as to the cause of every fire, is sound, and the Minister for Internal Affairs be written to with the object of enlisting his support in an effort to induce the Government to so arrange matters; a copy of the resolution to bo forwarded to the other fire boards in the Dominion." The Chairman was of opinion that an. inquest held into every fire would, by making people more careful, considerably reduce the percentage of outbreaks. Mr. Wilson did not see the advisableness of holding an inquiry into the cir- . cumstances of every little fire; and favoured a scheme by which the holding of inquiries would be subject to the discretion of the chairman; otherwise, where were they going to draw the line? In a general discussion which followed,, . Mr. Arkle expressed, the opinion that the board already . possessed the power to hold an inquiry into the cause of a fire when- - ever it considered such necessary, and that the motion in its present form was therefore not necessary. ' The motion was duly seconded and carried. ft