FIGHTING THE FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15047, 17 July 1912, Page 7

FIGHTING THE FIRES.

/• ' •i;iii V '. CONDITIONS IN AUCKLAND. HAMPERED BY BY-LAWS. It was stated by Mr. F. G. Gray in a paper read before the Insurance Institute recently that the waste by fire in the Dominion is abnormally 'high in proportion to the population. Inquiries made by a HEBAr/D representative elicited some ivy-. ther views upon this point, in which Mr. Gray's opinion was in great measure coh- : firmed. . ■ ' / : ;. " The Chairman ; of the • Auckland Fire Board (Mr. D. Goldie) said that lie- was not in possession of any statistics upon the lines of those quoted by Mir. Gray. Howes prepared to concede that there were many grave sources of danger existing: in Auckland, but on the other hand the Board had been active in obtaining the most up-to-clate appliances for combating fires. Some difficulties had been experienced in the past in: inducing the firemen to remain permanently in the brigade, but how that quarters were being provided for married men and their families, this difficulty was being in great measure wereome. The work of the firemen in the; past had been good, but they did not always stay long enough to gain that perfect familiarity with the city which is .desirable../.'. These views were considerably amplified by Superintendent" Wooley, of the Auckland Fire Brigade. He said, in the first place that the actual proportion of losses to the population must not be taken toeseriously. There were a number of circumstances tending to hamper the fire-fighters' in their work, however, and to make the losses by fire greater than they heed be. The style of architecture iit many cases aggravated the danger of a serious conflagration once a firs had started. Numerous; buildings might .be seeh ] in the business portions of the city which j were simply four brick walls > with a j wooden building inside. Let a small fire commence in the lower portion and before; ! anything could be done to check iiy .the j whole or the interior 'was a raging inferno. An aggravating circumstance in many cases was the presence of lift-wells. These gave a perfect draught, and being often lined with wood provided a chain ! of communication for fire between the floors. Many buildings were stayed with i iron pillars, which again proved a source i of danger. At ordinary temperatures they j give adequate support, but a temperature i of 212deg. Fahrenheit meant that their j efficiency is impaired by 15 per cent., i while at a temperature ot 62Gdeg. Fahren- j heit they had no sustaining power what- J soever,: so that the floors collapsed and rendered any attempt jo deal with the fire absolutely futile, tinder such circumstances, nothing short of submerging the building would have any effect. \ methods of constructions added! the superintendent, meant serious loss to the insurance companies in the past, and j until some new method was adopted the issuing of fire policies must continue to be a hazardous business. There were some risks that he would consider nhsatisfactory at a premium of 10 per cent. It was not only in the actual construction of the buildings, rendered possible by the city by-laws/ that trouble existed, but in their placing. Many large- buildings had ho approach at the back, so that should a: fire occur it could be attacked by the firemen from one point only, and the chances of subduing it were minimised. It often happened that a party wall, with no opening, separated the building upon one frontage from that upon the other, and in case of fire there was every prospect of the. second building catching. The remedy, in his opinion, lay in amending the building, by-laws so as J to require less inflammable floors, ceilings, and? partitions. Lift-wells should be constructed so that the openings upon the various floors might be sealed when the buildings were-left it night, and thus, in case of fire, suchla dangerous medium for setting up a draugns would not exist. 1 / Regarding life-saving appliances, the f superintendent said there was one main re- f form which the fire department had long been advocating. At the present time tire! escapes were all perpendicular, and muen too difficult of access for use by women and children, and people who had lost the activity of youth. What was really required was a sloping ladder, with a handrail, which .would nrovide an avenue to safety much more effective than the present type of vertical fire escape. With the adoption of these reforms the many grave dangers at present, existing Would, he considered, be' greatly afo l *,:'.